Pubdate: Sun, 01 Jul 2001
Source: Observer, The (UK)
Copyright: 2001 The Observer
Contact:  http://www.observer.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/315
Author: Jason Burke, chief reporter

ECSTASY'S DEATH TOLL 'SET TO GO ON RISING'

Experts Say Overheating Is The Lethal Factor In Drug Tragedies

Deaths from the drug ecstasy are at a record high, with the rate of people 
dying after taking it almost trebling so far this year.

An average of eight people have been killed by the drug annually since it 
first started being used 'recreationally' in the UK in the late Eighties. 
Around 90 people have died in all. But this year has seen at least 11 
deaths and experts fear as many as 25 deaths could be recorded by the end 
of 2001.

Last week two young men died after taking ecstasy at a rave in London. 
Stephen Brett, 19, and Bret Gilkes, 20, both took at least one pill with a 
five-pronged crown stamped on it on Saturday night. They later collapsed 
and were rushed to hospital. By Tuesday both were dead. A third man remains 
critically ill in hospital.

In May two female teenage students died after taking so-called 
'super-strength' ecstasy pills. The pictures of the bloated body of Lorna 
Spinks, 19, shocked the nation. Subsequent analysis by police showed that 
both women had taken pills from a batch that was coloured lime-green and 
stamped with a euro symbol. They contained 129mg of MDMA, the active 
ecstasy ingredient, nearly 50mg more than is normally found in a single pill.

Police initially said that they feared the pills that killed Brett and 
Gilkes last week contained strychnine, the rat poison, or had been part of 
a 'rogue' batch.

But on Friday police said that analysis of the pills revealed normal levels 
of MDMA and were not contaminated. The most likely cause of death was 
heatstroke.

Det Supt Adrian Maybanks, of Scotland Yard's Serious Crime Group, said 
preliminary tests showed Brett, from Surrey, died from liver and kidney 
failure.

Dr John Ramsey, head of the toxicology unit at St George's Hospital medical 
school in London, has been analysing drugs found in clubs and pubs in 
British cities for three years. 'Most deaths are caused by MDMA. Tablets 
contaminated with something toxic are extremely rare,' he said.

Though police in Surrey recently warned of 'polos' - ecstasy tablets laced 
with heroin - Ramsay said he had never come across any such mix. 'We do 
find ephedrine and ketamine and other drugs sold as ecstasy but not usually 
mixed with it. They are not generally life-threatening.'

Experts say that the majority of deaths are caused by the conditions in 
which ecstasy is taken rather than the drug itself. MDMA simultaneously 
raises the body temperature while inhibiting the body's natural mechanisms 
for regulating its heat.

'Once the body temperature reaches 40C (104F) everything falls apart. A 
crowded, badly ventilated club is exactly the worst place you could 
possibly imagine for taking ecstasy,' one expert said. 'People want to 
blame contamination, but that's a comforting myth.'

The rave at which Brett and Gilkes died was in a nightclub under the arches 
of London Bridge. It was a very hot night and some reports suggested the 
ambient temperature inside the club had reached 40C. Seven people were 
rushed to hospital as dozens collapsed. Police are investigating 
ventilation systems.

Harry Shapiro, of the charity Drugscope, said the increase in deaths might 
be linked to a lack of drugs education.

'Many of the young people now taking ecstasy may not have been exposed to 
the same sort of harm reduction advice prevalent a few years ago,' he said. 
'They are not following the basic rules that first-generation clubbers grew 
up with.'

There is growing pressure for better medical provision in clubs as well as 
for some kind of facility allowing users to check the strength of the pills 
they intend to to take. Police  sources said last week that they feared 
such a move would legitimise the use of the drug. They urged all club 
owners to take extra safety measures such as providing free drinking water 
and avoiding overcrowding.

Ecstasy has only been linked to the deaths of 90 people; experts say that 
many more will have been killed in car accidents and similar incidents in 
which ecstasy has played a part. They point out that 75 young people die 
from glue sniffing each year and receive far less publicity.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens