UK Ecstasy Death Toll Rises as Clubbers Treat Pills Like Sweets

Following the recent ecstasy related deaths of five clubbers at Cream, Fabric and Sundissential
(where 3 people died) Sundissential promoter Paul Madden (aka Madders) has put the blame on
clubbers, claiming they're "chucking them down like cough candy". Speaking to 7 magazine, 
Madders said, 'We will not tolerate no more deaths. There is a heinous drug problem out there. 
They are chucking them down like cough candy and it's people like us or James Barton (Cream)
or Gatecrasher and other promoters who are having to deal with the consequences." 


Speaking to the Face he repeated his warnings, saying "there's something badly wrong out there, people are not looking after themselves. They're getting absolutely hammered week in, week out, staying up for days at a time.. I didn't come into this game to see people taken off the dancefloors in bodybags."

His comments came as Canadian scientists published the results of an autopsy of a long term 
ecstasy user which revealed that the 26 year old man was found to have between 50% and 80% 
less seratonin than other patients' brains. Although the patient died of an unspecified drug overdose, scientists claimed that the results implied ecstasy related brain damage, Dr Stephen Kish telling the bbc's website, 

"This is the first study to show that this drug can deplete levels of seratonin in humans."

However, Dr Philip Robson a psychiatrist from Oxford University qualified this statement, pointing 
out, "we simply don't know what the long term effects of losing these nerve cells is - the effect may 
only be very subtle. This finding is quite interesting- it certainly adds to the concern."

The research followed news that ecstasy is becoming hugely popular in the States, particularly outside the rave scene. "This time it's nothing to do with tye-died hairy hippies on acid but suburban "candy"  kids with babies dummies, Wall Street brokers, socialites and just about anyone with US\\$30 (£20) to  buy a tablet of ecstasy," the Sunday Times claimed. "Everyone gives raves a bad rap but the fact is  you can get drugs anywhere," one 19 year old clubber told the paper. 

          "The media, which is our parents,are terrified of it, because they don't understand it."

"We need to introduce drug testing so people know what's in the drugs," Cream's Jayne Casey told the Face. "As club promoters we can't stop people from taking drugs, all we can do is manage it." 

For impartial information of ecstasy check http://ecstasy.org