Pubdate: Fri, 19 Oct 2012
Source: Daily Courier, The (Vernon, CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.dailycourier.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4460

Cops: POTENT DRUGS COULD KILL

That next dose of crystal meth, GHB or ecstasy could be lethal,
Kelowna RCMP warn.

Officers on the street have learned the latest batches of synthetic
drugs circulating in the city are "extremely potent" and dangerous.
Police haven't seized any high-calibre narcotics or confirmed any
overdoses in hospital, but they're worried drug users could end up
dead or seriously ill.

Methamphetamines are particularly addictive - even after using it
once, said spokesman Const. Kris Clark.

"It could be extremely potent and most certainly toxic," he said. "You
increase the potency, you not only have the potential for overdose,
but you've increased your chance of addiction."

B.C.'s provincial health officer warned in January that a chemical
used in ecstasy was linked to five deaths in Calgary and at least one
in the Lower Mainland. The Coroner's Office examined other
ecstasy-related deaths last year to determine whether the synthetic
chemical, called PMMA, was present.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall said it takes longer for
ecstasy containing PMMA to take effect, which can prompt some people
to ingest more, resulting in an overdose.

RCMP say the Vancouver area is known to be a manufacturing hub for
drugs like ecstasy, which is distributed throughout the province and
further east.

The Central Okanagan also has "our fair share" of clandestine labs,
Clark said.

Sixteen people died after taking ecstasy in B.C. last
year.

The date-rape drug GHB is also causing alarm, say RCMP. People take it
as a recreational drug to get the same effect as liquor, but higher
potency can send them straight to the blackout stage, Clark said.
"You're still up and semi-conscious but . . . when you wake up next
day, you have no idea what happened," he said. "You could have someone
wandering on the highway because they don't know what they're doing.
And you get sexual exploitation."

Police recommend parents talk to their kids about the dangers of drugs
and how to handle peer pressure.
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MAP posted-by: Matt