Pubdate: Sat, 26 Jul 2008
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2008 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Chris Kitching
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?241 (Methamphetamine - Canada)

METH-LACED ECSTASY LATEST LETHAL DRUG TO HIT CITY

Winnipeg police have sounded the alarm again about  ecstasy use, 
announcing yesterday that a 15-year-old  boy recently died after 
taking a meth-laced capsule of  the so-called party drug.

Sgt. Rod Hourd of the force's organized crime unit said  it is 
believed the illicit drug contributed to or  caused the boy's death 
about four weeks ago.

"These pills are dangerous and they're now starting to  kill people," 
Hourd said yesterday. "This is not a fun  party drug for people to 
take at a rave."

Hourd said the unidentified boy knew he was taking  ecstasy but 
didn't know it contained methamphetamine.

Three other teens, aged 15 to 17, have been  hospitalized within the 
past four weeks.

Drug-makers add meth to make it more addictive.

"The kids don't know (meth) is there. They're expecting  one thing 
and they end up with another," said Joel  Gervais of the Addictions 
Foundation of Manitoba. "A  lot of these kids showing up in the 
emergency rooms are  probably both physically and psychologically in trouble."

PARENTS

Police are looking into how the boy obtained the drug.  Hourd 
wouldn't say how many capsules the boy ingested.

Police are urging people not to consume ecstasy and  asking parents 
to talk about the dangers of drugs with  their children. It's the 
second time in four months  police have issued such a warning.

In April, city police seized more than $300,000 worth  of ecstasy in 
a bust with links to organized crime in  Western Canada. The warnings 
follow more seizures of  meth-laced ecstasy, or meth tablets or 
capsules passed  off as ecstasy.

Police are checking to see whether some pills contain  LSD. Traces of 
meth are also being found in some  cannabis, Gervais said.

Battery acid or other toxic chemicals are used to make  meth, cooked 
in toilets, bathtubs or makeshift labs.

The mix is extremely hazardous to a person's health and  may result 
in brain damage or kidney failure.

Since 2000, at least four Manitobans have died hours  after taking ecstasy.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom