Pubdate: Tue, 24 Jan 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: Meghan Potkins And Bryce Forbes, Calgary Herald; With files from
Jason van Rassel and Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald, and Postmedia News
Service

'HIS HEART JUST STOPPED:' GIRLFRIEND OF SUSPECTED SAIT DRUG OVERDOSE VICTIM

Cody Gorlick spent the hours before his death cuddled up with his 
girlfriend of two years watching movies in his dorm room.

His death is under investigation by police as a possible drug 
overdose, but Monday at a small memorial on the SAIT campus where he 
studied welding, his girlfriend, Amanda Roger, said she still doesn't 
understand what happened.

"We were just laying in bed watching movies all night, it was nothing 
out of the ordinary," recalls Roger.

But in the early morning hours Saturday, Roger realized something was wrong.

"His heart just stopped," she said.

EMS crews were called Saturday around 7 a.m. to Gorlick's Tower 
Residence dorm room on the SAIT campus.

The call was for an unconscious 23-year-old man, Calgary EMS 
confirmed, but by the time they arrived the man was dead.

Investigators involved in the SAIT case say an unknown powder and 
capsules were seized at the scene and samples have been sent to the 
crime lab and to the office of the chief medical examiner for testing.

The death is one of two weekend fatalities being investigated as 
possibly related to ecstasy consumption.

The RCMP is investigating the Sunday death of a man in Nanton.

An autopsy will be completed this week and authorities are awaiting 
the results from toxicology tests before they can confirm whether 
Gorlick's death is related to toxic ecstasy that has claimed five 
lives in Calgary and at least five others in B.C. in the past few months.

The second case happened Sunday afternoon, when authorities responded 
to a 911 call from a home in Nanton.

An ambulance took the man to hospital in High River, where he died.

A Facebook memorial group identified the man as Brandon Bodkin, 23, of 
Nanton. Multiple sources confirmed the information.

At Gorlick's memorial Monday, Roger said the 23-year-old, originally 
from Strathmore, will leave a huge hole in her family's life.

Gorlick had grown close to Roger's two children in recent years.

"My son is upset and my daughter thinks that we can bring him to 
different doctors (to) get him fixed so that he can come home to us," 
Roger said.

The incident has prompted campus officials to make counsellors 
available for any students or residence staffers who needs assistance.

"We are very saddened by this young man's death," said Michael Dyer, 
SAIT's vice-president of employee and student services. "We recognize 
that events like this can be troubling, so I encourage both students 
and staff to reach out for help if needed."

A tainted batch of ecstasy that has led to 10 recent deaths in Calgary 
and B.C. is believed to have been laced with 
paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), a substance five times more toxic 
than ordinary ecstasy.

And in a bid to head off similar deaths and hospitalizations in 
Saskatchewan, RCMP in that province have issued a warning about the 
dangers of the street drug ecstasy.

No PMMA-related deaths have been reported in Saskatchewan, but RCMP on 
Monday cautioned the public that drugs don't stop at the border.

"Just like people, drugs can be pretty transient - so best to err on 
the side of caution," said RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Dawson.
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.