TEENAGERS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES POPPING ECSTASY PILLS

Ecstasy is widely considered a drug of choice for teenagers, popped at
raves or house parties and popular for its relatively low cost and
long highs.

But recent toxicology figures from the Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner in Alberta show that older Albertans are also using the drug,
often as part of a cocktail of dangerous narcotics.

Between Jan. 1, 2000 and Dec. 1, 2011, the medical examiner's office
completed investigations into 50 unintentional overdose deaths in
Alberta in which ecstasy or MDMA was directly or indirectly involved.

Of the 50 people who died, 28 were 25 years or older, including two
over the age of 40. Only six were under 18. The oldest was 43 and the
youngest was 14.

"The evidence shows it's not just younger people (using ecstasy),"
said Dr. Graham Jones, chief toxicologist for the Office of the Chief
Medical Examiner. "There seems to be quite a broad age range."

Thirty of the 50 deaths were from multiple drug toxicities, where a
combination of drugs - of which ecstasy was one of them - contributed
to the death. And of those 30 deaths, 19 were people 25 years of age
and older.

George McBride, manager of Alberta Health Services' Adult Addictions
Services Calgary, said his treatment centre receives about 500 new
clients per month and only about five per cent of those clients
identify ecstasy as a problem.

But ecstasy is often only one ingredient in the combo of drugs they
take.

"People usually have a preference or drug of choice, but sometimes
they take what's available," he said.

Some people end up taking more than one drug after starting with one
and progressing to others "to cope with life," he said.

"Often people use drugs as problem solvers."

McBride said that in his experience at the treatment centre, the
majority of drug users who take ecstasy recreationally or through
experimentation tend to be younger, in their teens or 20s.

"But it's not like we don't have older people caught experimenting,"
he added.

Staff Sgt. Mike Bossley with the Calgary Police Service's drug unit
noted that not all instances of ecstasy use result in overdoses, and
not all overdoses result in death, so it's difficult to get complete
demographic details of who is using the drug and why.

But from a police perspective, the majority of ecstasy users tend not
to be of the "upper age bracket."

He said the appeal of ecstasy seems to be the relatively low price -
the average cost per tablet ranges from $5 to $15 - and the highs that
can last up to 32 hours.

However, he agreed with Jones and McBride that with older drug users
who take ecstasy, it's likely not the sole drug being abused.

"Typically people who have drug addiction problems may try other drugs
if whatever they're using isn't available," he said.

Jones speculated that it might be surprising to hear of older adults
using ecstasy because the more well-publicized cases reported in the
media seem to involve younger users.

Most recently, a 16-year-old Calgary boy died last month after
ingesting what was believed to be ecstasy at a house party, though his
death has not been included in the most recent statistics. And earlier
this summer, a 15-year-old Strathmore boy also lost his life after
taking pills believed to be ecstasy.

"It is sometimes the very young people who don't necessarily have a
history of drug abuse that die very suddenly that capture media
attention," Jones said.

"It's such a shock that it may attract a little more attention than
someone much older with a well-established history of drug abuse.
Their deaths are not quite as expected."

While ingesting a combination of drugs can have deadly results, taking
ecstasy alone can be dangerous enough, warned Jones.

There are no controls in the manufacturing of ecstasy, unlike other
oft-abused drugs such as OxyContin and morphine, which are
pharmaceutical drugs and marketed for medical purposes.

As a result, the effects of ecstasy can vary from one individual to
another or from one experience to the next. The drug can also cause
the body to overheat.

Some tablets being sold as ecstasy contain not only MDMA but are also
being cut with other drugs - methamphetamine, cocaine, ketamine - each
having its own adverse effects.

Police, addictions experts and drug dealers alike have spoken out
about the dangers of so-called "dirty pills."

The number of ecstasy-related deaths has increased significantly over
the years, with eight deaths between 2000 and 2005, and 42 between
2006 and 2011, but it's unclear whether the jump can be attributed to
larger dirty batches being sold on the street, said Jones.

"It's likely the availability on the street," he said. "Price and
availability."

From Jan. 1, 2000 to Dec. 1, 2011, the Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner also completed eight suicide investigations related to
ecstasy, and 20 deaths from accidents in which ecstasy was present or
played a part in the death.