Pubdate: Wed, 01 Feb 2012
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2012 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/letters.html
Website: http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Authors: Jason Van Rassel and Meghan Potkins And Richard Cuthbertson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

AMNESTY EYED AS ECSTASY DEATHS RISE

As authorities link an eighth recent death to ecstasy made with a 
potent additive, police in Calgary are considering an amnesty as a 
means of getting the drug off the streets.

Preliminary toxicology results released by the RCMP on Tuesday showed 
the presence of paramethoxy methamphetamine (PMMA) in the system of 
38-year-old Leonard Timothy, who died in Red Deer Regional Hospital on Dec. 10.

Timothy, known as "Lennie" to friends, is a father of two young daughters.

Cpl. Kathe Deheer of the Red Deer RCMP said Timothy consumed what he 
believed was ecstasy, but toxicology tests showed the "dominant" drug 
in his system was PMMA.

Timothy's father, Terry Timothy, said his son probably took the drug 
during a night out with friends at a bar.

"They were leaving a bar and within a few minutes he started feeling 
sick and it just progressed from there," he said from his home on 
Prince Edward Island.

As Timothy's condition deteriorated, his wife and friends became 
worried. "Things were going bad and they called an ambulance and got 
him" to a hospital, Timothy's father said. "And that was it. It was 
too late. His heart stopped and they couldn't get it going."

Although Timothy's funeral was held last month, the family has just 
received results from toxicology tests this week.

"It's a tough one, especially some-one like him. He was so young," 
said Terry Timothy. "Here's a young guy (with) two little girls and a 
wife. For that to happen, it's a shame."

While further testing is needed to confirm if PMMA ultimately caused 
Timothy's death, Deheer said it was important to issue a warning 
based on the preliminary findings.

"There is a public safety concern in light of the deaths in the 
province," she said.

The Red Deer man's death is in addition to seven with confirmed links 
to PMMA being investigated by the Calgary Police Service.

The possibility of an amnesty in Calgary came to light at a police 
com-mission meeting Tuesday during a briefing by a drug investigator.

Commission member Charles Pratt asked whether police had considered a 
"no questions asked, just drop it off" policy to get the drugs off the streets.

"It is something that we are discussing," Staff Sgt. Mike Bossley of 
the drug unit said outside the meeting. "However, right now it's just 
in the discussion phase as a far as whether or not an amnesty would 
be appropriate."

There are significant legal questions to be answered, and police said 
they're still deciding whether a "no questions asked" policy could be 
applied to those who willingly hand over the drug.

It's unclear how a possible ecstasy amnesty in Calgary might work.

Police are, however, encouraging anyone with PMMA ecstasy related to 
any of the deaths to contact police.

"Every case would depend on circumstances," Bossley said. "If that 
person turning it over is somehow a suspect in our investigation, 
obviously that would be a situation that I couldn't sit here and 
guarantee that they would have (amnesty).

"However, they are encouraged if they have information related to any 
of these investigations or anything that could support us to contact 
us and let's discuss it."

PMMA is also being probed - but has not been confirmed as a factor - 
in two additional drug-related deaths in southern Alberta.

The latest involved Jeff Mahon, 37, who died Sunday morning after 
police and paramedics responded at a home on Falsby Place N.E.

Ambulances took Mahon's fiancee and another man to hospital. Police 
said Monday both patients were in serious condition.

"I never expected them doing drugs over there," neighbour Chris Bridger said.

"It's pretty damn scary," Bridger said of Mahon's death and the 
others linked to ecstasy.

The RCMP said they are still awaiting toxicology results in the death 
of a Nanton man on Jan. 22.

Brandon Bodkin, 23, died in hospital in High River after paramedics 
responded to a 911 call at a home in Nanton.

Ecstasy can come as a powder, be put into capsules or pressed into pills.

Although the spate of deaths linked to PMMA has prompted the recent 
warnings, police and health officials say taking ecstasy is 
inherently dangerous because it's an illegal drug being manufactured 
by criminals with little regard for quality control or consistency.

Drug investigators said powdered ecstasy has been found in some of 
the recent PMMA-related cases, but that doesn't mean pills or 
capsules don't also contain the highly toxic additive.

Authorities in B.C. have also sounded the alarm about PMMA, saying 
the chemical is linked to at least five deaths in that province.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom