DEAD MAN MAY HAVE TAKEN ECSTASY AND ALCOHOL

Police are investigating the death yesterday morning of a 20-year-old West
Auckland man whose friends have told police he may have taken ecstasy.

Senior Sergeant Ross Endicott-Davis said the man collapsed in a central
city alleyway at 12.45am after attending a private party in the city.

He was rushed to Auckland Hospital's emergency department by ambulance
after he had a cardiac arrest. He died soon after he was admitted to
hospital, an ambulance spokeswoman said.

Police and ambulance are awaiting post-mortem examination results and
toxicology reports, but some friends have told police he had taken ecstasy
and alcohol.

Auckland Hospital will not confirm a cause of death until results are in.

The illegal class B drug, also known as MDMA, is associated with the night
club and dance scene.

It has caused the deaths of three young people in New Zealand.

Overseas medical research has found that ecstasy can produce severe health
problems, including overheating, irreversible brain damage, irregular
heartbeat, high blood pressure, anxiety and depression.

Health officials here have expressed concern over party drugs like ecstasy.

Ecstasy prompts the release of serotonin in the brain, much more than under
normal circumstances. It sets people on an extreme high for hours.

Vigorous activity, such as dancing, often encouraged excessive water
consumption.

Previous advice to ecstasy users was to drink a lot of water, but that is
no longer given because of the dangers of water intoxication.