'WE'RE STILL SEEING TRAGIC DEATHS'

It's known as XTC, go, X, Adam, hug drug. But a coroner says no matter
what's it's called, it's deadly.

Despite U.S. authorities saying studies show its use is dropping slightly,
the deadly drug is still being found in victims he examines.

"We're still finding Ecstasy showing up on our toxicology testing and we're
still seeing tragic deaths," Dr. Barry McLellan, acting chief Ontario
coroner, said.

"We know that in fact it is a dangerous drug, and that someone can die from
the ingestion of just one tablet," he said during the announcement
yesterday of the dismantling of a major Ecstasy ring.

"The deaths we have investigated have predominately involved youths or
young adults," McLellan said. Three-quarters of deaths attributed to the
drug are under 30.

McLellan said long-term side effects include depression and "cognitive
deficits."

Since 1996, 14 people have died due to Ecstasy. Ecstasy has also played a
role -- the deadly toxic cocktail with other substances such as alcohol --
in about 10 other deaths per year.

One such case is that of Tiffany Mahoney, 19, of Kitchener, who died March
21 in Georgetown after partying in Toronto.

McLellan said numbers involved in deaths are too small to discern any trends.

Ecstasy is distributed in tablet form but can also be crushed and snorted,
injected, or used in suppository form. The drug is primarily sold in
nightclubs and bars, at underground nightclubs sometimes called "acid
houses," or at all-night "raves."

The pills cost between 25 cents to 50 cents to make but the average street
sale price is between $20 and $30.