CORONER WARNS DRUG MISUNDERSTOOD

Nelson: Nelson coroner Ian Smith has warned that the party drug, ecstasy,
is misunderstood and dangerous.

Speaking at an inquest into the death of Nelson man Dai Gerard Bowden, Mr
Smith said he did not think the drug was well understood by the public.

He also said it was a serious offence to use ecstasy and that it was very
dangerous.

He ruled that Mr Bowden's death, in Nelson on March 18, was self-inflicted,
resulting from the use of ecstasy.

Sergeant Stuart Koefoed, of Nelson, had found Mr Bowden's body in a city
car park.

Mr Bowden was lying on his back close to his car and there was foam around
his mouth. Water bottles and a small amount of cannabis were found in the car.

Sgt Koefoed said Mr Bowden had been to a dance party at the Artery the
night before.

His friends had told him Mr Bowden had used ecstasy before and had talked
about using it again.

Ecstasy raised the pulse rate and blood pressure. It could cause feelings
of euphoria and impair judgement, Sgt Koefoed said.

Users could easily become dehydrated and compensated by drinking water.
They were advised against drinking alcohol because it could increase
dehydration and further impair judgement.

Sgt Koefoed said toxicology results showed traces of both alcohol and
ecstasy in Mr Bowden's blood.

Pathologist Jonathan Allen said the cause of death was "water
intoxication". The body became overloaded with water, causing the brain to
swell, increasing the pressure inside the skull and stopping blood flow.

Dr Allen said the overload of water could be a result of excessive water or
fluid intake, or because the body was unable to excrete the excess water.

He said overseas studies had shown that ecstasy could cause a range of
abnormalities, such as acute kidney failure, psychiatric disturbances,
increased blood pressure and heart rhythm abnormalities.