A 17-year-old Abbotsford girl has died and another young woman from that city is in critical condition after taking what police say was ecstasy.
More teens in Alberta have died from similar overdoses of the same illicit drug.
Two years ago, 16-year-old Shannon Raymond of Maple Ridge died in her friend’s house after ingesting, her mother said, alcohol and ecstasy.
Police and health officials are now warning teens about taking large amounts of the drug, which sells for $3 to $10 a pill.
The 24-year-old Abbotsford woman remains in critical condition after consuming as many as 10 such tablets at a New Year’s Eve party.
Police in Calgary are investigating whether a death that same night is the fourth there related to ecstasy in as many weeks.
Known to be popular at raves in the past, it has become more mainstream among teens in recent years and is being used at house parties and concerts, even, as with the young Abbotsford girl, as a weight loss supplement.
But ecstasy, also known as MDMA, is often laced with other drugs, such as methamphetamine, ketamine and cocaine. Those who take it don’t even know what they’re putting into their bodies, only how the pills make them feel – often euphoric.
MDMA releases the brain chemical serotonin, elevating mood and acting as a short-term antidepressant. Affects can last from two to six hours.
The drug causes an increase in body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate, which can lead to kidney or heart failure, strokes and seizures, according to Health Canada.
But it’s cheap, and accessible – a cell phone call away. Drug dealers even give it away free, the first time.
That could be the last.
Friends of a young Abbotsford man who, in early December, had taken ecstasy and complained of feeling overwhelming heat, thought he was just having a typical reaction to the drug. They gave him a frozen bag of peas to cool down.
Later, while driving around town with them, he became unresponsive.
His parents said he was a good, smart kid.
Was.
– The News
