A new, lethal neurotoxin that drug makers are mixing in with the ecstasy sold on B.C.'s streets has been linked to five deaths in the last six months, including that of a 14-year-old boy.
Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe told reporters that her office has reviewed the toxicology reports for all of the 16 ecstasy-related deaths last year and two so far in 2012, and found levels of paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) in five. The victims ranged in age from 14 to 37.
"PMMA is a rare drug. It's something we haven't seen in B.C. before in relation to our ecstasy-related deaths," Lapointe said.
However, the coroners' service did not begin testing for PMMA until it was linked to five recent deaths in Calgary. Police there also say PMMA is a new ingredient in the local ecstasy.
PMMA is a hallucinogen that is considerably more toxic than MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy. It can cause seizures, elevate body temperatures to dangerous levels and its hazards are amplified because it is slow-acting and users may be tempted to pop more pills than they normally would.
Lapointe said that the PMMA-related deaths in B.C. date back to August, and include three men and two women. Three of the victims died in the Lower Mainland, while two were killed on Vancouver Island, but the coroner would not reveal the victims' identities.
In all but one of the cases, the victims had ingested other drugs or alcohol and taken multiple ecstasy tablets.
"In one of the five deaths, the individual only took one tablet," Lapointe said. "There is no known safe dose."
Police and medical specialists have been warning Metro Vancouverites to stay away from the party drug after four deaths in the last two months.
A 22-year-old Vancouver woman died last weekend after taking ecstasy at a house party, following similar tragedies that claimed the lives of 20-year-old Tyler Miller on Nov. 27, 17-year-old Cheryl McCormack on Dec. 20 and an unnamed Burnaby resident who ingested ecstasy on New Year's Eve.
A 24-year-old Abbotsford resident was also rushed to hospital in critical condition on New Year's Eve after taking ecstasy with friends, who say she may have taken more of the drug than they had.
The overdoses mirror a similar trend in Calgary, where five people have died after taking ecstasy in recent weeks. On Wednesday, a coroner in the Alberta city confirmed that PMMA and methamphetamine were present in the toxicology reports for each of the victims.
In Israel, PMMA was responsible for at least 24 deaths in a single year before it was officially listed as a banned substance.
Officials believe that the majority of ecstasy for sale on B.C.'s streets is contaminated with other drugs, including methamphetamine, ephedrine, ketamine and PCP.
