Pubdate: Thu, 23 Feb 2012
Source: Abbotsford News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Abbotsford News
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/BkAJKrUD
Website: http://www.abbynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1155
Authors: Vikki Hopes, and Kelsey Klassen

CHEMICAL ROULETTE

No amount of ecstasy is a safe dose.

That's the message from the Abbotsford Police Department and the 
Fraser Health Authority in the wake of 18 ecstasy deaths in B.C. 
since the start of 2011.

This week, APD launched Operation X, an initiative intended to warn 
and inform teens and parents about the danger of street drugs, 
including ecstasy.

Dr. Victoria Lee, medical health officer for the FHA, says they are 
also actively working with schools to get that message out.

Ecstasy has taken hold in a young demographic who might not fully 
understand the risk.

Lee reiterates that the safest and wisest choice is to not take it at all.

"You can do permanent damage from the first time," Lee advises. "Even 
one is unsafe."

Ecstasy-related emergencies are bad news, agrees Dr. Roy Purssell.

The medical director of the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre 
is also an emergency physician at Vancouver General Hospital.

An ecstasy situation almost always means serious trouble, he says, 
because most people having a negative reaction wait too long to go to 
the hospital, or the people they are with don't realize the 
seriousness of a delay.

Ecstasy, also referred to by its abbreviated form MDMA, can be fatal 
because of how it raises body temperature to dangerous levels, which 
can shut down the body's blood-clotting ability and lead to 
multi-organ failure.

Purssell says if the temperature remains high - above 40.5 degrees C 
(normal is 37) - for more than an hour, the chance of death or 
permanent brain damage is 75 per cent.

"Patients have come in after a delay with a huge increase in 
temperature and, with the best of medical care, it has been 
impossible to stop them from dying ... These are young people with full lives."

Emergency medical intervention in such cases involves rendering the 
patient unconscious - if they haven't come in that way - and packing 
them in ice to reduce their temperature.

If the victim survives, he or she may suffer long-term effects such 
as lung damage; kidney failure, which requires dialysis and may or 
may not be reversible; brain damage; and liver failure, which often 
proves fatal because of the long wait for a transplant.

Purssell says some people may experience a bad reaction to ecstasy 
while others around them don't because they might have taken a higher 
dose or might have consumed other drugs as well.

Also, some people might metabolize the drug differently, due to a 
genetic predisposition.

Purssell said the problem is that nobody knows whether they have that 
genetic sensitivity, nor do they know what exact concoction of 
chemicals is in their dose.

Symptoms to watch for consist of generally feeling ill or warm, 
perspiring and nausea.

Recent deaths in Calgary and B.C. involved ecstasy that was described 
as having been "tainted" with a chemical known as PMMA.

Police and medical authorities have said this in an indication of the 
danger of using drugs manufactured in home labs and sold on the streets.

Ecstasy - in any form - is always a risk, Purssell says.

"The 'tainted' ecstasy will disappear .. but we'll still be back in 
the situation where people are dying."

ECSTASY EFFECTS AND TERMS

Ecstasy is a slang term for MDMA, short for 
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine. MDMA is criminalized in most countries.

How is it used:

Most people who abuse ecstasy take a pill, tablet or capsule. These 
pills can be different colours, and usually have logos or images 
stamped on them. Pure MDMA can also be snorted as a powder.

Ecstasy is readily available, at a cost of approximately $5 to $10 
per tablet, and has become popular within social and party scenes of all ages.

Effects:

MDMA acts on a brain chemical called seratonin. The release of 
seratonin initially creates feelings of euphoria, pleasure, energy, 
confidence, increased senses of touch, taste and smell; it also gives 
users a feeling of personal insight, empathy and sociability.

For most people, a "hit" of MDMA lasts for two to six hours. Once the 
pill is swallowed, it takes about 15 minutes for MDMA to enter the 
bloodstream and reach the brain. About 45 minutes later, the person 
experiences a  "high." People who use MDMA might feel very alert, or 
hyper, at first.

MDMA can also cause muscle tension, nausea, blurred vision, and 
increased heart rate and blood pressure. Forceful clenching of the 
teeth can occur. Bulging eyes are also a common side effect.

The effects of MDMA - including feelings of sadness, anxiety, 
depression, and memory difficulties - can last for several days to a 
week (or longer in people who use MDMA regularly).

MDMA interferes with the body's ability to regulate its temperature, 
thus it can cause dangerous overheating, called hyperthermia. This 
can lead to serious heart and kidney problems, and, in some cases, death.

MDMA can be extremely dangerous in high doses or when multiple small 
doses are taken within a short time period to maintain the high. High 
levels of the drug in the blood stream can increase the risk of 
seizures and affect the heart's ability to maintain normal rhythms.

Although what is sold as ecstasy may contain MDMA, what started in a 
more pure form is now a chemical cocktail.

Crystal meth, LSD, GHB, cocaine, ketamine and other chemicals have 
been discovered in ecstasy capsules in various amounts.

These tablets are purposely manufactured this way to enhance the 
user's experience and give longer effects, however, the user has no 
idea what he or she is are ingesting.

Other names for ecstasy:

E, X, XTC, hug drug, candy, beans, baum, Malcolm (X), scooby snacks, 
vitamin E or X, love drug, pingers, pills, E-bomb, cloud nine, Molly, 
Mandy, Eve, Adam, thizz, clarity, caps, and care bears

Pills are also commonly referred to by their logos, for example, 
Mistubishis, Mercedes, Playboys and Tweety Birds

Common terms:

* Bumping - taking more pills to prolong the high

* Double drop - ingesting two consecutive tablets of ecstasy, also 
known as 'piggybacking'

* Rolling or Thizzing - being high on ecstasy

* Triple stack - an ecstasy tablet that is supposedly three layers of MDMA
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart