FATAL ECSTASY LACED WITH LETHAL CHEMICAL

Calgary Deaths Raise Fears Same Toxin Is In B. C.

A batch of ecstasy believed to be behind a spate of recent deaths in
Calgary may have been tainted with a lethal chemical never before
found in the street drug, according to Alberta's chief medical examiner.

Police in B.C. are wondering whether the same chemical is popping up
here and if it is to blame for several ecstasy-related deaths in recent weeks.

Const. Ian MacDonald of the Abbotsford police department said there
is no way to know until toxicology reports are released.

"We are keeping an eye on what is transpiring in Alberta and
specifically in the Calgary region, but we can't make as definitive
statements as Calgary has because we just don't have the benefit of
the toxicology results yet," MacDonald said.

"I know that the coroner's office and other provincial officials [in
B.C.] were certainly looking to expedite [the lab tests] in light of
the rash of the apparent ecstasy overdoses."

On Wednesday, Alberta's chief medical examiner confirmed
"param-ethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) and methamphetamine - not
previously associated with street drugs sold in Calgary as 'ecstasy'
- - was present in toxicology results for each of five recent
Calgary-area street-drug deaths," according to a news release issued
by Alberta Health Services.

"It was reported that each of the recent overdose victims thought
they were ingesting ecstasy (MDMA), not PMMA or methamphetamine," the
news release stated.

MDMA was also found in the victims' systems.

The new compound is believed to be five times more toxic than
traditional ecstasy, health officials said. "What we're finding in
this case is that people were get-ting something very different than
what they thought they were," said Dr. Mark Yarema, medical director
for the Poison and Drug Information Service and Calgary emergency
room physician.

Three people in B.C.'s Lower Mainland have died from reactions to
ecstasy in recent weeks: a 17-year-old girl from Abbotsford; a
22-year-old Vancouver woman who took the drug at a house party; and
another 22-year-old Vancouver woman who was hospitalized after taking
ecstasy on New Year's Eve and died on Friday.

As well, a 24-year-old Abbotsford woman who took the drug Jan. 2
remains in critical condition.

The majority of ecstasy found in Calgary originates from B.C.'s Lower
Mainland, according to Calgary police.

Toxicology results typically take between two and three weeks in
B.C., where there is only one toxicology lab used by the coroners service.

Owen Court, regional coroner for the Vancouver-Metro region, said he
expects results from the two Vancouver deaths by Friday.

Court said the local lab learned of Calgary's PMMA-tainted ecstasy
late Wednesday and noted he would be looking into the matter today.

It is not something that immediately comes to mind as having been
linked to past drug-related deaths, he said. "PMMA is not some-thing
that I am immediately familiar with," Court said. "I hope to have
some discussion with our laboratory about that and get a more
informed opinion from a toxicologist."

The B.C. Coroners Service has reported 10 to 24 ecstasy-related
deaths per year from 2007 to 2010, according to Dr. Perry Kendall,
B.C.'s chief medical health officer.

Canada has been a hotbed for producing ecstasy in past years because
it was easier here than in the U.S. to access the precursor
chemicals, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, said Sgt. Dun-can Pound of
the RCMP's drug enforcement division.