Young people are playing Russian Roulette if they take ecstasy. But how many of them understand the risks of the game.
The feel-good drug popularized by the rave set 20 years ago has become more dangerous with the passage of time and young people don't know what they're getting when they ingest these drugs.
In recent months, 18 people have died from taking the popular party drug in B.C. and Alberta and five had the lethal additive Paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) in their system. Likely these people had no idea what they were ingesting.
The fact is, these cooked up chemicals are bad enough on their own but when PMMA is added the results can be lethal depending on the physiology of the individual. Some can take these drugs and survive while others simply die.
Experts in the field say those who made the drug don't like losing customers and will alter the next batch. But that won't make ecstasy any less harmful.
It has always been laced with other drugs such as cocaine, and taking it is a gamble. Unfortunately, ecstasy is often sold in pretty colours and with cartoonish graphics, making it look like a harmless alternative to alcohol, marijuana or other social drugs. It's also cheaper than many of these other options.
So what can be done?
Police are working across jurisdictions to share information and have dismantled more than 30 drug labs in the last year. But the ground war against drugs is not enough and other adults in youth's lives must get the word out, too, that pure, safe ecstasy is a drug that simply does not exist.
Parents, teachers, school counsellors and first-responders must provide clear-eyed, nonjudgmental up-to-date information about this drug. Some adults may fear that simply bringing up the issue will make some kids curious enough to try the drug.
A few may be tempted. But it's best to be open with all youth because the more knowledge that is out there the better.
This is one roulette game nobody wants to lose.
