ECSTASY DEATHS DOUBLE AS PRICE OF DRUG HALVES

The number of ecstasy-related deaths in England and Wales doubled
last year as younger people used stronger forms of the drug and street
prices halved.

More than 40 people died after taking ecstasy in 2001, twice the
number reported the year before and almost four times as many as in
1998.

Drug workers said the rise, revealed in figures released by the Centre
for Addiction Studies at St George's hospital in London, could be down
to younger ecstasy-users being unaware of how to reduce the risks of
taking the drug.

The figures were released less than a month after the death of
10-year-old Jade Slack, from Lancaster, who died after accidentally
swallowing some ecstasy pills. The research, led by consultant
psychiatrist Dr Fabrizio Schifano, identified at least 40
ecstasy-related deaths last year, compared to 20 in 2000, 17 in 1999
and 11 in 1998.

A spokesman for the centre said the use of stronger forms of ecstasy,
including a new version called paramethoxyamphetamine, was an emerging
trend.