RAVE PAMPHLET LIKE AD FOR ECSTASY, INQUEST TOLD

Information Describes Drug As 'Jewel'

A safety pamphlet on drug use reads like "a commercial for ecstasy," an
inquest has heard.

A pamphlet, touted as offering practical information about ecstasy and
given out at raves by the Toronto Raver Info Project, describes the illicit
drug ecstasy, or MDMA, as "a multi-faceted jewel."

"A jewel is a good thing," but ecstasy may be a drug "that sends you on a
perilous path," coroner's counsel Paul McDermott yesterday told the inquest
into the death of Allen Ho.

Ho, a third-year Ryerson student, died last Oct. 10, two weeks short of his
21st birthday, after ingesting ecstasy at a rave held in an underground
parking garage in Toronto.

McDermott reminded the jury that toxicology expert Dr. Margaret Thompson
had told the inquest that one ecstasy pill could kill.

Ho died of what Thompson termed a probable susceptibility to the drug after
ingesting two or three ecstasy tablets.

Raves and ecstasy may be a "really bad mix," McDermott said.

The combination of intense physical activity and lack of ventilation and
hydration may lead to ecstasy complications, the inquest has heard.

Kim Stanford, a registered nurse and co-founder of the Toronto Raver Info
Project, told the inquest that telling ravers to "just say no" doesn't
work. But, she said, the group does not promote drug use.

Another pamphlet, Shopping Tips for E Quality designed by Stanford, advises
users to "shop around" for ecstasy and "try to buy from a reliable supplier
whose goods you like or your friends have tried."

But whether drug dealers really have the safety of their clients in mind is
an issue, Robert Baldwin, lawyer for the city, told the jury.

The pamphlet may encourage people who have not used ecstasy to investigate
the drug, Baldwin said.

But the pamphlet also says that much of what is sold as ecstasy "may not be
pure MDMA and may include MDA, PCP, speed, ketamine, cocaine, heroin and/or
LSD."

The pamphlet describes as "those annoying little (ecstasy) side effects"
symptoms that range from jaw clenching, teeth grinding, increased heart
rate and body temperature, sweating, nausea and "occasionally" toxic
reactions in people with problems from heart conditions to asthma.

Some of the advice, such as "drink lots of water," might actually result in
seizures, Thompson had told the inquest earlier, Baldwin reminded the jury.