MOTHER WARNS OF PARTY DRUGS AFTER TRAGEDY

The discovery this week at a North Shore business of a $2 million haul of
Ecstasy has brought home a reminder of the danger of party drugs. Shawn
Brenner, a 22-year-old engineering student, died a year ago after taking the
party drug, Fantasy. Reporter Cathy Withiel speaks to his mother, Carol
Brenner, who is determined his tragic death will not have been in vain.

It's been 12 months since third year Auckland University student Shawn Jacob
Brenner took the party drug that killed him and sent shock waves through the
community.

And through all the pain, bewilderment and grief, his mother's resolution
remains strong. The message needs to go out that Fantasy and other party
drugs kill.

Carol Brenner, from Bayswater, says parents need to warn their children
about the dangers of party drugs.

Young students, professionals and party-goers need to know these drugs are
lethal. And drug dealers need to be behind bars.

On the night of Friday, April 27, last year, Shawn fell into a coma at a
house in Ponsonby and was declared brain dead in Auckland Hospital on
Saturday afternoon, April 28.

He had taken gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), also known as Fantasy.

A girl had also taken the drug and was treated in hospital before being
discharged.

Other friends also taking Fantasy at the house were luckier. They were
unharmed.

Mrs Brenner was in South Africa at the time visiting her elderly mother.

Her husband, North Shore gynaecologist and women's health specialist, Dr
Bernie Brenner, was at a conference in Perth.

Then came the phone call that all parents dread.

Both Dr and Mrs Brenner flew back on the first flights they could get to be
at their son's bedside at hospital.

Theirs is a close-knit family - mum, dad, Shawn and daughter Lauren, 27, who
is a doctor.

Mrs Brenner had spoken twice to her son on the phone only a day or so
earlier.

Now they saw him lying in hospital. Brain dead.

Their learning curve about Fantasy had only just begun.

Mrs Brenner found out that Fantasy creates a feeling of euphoria when taken.

But as a depressant it can cause the brain to forget to breathe. Shawn died
of asphyxiation.

Mrs Brenner also learned, to her horror, that at that stage the party drug
was not classified and there was a huge amount of misinformation about it.
Partygoers believed it was a safe drug to use.

She discovered that Shawn had used the drug before, possibly in the belief
that it was relatively harmless.

The resource engineering student, who wanted a career aimed at protecting
the environment, drank alcohol sparingly, never drove drunk and was very
health conscious.

A fun-loving young man, he enjoyed squash, windsurfing, snow skiing and
being with his family and his girlfriend.

The typical "boy next door" from a normal, happy, loving family with no
hang-ups or chips on his shoulder. A regular kid who didn't know that
Fantasy kills.

Mrs Brenner knows now that Fantasy was previously used as an anaesthetic but
was withdrawn from the market because it was unreliable.

She believes that Shawn took the required recreational amount to give him a
feeling of euphoria, the same amount he had taken in the past.

But this time, she believes, the drug was more concentrated, and he
overdosed.

Through the bleak days and nights that followed, Mrs Brenner found the
courage to make a submission, a month after her son's death, to the Expert
Advisory Committee which was considering classifying Fantasy as a scheduled
drug.

She also commissioned Public Law Specialists to submit legal reasons why the
drug should be classified.

On April 16 this year Parliament passed an order classifying the Fantasy
range as Class B1 drug.

Anyone selling, distributing or manufacturing the drug can be jailed for up
to 14 years and anyone possessing the drug can get three months in prison.

The Ministry of Health is also planning to amend its Dance Party Guidelines
to include information on Fantasy, along with information on other dance
party drugs such as Speed and Ecstasy.

Mrs Brenner is pleased. She says this sends a message to people that Fantasy
is lethal.

But she wants the penalties extended further.

She's worried that it's an easy drug to manufacture and wants a similar law
here to the one in Britain where club managers can be prosecuted if drugs
are consumed on their premises.

Mrs Brenner is worried that date rape can be associated with this drug and
cautions parents to talk to their youngsters about the dangers.

Young people should pour their own drinks to ensure that no one can slip
illegal drugs into them, she says.

She is also urging youngsters to take their friends who have "passed out"
from substance abuse to hospital.

Mrs Brenner warns them not to let their friends sleep it off, as they could
well have lapsed into a coma.

She has already spoken at one school about the dangers of party drugs, and
is willing to speak at other schools if they ask her.

She'll speak to anyone who will listen to her message. She also wants to get
in contact with other families in the same situation.

"I'm not just doing this to try to help prevent other youngsters from ending
up the same way as my son. I am also doing it to get drug dealers behind
bars," she says.

"I know the police are under-staffed, but I want them to be proactive in
checking out party scenes and getting rid of these drugs."

Mrs Brenner says life goes on for the family but you can never really get
over the death of a child.

Anyone wanting to contact Mrs Brenner can reach her on e-mail at
carol.brenner/@clear.net.nz.

Fantasy: The Facts

The statistics make grim reading.

There has been one death from Fantasy in New Zealand - Shawn Brenner.

And that's one death too many.

But there have been many admissions to hospitals.

North Shore Hospital spokeswoman Caroline Mackersey says three people have
been admitted to New Zealand hospitals after overdosing on Fantasy during
the past 12 months.

And since the intensive care unit opened four years ago, the hospital has
treated five overdoses.

The Ministry of Health says there were a number of admissions to hospitals
for Fantasy overdoses over the Easter weekend this year.

The ministry warns the substances are highly unpredictable, a euphoric dose
for one person could sedate another.

Meanwhile, police are being vigilant in cracking down on illegal party
drugs.

This week police confiscated 36,000 Ecstasy tablets brought in with a
shipment of camping equipment which arrived from South Africa a week
earlier.

Customs and police allowed the case of imported goods from South Africa to
continue its journey and arrested two men following an attempt to get the
drugs at business premises on the North Shore.