woman dies after ecstasy "overdose"

[nabraxas]

THE death of a young woman after taking ecstasy at the Good Vibrations festival on the weekend was a "tragic mistake", her distraught family says.

The family of 20-year-old Annabel Catt today described her as a "beautiful girl" who did not normally use drugs.

Her 23-year-old brother Gareth told The Daily Telegraph Online that the family was "in a complete state of shock".

"Her friends are absolutely distraught," brother Antony, 25, said.

Ms Catt, from Elanora Heights on the Northern Beaches, collapsed at a party at a house in Warriewood early on Sunday morning having attend the Good Vibrations Festival the day before.

She was taken to Mona Vale Hospital about 5am but died that morning. It is feared she may have taken ecstasy at the festival the night before.

Ambulance officers confirmed they were called to a home in Bertana Ave, Warriewood, to transport the woman who was suffering respiratory distress after apparently taking MDMA, the medical name for ecstasy.

Ms Catt was a dance teacher at an Avalon dance school and a dancer with Brent Street since 2001. A Brent Street spokesman told the Manly Daily that the school was in a state of shock.

"Annabel was well liked and well respected here at Brent Street,'' the spokesman said.

"As you can imagine we are all in a state of shock. It's tragic.''

He said Ms Catt, a great jazz dancer, was part of the school's full-time performing arts course in 2004 and had been a working professional since 2005.

A funeral is expected to be held on Friday.

Despite reports three others had fallen ill after taking ecstasy at the Good Vibrations event, the ambulance spokesman said no other patient was transported from the party.

Ms Catt's famly told The Telegraph there had been no adverse effects among her friends.

The University of New South Wales's National Drug and Alcohol Council's Paul Dillon said an overdose from ecstasy was unusual and the user was probably inexperienced in drug taking.

"This nearly always happens to young females," he said.

"People think ecstasy is harmless but this clearly shows it is not."

Belrose schoolgirl Anna Wood died in October 1995, three days after taking ecstasy at a dance party. She was just 15.

Ecstasy changes the body temperature of people who take it.

Some users drink too little water to replace lost fluids, and others drink too much.

Ambulance officers were called to treat a total of six people at Centennial Park – two suffering from drinking too much alcohol.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/stor...5006009,00.html

if anyone can post the autopsy result when it comes out i'd really like to know the exact cause ov death.

i know folks who routinly take 4 or 5 pills a night, so the idea ov an "overdose" seems weird.

Edited February 20, 2007 by nabraxas

[Kenny Blister]

Apparently she was fine at Good Vibrations, but it was at the after-party at a friend's place where she fell ill.

And we all know what after-parties get like. I doubt it was pills that killed her. Maybe G?

Edited February 20, 2007 by Kenny Blister

[Korky]

with full respect to Annabele, i to doubt it would be an ecstasy overdose, her freinds did not have an adverse reaction and likely they were using the same type, it will be very interesting to see the autopsy results as we are all used to the ignorant jumping on a band wagon. in saying this a unique reaction can be had by an individual to certain chemicals and only the autopsy will highlight this.

i to know friends who have taken 8 in a big night, but you have to doubt the quality of MDMA if this is the case.

good vibs will now be tainted by the mass's regardless of the results...unfortunate.

[obtuse]

Its sad to hear stories like this. My heart goes out to Annabele's family and friends.

and unfortunately "Good Vibes" will be tainted by the death which is unfortunate.

It will be interesting to see what the autopsy report says, but if it does not affirm the media conclusion they will probably ignore it anyway, and continue the negative hype against E and the scene.

Some years ago i had a friend who died after a hard nights drinking at the pub, and then at a party. She passed out, threw up and chocked on her own vomit. It was seen as an unfortunate accident, and a lesson to all those around us to be more responsible when drinking. There was no media backlash against the pub, or alcohol in general (there was no media involvement at all). It makes me wonder about our culture and where we put the blame.

Edited February 20, 2007 by obtuse

[Ace]

Some years ago i had a friend who died after a hard nights drinking at the pub, and then at a party. She passed out, threw up and chocked on her own vomit. It was seen as an unfortunate accident, and a lesson to all those around us to be more responsible when drinking. There was no media backlash against the pub, or alcohol in general (there was no media involvement at all). It makes me wonder about our culture and where we put the blame.

Sorry to hear about your loss Obtuse. Its typical that there was no big deal made about this incident - it just shows that most of the deaths attributed to alcohol are ignored by the government. God knows they'd be hypocrites for allowing a toxic substance to be continually abused and let some relatively harmless plants be outright bannished from our society...

[Fenris]

A tragic shame.

Things like this still need to be kept in perspective.

There's over 3000 deaths Australia-wide from alcohol-related causes every year.

In Australia the maternal mortality rate is approximately 10 women in 100 000.

For indigenous women it is closer to 35 women in 100 000.

Today the risk of dying from a reaction to anaesthesia is 1 in 80 000

(Old Data)

About 90,000 people will consume an estimated three-quarters of a million ecstasy tablets in Sydney alone this year.

Since 1995, estimates are between 20 to 30 deaths linked to ecstasy use in Australia.

So say in 10 years 1 million people will have consumed 7.5 million ecstasy tablets (In Sydney)

In Australia in 1 year between 1500 and 2000 people die from car accidents so it would seem that taking an pill is 50 to 75 times safer than driving to the venue where you will be taking the pill.

I would just like to reiterate that I feel sorry for the family of the girl who died as it is a tragic waste and they must be devistated. I don't know how I would cope or react if someone in my family died from a suspected drug reaction.

I hope I don't offend anyone by pointing things like this out. I realise that most of the numbers I have posted are related to things that people see as necessary (including the alcohol) whereas a drug death is seen as unnecessary.

[Torsten]

The figures on mdma deaths need to be seen with something else in mind. Almost all single pill deaths are first time users. And most of these are female. I think girls should keep this in mind and there should be a public education campaign to teach first time suers about this risk. Surely if she had taken just a half a pill she would have probably fared better and would now be aware that she reacts badly to mdma. That is if the cause was actually mdma rather than PMA or some other shit.

So, an 'overdose' on a single pill is quite possible. It happens every few months. Chances are there is a metabolic problem that makes it fatal. if the government really cared to prevent these deaths then they would develop a test for first time users.

Then again, maybe this is just another one of those stupid anna wood deaths where she either drank to much or too little water. Fuck it shits me how people's stupidity is lumped into these statistics just to bolster the anti drug cause.

I wonder how many people died from alcohol poisoning and related causes that weekend? and how much media coverage they got....

[Conan Troutman]

Ahh another drug propagandist story, condolences...

I think there needs to be some disambiguation between mdma and ecstasy.

The labelling as ecstasy makes it sound like a single compound where nowadays the term ecstasy more broadly applys to 'cocktail pills' containing any number of substances' rather than too mdma.

The safety of mdxx is widely documented and for the media to suggest this was an mdxx overdose is ridiculous seeing as no autopsy or toxicology has been performed.

No doubt the media will not go into quite so much hype if the results are from a bad drug interaction of some sort likely with alcohol rather than an ecstasy overdose as they say, thats if the results even rate a mention.

For young people there is no stigma attached to the use of ecstasy as there is with drugs such as mull h ect that have had time to be demonized by popular culture. mdxx might now be in the media spotlight?

Most have no idea the shit that swallowing and dont seem to care as long as it gets them 'off guts' with some booze.

From what I have seen from people around me 'pills' are the new gateway drug, all these unknowing amphetamine users will most likely pose a major problem here in years to come.

If only we had proper drug education and MDMA was legally obtainable, we would all be safe... or how bout you go and pick some mushys instead you wannabe raver fuckers.

hope that made sense to someone...

[Torsten]

I think there needs to be some disambiguation between mdma and ecstasy.

The labelling as ecstasy makes it sound like a single compound where nowadays the term ecstasy more broadly applys to 'cocktail pills' containing any number of substances' rather than too mdma.

This is not in the interest of the authorities in their efforts to demonise mdma. I mean, if they admitted that mdma is relatively safe and the real danger comes from PMA and such, then they would need to allow pill testing and a national testing database. Now, that would be sending the wrong message in their view. So, they rather kill a few more people just so they can hold onto this antiquated notion.

[stonewolf]

This is interesting, i was going to take pills tonight then i read shit like this and think..wait, is that a good idea" but ive gotten away with it a dozen or so times so far.

[Ace]

This is interesting, i was going to take pills tonight then i read shit like this and think..wait, is that a good idea" but ive gotten away with it a dozen or so times so far.

Hope your talking 'head ache' pills - wouldnt want anyone popping something illegal

[Moses]

definitely a case of demonisation , last nights news report on this had an expert* from the hospital who was saying how most of the o.d. he has seen(10-20) were from combinations of pills not 'e' alone and this was probably also the case here, but he still went on to say that still makes it an 'e' related death although he had never seen an o.d that was solely from 'e'

*definition of expert

an x is a has been

a spurt is a drip under pressure

expert -: a drip under pressure

[shruman]

How much truth is their in tabs being sold as "E" & actually being a cocktail or something other than MDMA?

Ive heard & im sure most of us have that "E's" are often cocktails with drugs like cocaine & heroin in them but this would not make sense since these are expensive drugs and people making pills are in it for money.

A foaf once got a pill that he was sure was MDA & was all the more happier for it, so while Im sure it does happen I think its more of a rarity.

Has anyone taken a pill & thought it not to be MDMA if so wot did they think it was

[Torsten]

look at the various pill testing websites for an idea.

most pills are primarily Mdma. Some may have a bit of mda or mdea in them. or even some mddma. it all depends on how they are made. Then there is the obligatory 30-60mg of caffeine which helps to bring on the peak. etc etc. But these are the harmless or even desirable 'impure pills'. If you take these out of the statistics you are left with a small minority of cocktails made up of ketamine, GHB, various tryptamines or PEAs. This latter group usually does not sell well, so while it may account for a large number of designs, it probably accounts for a trivial number of actual pills consumed.

The cocktails depends largely on availability. ketamine is becoming rarer and rarer in oz, so is less likely to turn up in pills as it was 10 years ago. However, tryptamines and PEAs [2CB, 2CI, DOI, etc] are on the rise and getting cheaper, so are more likely to be found in pills these days.

[shruman]

Thanks Torsten, some good info there.

I have looked through several of those sites on different occassions.

I was actualy looking for first hand qualitive experiences.

[caludia]

This is not in the interest of the authorities in their efforts to demonise mdma. I mean, if they admitted that mdma is relatively safe and the real danger comes from PMA and such, then they would need to allow pill testing and a national testing database. Now, that would be sending the wrong message in their view. So, they rather kill a few more people just so they can hold onto this antiquated notion.

Exactly... and this notion of the Australian (and world) authorities is not just antiquated, it's intolerant, puritanical & murderous (in effect). However if MAPS in the USA, Europe and Israel are successful, MDMA treatment (without fear of impurities, vagaries over dosage, etc.) will be available to people with PTSD (at least) in 10 or 15 years.

For now, it's just booze and valium for the populace. Keep the workers sedated, angry, and stupid. That's how industrial progress is achieved.

If anyone has even a TAD of interest in the use of MDMA therapeutically, i heartily recommend donating (you can use Paypal) to www.maps.org

No group in the world is more 'serious' about the un-demonization of mdma than MAPS (and they have many psychiatrists and other specialists on board)

www.maps.org

Donating will also get you the monthy email newsletter.

[nabraxas]

I was actualy looking for first hand qualitive experiences.

my friend has been taking pills since 1990 & thinks he must have taken at least 500. in all that time he's only ever taken 3 that were dodgy. 1 lot were sold as a ketamine/mdma mix, 1 lot were sold as mdma but turned out to be pure ketamine & 1 lot was something he's yet to identify but may have been just pure caffeine.

[Kenny Blister]

PMA apparently...

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=67538

[Torsten]

I think we will see a lot more PMA deaths now that the last few safrole producing countries have started enforcing the precursor treaty. We saw a huge surge of PMA deaths in the late 90's when sassafras oil was first taken off the retail market. This took out most small/local producers and put the market firmly in the hands of organised crime. Small producers resorted to using the readily available anethole to make PMA, but the market did not last for long except for in SA and Vic. Now organised crime is finding it difficult to source the material in bulk in asia, so they are importing meth instead. This leaves a void for local producers of PMA - which appears to be mostly made in adelaide... apparently by bikies.

It's so predictable it is scary. It's also disgusting, cos the government agencies can predict this too. I hold them directly responsible for the PMA deaths in the late 90's. If they allowed pill testing then this simply wouldn't happen. In many other countries PMA deaths are unheard of because pill testing is standard procedure at raves. Ravers are keen to take responsibility for their actionsby supporting pill testing. It is the government's refusal to allow such tests which has killed Anabell.

[apothecary]

That ninemsn article is alright. It mentions she wasn't at GVF, it mentions MDMA is only one possible ingredient in 'ecstacy', etc etc.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_medi...pYUlEPTg3NDU%3D

Woman charged with supplying drugs - Sydney

22 February 2007

A woman will face court next month after being charged over the alleged supply of drugs in Sydney last weekend.

Police this week commenced investigations into the supply of drugs at an event in Centennial Park on Saturday 17 February.

As a result a 20-year-old Mona Vale woman yesterday attended Dee Why police station.

The woman was subsequently charged with two counts of supply prohibited drug.

She was granted conditional bail and is due to appear at Manly Local Court on 21 March 2007

[apothecary]

Oyea and this one.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_medi...pYUlEPTg3NDQ%3D

Police issued warning of rare amphetamine

21 February 2007

NSW Police have issued an immediate warning in relation to a rare amphetamine, Paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA), having late this afternoon received the initial results of a toxicology report in relation to the death of a 20-year-old Elanora Heights woman on Sunday morning.

PMA is a highly toxic, highly hallucinogenic amphetamine which may have been the cause of the 20-year-old’s death.

The drug is regarded as a rare form of amphetamine that has previously been passed off as ecstasy (MDMA).

The official cause of death of the 20-year-old woman is yet to be determined by the Coroner, however the presence of PMA in the initial toxicology report has led to Police issuing this immediate warning.

Drug Squad Commander Greig Newbery said PMA could cause a range of serious adverse effects including:

• Increase in energy

• Visual hallucinations

• General change in consciousness

• Pupil dilation

• Increased blood and body temperature

• Increased blood pressure and pulse rate

• Laboured breathing

• Nausea and vomiting

• Convulsions, coma and death

It has more pronounced hallucinogenic properties than other amphetamine types such as MDMA (ecstasy).

“We constantly issue warnings about the dangers of illicit drugs, and we now renew that urgent appeal. People possessing or considering taking MDMA or any other substance sold as ecstasy, pills or capsules should be aware of the possible presence of Paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA).

“The message has never been clearer. These drugs are illegal and people taking them or possessing them can face criminal charges. We remind people that the contents, potency and effects of these drugs are an absolute unknown and anyone taking them is gambling with their lives.

Detective Superintendent Newbery said anyone suffering any ill effects from drug taking should seek immediate medical attention.

“If you are with friends, keep an eye on each other and don’t hesitate to call an ambulance or advise medical staff if unexplained symptoms arise. People should not risk their lives for a fear of being caught taking illegal drugs.

Until now, Police have been unable to issue any additional warning in relation to this matter because they had not received any information about any quantity of drugs that had an abnormal level of purity, potency or composition.

FACTS ABOUT PMA

Although quite rare, PMA is occasionally sold as MDA or MDMA (commonly described as ecstasy).

Six people died in South Australia between September 1995 and January 1996 after taking PMA. All indications are that users believed they were taking MDMA alone and did not realise that PMA was present in the tablet they used.

A handful of PMA overdoses, one near fatal, occurred in Sydney in 2004. At the time the victims reported taking red tablets stamped with a Mitsubishi logo. The tablets were sold to the users as ecstasy with street names including:

• red mitsubishi

• red death

• red killer

• Dr Death

• death drug

EDITOR’S NOTE:

A joint conference involving NSW Police Force and NSW Health will be held tomorrow (Thursday 22 Feb) at a venue and time to be confirmed (likely mid-morning).

[Torsten]

It will be interesting to see the political reaction to this. The knee jerk reaction to the Anna Wood deathw as nothing more than pathetic and was highly criticised by the coroner. For example, Carr shut down the Ravesafe program at the time even though it was the only rave drug education group in operation. The coroner was scathing in his criticism if this move. But sadly, the coroner report only made it to page 4, so there was no public pressure.

In fact, the Wood family probably had more political influence than the coroner. And they themselves carry a large amount of blame for the PMA problems that followed some years later. Their active, misguided and ignorant campaigning which continues till today has done nothing to save lives but rather has just contributed to another needless death.

Let's get it straight: If we had pill testing at parties, there would probably be ZERO PMA deaths and Annabell would still be alive. Ravers don't want to take PMA, but they have little choice if there is no way to know any better.

[FungalFractoids]

And they themselves carry a large amount of blame for the PMA problems that followed some years later. Their active, misguided and ignorant campaigning which continues till today has done nothing to save lives but rather has just contributed to another needless death.

Hadn't thought about that before. Somebody needs to point this out to them, miseducation really can be a problem, they should be shown the consequences of their campaign

[foolsbreath]

Let's get it straight: If we had pill testing at parties, there would probably be ZERO PMA deaths and Annabell would still be alive. Ravers don't want to take PMA, but they have little choice if there is no way to know any better.

I don't know if its a case of ravers not wanting to take PMA, but that they are unable to use it appropriately because they do not know what they are taking. PMA can be used quite successfully at low doses on its own. Problem is, it also acts as a potent MAO inhibitor. This means serious repercussions when taking other substances with it, or if part of a cocktail.

So people get into trouble by taking more than one, or supplementing latter with another amphetamine when they believe they are coming down.

PMA shouldn't be demonized either when the problem is the lack of pill testing availability and education. Educated people can then make an educated choice. Harm minimization is required not demonisation.

[shruman]

So true Foolsbreath