ECSTASY USERS WARNED

ECSTASY USERS should be aware that they may be unknowingly exposed to a
potentially more dangerous drug cocktail, a new study has found. The
research shows people who request pure Ecstasy from drug dealers in Toronto
are often receiving tablets that contain two or more other drugs, most
notably MDA (methlenedioxyamphetamine) and methamphetamine (speed).

"Even though the drug users in our study didn't ask for those two drugs and
only asked for pure Ecstasy, one third of our participants received MDA and
meth (speed)," said lead investigator Dr. Stephen Kish, professor of
psychiatry for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

"These drug users are not asking for methlenedioxyamphetamine (speed) and
that's the most disturbing part of our finding," Kish said.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Health Canada and the U.S.
Armed Forces Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C. Kish measured the
presence of the drugs through hair samples taken from the participants over
a 20-month period. Kish found the presence of all three drugs in the hair
samples in one third of the subjects.

The study is published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.