A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

Ecstasy can kill you.

Can that message be driven home any more acutely than it has in this community?

In the past five weeks, the popular man-made drug has taken two
lives, and is responsible for another that hangs in the balance.

On Nov. 27, Tyler Miller, 20, took ecstasy. He was a gifted
Abbotsford musician and student, with great career plans. It's all
over. He was dead in eight hours.

On Dec. 19, 17-year-old Cheryl McCormack of Abbotsford ingested
ecstasy with some friends ostensibly as a weight loss aid. She
became unresponsive, and three days later, she died. She was a
bright, fun and athletic teen.

On New Year's Eve, a 24-year-old Abbotsford woman engaged in
"recreational" use of ecstasy with three friends. By 6 a.m. she was
in critical condition in hospital, where she remains today.

The grief and suffering of the family and friends of these victims is
excruciating.

In that context, it is such cruel irony, considering ecstasy is known
for inducing euphoria and a sense of well-being.

It's chemical Russian roulette.

You can feel good and survive perhaps many times. Or, you can end
up dead, or on life support.

It doesn't take prolonged use or abuse of ecstasy to court disaster.

Ecstasy, or MDMA, is notorious for being laced with other drugs,
including ketamine, methamphetamine and cocaine.

Depending on the circumstances, the physiology of the user and other
factors, the mix can be lethal.

It seems an insane risk, yet ecstasy is popular among a segment of
young people, who have so much to lose.

Please parents, teachers, police speak with your children, your
students, your young contacts. Teens, counsel your peers who may be
tempted to use ecstasy or are already using it.

Give them the cold facts. Implore them to think, to make good decisions.

The loss of Tyler and Cheryl must take on deep future meaning and
that is to save the lives of others.