TEEN'S FATAL OVERDOSE A RARITY: COP

Despite a Strathmore teen's death being blamed on a deadly dose of
ecstasy, a Calgary drug cop says such fatal overdoses are extremely rare.

Det. Doug Hudacin said the batch believed to be responsible for
15-year-old Jonathan Herrmans's death - yellow pills with a "Mickey
Mouse" design - aren't known to the Calgary police drug unit but in
most fatal drug cases, the primary culprit is not a bad pill, but one
that's significantly more pure.

"In most cases it's not a bad batch but a really good batch - it
usually comes down to much purer stuff than they're used to getting," he said.

"It is very, very rare for an overdose to be fatal."

Strathmore Mounties said Saturday they're investigating the
possibility the batch of ecstasy being eyed may have been
"dangerously tainted with additional chemicals."

Hudacin said if an ultra-pure batch isn't behind Herrmann's death,
there are cases were additional cutting agents are added to drugs to
increase volume.

The detective noted while ecstasy is easily accessible in Calgary and
area, particularly in the rave scene, it trails far behind cocaine
and marijuana as the main chemical scourges on city streets.

"It's like any other drug in town - you can get it, there's no
shortage," Hudacin said.

"The bigger concern with ecstasy is how it's viewed in the rave and
party scene - it's considered a little more benign and the way they
sell and package it makes it seem a lot safer."

Hudacin said the only recent case of a fatal dose of ecstasy he can
recall is an untainted batch that left two teenaged girls - Trinity
Bird, 15, and Leah House, 14 - dead on the Paul First Nation reserve
west of Edmonton in 2009.

Both fell into comas during a wedding celebration and were taken off
life support after two days in hospital.