ONE DOSE OF ECSTASY CAN CAUSE BRAIN DAMAGE

Despite three deaths and several close calls this year, deaths
directly attributed to ecstasy are rare, says an Edmonton
toxicologist. Some years, the medical examiner's office won't see
any. But each individual reacts to the drug differently, and a dose
that would be harmless in one user can kill the next, said Graham
Jones, chief forensic toxicologist at the medical examiner's office.

"These effects are not very well correlated with dose."

In March, Leah House, 14, and Trinity Bird, 15, died from overdoses
of ecstasy on the Paul Band reserve.

Cassandra Williams, 14, died Saturday, after taking the drugs at the
Galaxyland amusement park in West Edmonton Mall. Her best friend took
the same number of pills, bought from the same dealer. She has
recovered and been released from hospital.

Young women seem to be the most common victims of ecstasy overdose,
but the experts don't know why, said Jones. "It really isn't clear."

An overdose of ecstasy can cause death in at least three ways, he said.

Because amphetamine-type drugs stimulate the heart, they can increase
blood pressure until a blood vessel breaks. This usually occurs in
the brain, where bleeding can be fatal.

The drug can also cause hyperthermia, or an increase in body
temperature, to the point of death. And it can cause fluid retention,
which causes the brain to swell and leads to brain damage, said Jones.

The pills are homemade, and some he has seen were five times stronger
than others.

Martin Davies, a pharmacologist at the University of Alberta, said
most beginners might try half a tablet and get a feeling of euphoria.
That normally won't be life-threatening, although there have been
cases where people have died from one dose.

"Ecstasy tablets can have all sorts of other drugs in them," he said.
"That's part of the reason they're so dangerous. Some ecstasy tablets
can contain no ecstacy whatsoever."

Even with casual use, the drug kills neurons in the brain, Davies said.

"Many drugs don't do that. Even taking it once can cause irreversible
damage to your brain."

The medical examiner's office is still investigating the March deaths
on Paul Band, 60 kilometres west of Edmonton, but so far, said Jones,
there is no evidence the drugs the girls took were laced with
anything other than ecstasy.