Pubdate: Fri, 30 Oct 2015
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.ottawasun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.ottawasun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author: Danielle Dube
Page: 3

POLICE SPOOKED BY RISE IN DRUG USE

Every year, Ottawa emergency rooms on Halloween are a scary sight --
filled with alcohol and drug-related incidents -- and this year
doesn't plan on being any different.

Ottawa Police and Ottawa Public Health are warning partiers of an
alarming trend surfacing in the city, the increase in use of MDMA bath
salts and the emergence of "unusually strong" magic mushrooms.

"People aren't generally concerned when they drink too much," said
Nancy Langdon, supervisor of the substance misuse program at Ottawa
Public Health. "But they may also have the opportunity to experiment
with an illicit drug that they may or may not have tried before. But
even if the person had a reasonable experience before, there's really
no guarantee that what they used the last time isn't in any way
similar to what they're using this time and that their reaction will
be the same."

Illegal drugs like MDMA and magic mushroom can have life threatening
and sometimes fatal consequences, said Langdon.

"They're playing Russian Roulette," said Langdon. "They just never
know which dose is going to be the one that really makes them ill."

MDMA, also known as Molly or Ecstasy, is made up of many different
chemicals and most commonly include methamphetamine. The exact
strength and ingredients in each pill is always unknown.

And because of the unknown nature of each pill, it makes it difficult
for medical professionals to determine the most effective medical
treatments should something happen.

According to police, although they're not seeing an increase in the
use of magic mushrooms, they are worried about a potentially potent
batch causing unusually strong hallucinogenic reactions.
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MAP posted-by: Matt