Pubdate: Fri, 31 Aug 2012
Source: Metro (Calgary, CN AB)
Copyright: 2012 Metro Canada
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Calgary
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4471
Author: Jeremy Nolais

PMMA ECSTASY THREAT REMAINS

Drugs: Calgary Patient Nearly Died in July After Ingesting Confirmed 
Dose of Toxic Compound

It was deja vu of the very worst kind for Dr. Mark Yarema.

An emergency room physician and medical director for the Poison and 
Drug Information Service, Yarema watched in early July as a patient 
fought to live for five days. Elevated body temperature, muscle 
breakdown - the very same symptoms he had seen dozens of times before 
at the height of Calgary's crisis with a toxic ecstasy compound known as PMMA.

Results of testing done on the patient came back and sure enough he 
had tested positive for the substance that had vanished from local 
headlines in recent months.

"It was serious enough that we didn't think he was going to make it," 
Yarema said. "It's very easy to become complacent and think the 
problem has left, but it's clear we're still seeing cases . . . the 
drug hasn't completely gone away."

While that instance in July is the only PMMA-confirmed case in 
Calgary since the crisis slowed in March, Yarema said some of the 
dozens of other overdosing patients continuing to attend southern 
Alberta emergency may have also ingested the compound, which is five 
times more toxic than the more common ecstasy compound, MDMA.

"It's very possible that these individuals would be treated and 
released without any confirmation," he said.

Users who ingest PMMA experience effects slower than they would with 
MDMA, leading some to increase their dosage. Friends of some Calgary 
victims of the drug reported them taking numerous tablets and then 
experiencing a rapid onset of negative side-effects.

This led groups like the Central Alberta AIDS Network Society to 
preach harm-reduction messages like controlling ecstasy doses, 
realizing that the drug will likely never be fully rooted out.

"This is a new formulation of ecstasy," said executive director 
Jennifer Vanderschaeghe. "This isn't a temporary thing."

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[sidebar]

On the decline

Overall, emergency department visits related to psychoactive drug 
agents or stimulants - PMMA, MDMA, bath salts, methamphetamines and 
others - are down in the Calgary Health Region this year.

The fourth quarter of 2011, at the height of Calgary's PMMA outbreak, 
saw 62 overdose patients treated. That compares with 36 during the 
first quarter of 2012.

A police spokesperson confirmed investigators have not made any PMMA 
ecstasy busts in recent months
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom