4 TEENS OVERDOSE ON ECSTASY

Pair of 13-Year-Olds, Two 14-Year-Olds 'Lucky' To Survive, Says Cop

SAANICH - Saanich police are warning of the dangers of buying street
drugs after four teens -- just 13 and 14 years old -- overdosed on ecstasy.

"These people don't give a crap what they put in it," Saanich police
Sgt. John Price said yesterday.

"They're making it for profit and they're looking to addict you so
you'll always be a customer. So you really have no way of predicting
your survivability."

Price said the age of the teens was also a concern.

"Their families were devastated with the news that their children
were in hospital recovering from overdoses."

Ecstasy -- methylenedioxymethylamphetamine -- is a synthetic drug
with both stimulant and hallucinogenic qualities. It is also known as
"E" or MDMA.

The police found a 13- and a 14-year-old "wandering in the park and
obviously under the influence of a narcotic or narcotics" on Tuesday,
said Price.

The two teens admitted "to consuming two to nine tablets of what they
believed to be ecstasy," he said.

They were taken to Victoria General Hospital.

Police then found another 13-year-old boy in the mall who had
overdosed. He was also taken to hospital.

"While at the hospital, the investigator was greeted by another young
person, a 14-year-old girl, who was suffering from the effects of
ecstasy," said Price.

The girl said she had been with a group of teens that had bought what
they thought were "double doses of ecstasy."

The four teens were released from hospital into the custody of their parents.

"They were lucky, for sure," said Price.

He said investigators are trying to track down two people who sold the drugs.

An RCMP study found that of ecstasy confiscated at Vancouver-area
raves, only 24 per cent of tablets and 11 per cent of capsules
actually contained pure ecstasy.

In September 2005, a 13-year-old girl died in hospital after she and
two friends consumed what they believed was ecstasy purchased in Victoria.