ECSTASY CAN KILL

Letter to the Editor

It is heartening to learn about the police crackdown on raves in
Montreal (Gazette, Aug. 12).

Our 23-year-old son went to many raves and paid the price for it. A
fourth-year engineering student at the University of Sherbrooke, he
went to about 17 raves without our knowledge. At the last rave, after
taking Ecstasy, speed and opium, he suffered permanent brain damage,
with psychosis and paranoid delusions. He returned home to stay with
us, and just when we thought he was recovering, he committed suicide,
one month after his 23rd birthday. What a tragic loss of such a
talented and gifted young man. We are still recovering from the guilt
and grief.

Parents should be aware of the dangers of raves.

Ovid M. Da Silva

Deux-Montagnes