ECSTASY OVERDOSE SENDS STUDENT TO HOSPITAL

Another serious incident involving what was thought to be ecstasy
re-emphasizes the dangers of illegal drugs, say Saanich police.

An 18-year-old University of Victoria student was hospitalized on the
weekend after he and two other 18-year-old friends were taking the
supposed ecstasy and drinking alcohol at a campus residence. It
follows a case the previous week when four teens aged 13 and 14 had
bad reactions to a drug they had been told was ecstasy, but which
probably contained other street drugs.

In the UVic incident, emergency crews were called to the dormitory and
found one youth thrashing around and incoherent, said Saanich police
Sgt. John Price.

The youths had all taken a capsule form of the drug, while the youth
in distress had ingested a tablet.

In both cases, the teens were taking what they believed was one drug
but could very well have been something more, Price said. "They have
no way of knowing if it's ecstasy or if it's ecstasy laced with LSD or
methamphetamine. There's really no safe drug out there."