N.M. May Tighten GHB Laws

From the University of New Mexico Daily Lobo:

Legislation passed in the New Mexico House and Senate would make it a crime to distribute or possess date rape drugs if Gov. Bill Richardson signs the bill.

The bill makes it a crime to distribute common date rape drugs such as gamma hydroxybutyric acid and flunitrazepam, or "roofies," with the intent of committing a crime without the recipient's knowledge.

"It protects the victim who unwillingly and unknowingly received one of these from somebody who had evil intentions," said state Rep. Eric Youngberg, who introduced the bill.

Australia May Tighten Drink-Spiking Law

Australia's moving in the right direction:

PEOPLE who spike drinks -- even just as a prank rather than for sexual assault -- face up to two years in jail under new legislation to be introduced by the State Government.

Attorney-General Bob Debus said the new law would make it illegal to spike drinks, even when there was no intention to commit an offence.

The law will expand current laws which make it an offence to spike a victim's drink with alcohol for the purpose of committing a serious offence.

Another Ecstasy Death

A simple party of some Argus, South Dakato teenage girls ended in tragedy when Ecstasy joined the party. A report in the Argus Leader tells the story. Note that the police call it an "overdose," but the friends say Desirae took just one Ecstasy tablet. Ecstasy is like that -- while some deaths are indeed caused by overdoses, others are caused by just one or two pills.

Desirae Marie Kirchner spent Monday night, the eve of her 20th birthday, playing Yahtzee and card games and watching a movie with a group of friends at her home.

"We were all just sitting around. It was going to be a calming night playing games," said Kirchner's friend Tanya Collins, 23. "There was no wild party."

But things changed after Kirchner took the illegal drug Ecstasy, her friends said.

Kirchner was found unconscious Tuesday morning at her home, 6001 W. Silver Place, police said. She was taken to Sioux Valley Hospital and later was taken off life support.

Minnehaha County Coroner Brad Randall said Kirchner died of a drug overdose, but it will take a couple of weeks for the results of toxicology reports.

Roommate Amber Bowar, 19, said Kirchner took one Ecstasy tablet before midnight.

The synthetic drug, typically associated with rave parties, is much more common on the East and West coasts than in South Dakota, where methamphetamine generally is the drug of choice.

While Ecstasy users say the drug lowers their inhibitions and relaxes them, it can cause kidney failure, high blood pressure and death.

"She had taken it once before - one year ago. She was sick for about two days," Bowar said of Kirchner. "She thought it was because of the alcohol she took with it."

This time, Bowar said, Kirchner did not take alcohol with the drug.

"She never did anything like this," Bowar said. "She wanted to do it for her birthday."

Friends said Kirchner looked fine until 2 or 3 a.m., when she started vomiting. Kirchner later complained of headaches.

"She was trying to keep herself calm by lying down," said her boyfriend, Andy Abraham, 20. "About every 20 minutes, the headaches would come back."

About 6:30 a.m., Abraham called 911.

"I went back to check on her, and she was shaking because she was cold," he said. "She started moaning and making sounds I never heard anyone making before. I was trying to wake her up. Her face was pale white, and she started foaming from the mouth."

While they waited for the ambulance to arrive, Kirchner's friends tried to wake her up.

Abraham contacted Kirchner's family around 7:30 a.m.

"My attitude, as a parent, is nobody wants to believe that their kid is stupid enough to try something like this," said Kirchner's father, Darrell Kirchner of Yankton. "It was very unlike her. ... She was a good kid."

My heart goes out to Mr. and Mrs. Kirchner. So often, the kids who die from Ecstasy are good kids, and the parents are shocked to the core when a tragedy like this occurs. That's why its so important for parents to talk to their kids about drugs.

Desirae's sad death reminds me of the tragedy that befell Cathy when she took Ecstasy at her Senior Prom, a story I tell on True Stories of Ecstasy and Ketamine.

UPDATE: Robert L. Halsey, 30, is charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, according to police.

3-Year-Old Dodges GHB Death

Leaving GHB around the house is like leaving a loaded gun out, unsecured. It almost took the life of a little 3 year old girl, as reported by the Vancouver Province newspaper (subscription required).

The father of a three-year-old girl who drank from a water bottle laced with the street drug GHB has received a conditional discharge in Vancouver provincial court.

Vancouver police initially claimed the 33-year-old father of two left a water bottle containing GHB on the kitchen counter after returning home from a party last December.

The man's infant daughter found the bottle and drank from it the next morning, and at about 9 a.m. she began to choke and had a seizure.

When the father told his wife that the toddler may have had access to the drug-laced bottle, she immediately called 911.

The child was rushed to Children's Hospital, where she improved dramatically. She later showed no side-effects. ...

The man admitted making an error in judgement and has voluntarily attended family counseling.

The man pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawfully causing bodily harm. He was sentenced to 50 hours of community service, including 10 hours talking about the dangers of drugs, as part of the sentence.

GHB -- gamma hydroxybutyrate -- is used as a party drug to reduce inhibitions and sexual enhancement. It has also been called a date-rape drug.

This little girl is very lucky to be alive. Let's pray these parents change their ways, leaving drugs behind, and focusing on raising their kids right.

DA Won't Prosecute Brian's Killer

Bad news on the Brian Gillis case. (See two previous posts below)

Those tracking this will remember that San Luis Obispo County DA Gerald Shea refuses to bring charges in the case of Brian's death. Specifically, he won't charge the young man who had the deadly amount of the drug GHB that Brian drank from a Gatoraid bottle, probably with no knowledge it was a drug. California Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee met with Shea yesterday in an effort to convince him to bring charges. I'll let Brian's mom pick up the story:

Assemblyman Blakeslee called me about 4:30 p.m. He said he did his best, but the DA said in their opinion the case is not prosecutable. He says the witnesses are not very credible. This DA is so full of you know what. He had an excuse for everything. Dan Blackburn told me he was going to be speaking with him tonight and see wht the next plan would be. Blakeslee definitely wants to get some laws changed. We can still appea to the Attorney General, but I don't know.

I am thinking of picketing next week. Maybe your [Assemblyman] Todd [Spitzer] and Blakeslee could get the attorney general to do something. I still want to press this even after the statute runs out. I made a promise to my son just before he was taken away after his funeral in the hearse that I would do everything I could to get the truth out and if there was foul play, have the guilty parties brought to justice.

I feel so terrible. So close to the 3rd annivrsay of his death and I was not able to keep my promise. My legs feel so heavy and I have not been able to get anything done since the call came from Blakeslee.

It is sad and ironic that this woman is struggling against the court system to bring justice to her son who was murdered, just as Terri Schiavo's parents are struggling to keep their daughter alive. My heart goes out to the Gillis and Schindler families.

Brian Gillis Justice: Some Progress!

If you haven't heard of the Brian Gillis case, read the post below first, then come back to this post. We've received some very exciting news by e-mail from Brian's mom:

Thank you so much. Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee has set
up a meeting with SLO Districy Attorney Gerry Shea for
this Thursday. It was supposed to have been today at
1:00 p.m., but Shea had to go out of town for some
unknown reason.

Blakeslee's office called me and let me know that even
though the assembly is on recess this week, Blakeslee
came in today and has been reading up on the
documentation provided to him so far and wants to try
and help as much as he can. If any of your contacts
want to get in touch with their own assemblyman and
urge him/her to support Blakeslee, that would be
great.

PLEASE send an e-mail RIGHT NOW to Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee's office and thank him for his interest in the case. Ask him to do all he can to convince the DA that it's time for justice for Brian, and more than past time that those who murder by GHB know that they will be prosecuted for their crime.

Click here for the "Contact Sam Blakeslee" page on his Assembly Web site.

Help Us Prosecute a GHB Murderer!

In less than two weeks, the statute of limitations for prosecuting the murderer of Brian Gillis will run out without the DA ever taking on the case. Why? Because it's a tough case to prosecute. What kind of excuse is that?

Brian Gillis was murdered when he was given the drug gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) at a party. Brian probably didn't even know the bottle of Gatoraide he was given at a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo frat party had GHB in it. Witnesses have testified that this was a deliberate act.

But SLO County DA Gerald Shea has refused to prosecute the case, perhaps because he runs on his 98 percent conviction rate and this might be a hard case to win.

He should take the risk of losing a case and prosecute the Gillis murder agressively because someone needs to prosecute a case like this to establish a way to prosecute the growing trend of using GHB as a murder weapon.

There are many other cases of murder or manslaughter by GHB, none of which have been prosecuted. One was a 17-year-old girl, Hillory Farias, who had never had a date, who never had an alcoholic drink. Someone put GHB in her soft drink. Another, Kyle Hagmann, was an A student at a Lutheran university when a boy staying in his dorm room put GHB in Kyle's drinking, hoping to knock him out, but killing him. Jackie O'Donnell was murdered when someone put it in her Jolt soda can. The third is a Florida case in which it is evident that a husband murdered his wife with GHB. There are no doubt numerous others. For more cases, see Project GHB.

All you have to do to help is forward this post to DA Shea's Assistant, Michelle Goula, by clicking on the little envelope below, and pasting in this e-mail address: mgoula@co.slo.ca.us. Please add a polite request urging Shea to prosecute the case. Your help in linking this post to other blogs will also be greatly appreciated.

Drug Assisted Rape in South Carolina

Reports out of Columbia, South Carolina, say that in recent weeks, 12 women have been drugged in bars, and nine of them have been sexually assaulted. The common denominator in all of the cases: GHB.

These predators are worse than everyday rapers -- who are terrible people themselves -- because GHB can kill. In my next film, I hope to tell the story of Hillory, who never even had a date or a drink before she was murdered when someone put GHB in her soft drink, and Kyle, who was accidentally murdered by his roommate who wanted to knock Kyle out so he could have sex with a girl, and Cathy, who was deliberately murdered with GHB by her husband.

If you drink in bars, keep your drink covered at all times. Not all these occurences happen in bars -- be on your guard at parties, the homes of "friends," and everywhere. If you or your friend has trouble standing after just one or two drinks, it's likely a drug-rapist is at work. Get help, get out and get to a hospital.

When Is Ecstasy Ecstasy?

Police are warning Ecstasy users in Australia to be careful ... your local drug provider may not be on the up and up. What a shock! Someone who makes their living off of subjecting people to dependence, addiction, overdose and death may not have their customers' best interests at heart.

Here's the story from the Melbourne Daily Sun:

Manager of the Victoria Police drug and alcohol strategy unit Inspector Steve James, said nobody knew what was in these pills.

"The stuff that's in these tablets is horrific and it changes from tablet to tablet," Insp James said. "No one can tell you what it's going to do to this person in five, 10 years time."

"It's like playing russian roulette."

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre information manager Paul Dillon said ecstasy was simply a street term for several substances that could be contained in a pill.

Metropolitan Ambulance Service paramedic Alan Eade said methamphetamine was the most common contaminant of ecstasy-type tablets.

Increasingly, authorities have also been concerned by the use of GHB.

On Monday, paramedics treated three people who overdosed at the Two Tribes dance party at Melbourne Park.

All three are believed to have taken GHB. Last year, 10 GHB users were admitted to hospital after the annual Two Tribes party.

"The problem is it could kill you," Insp James said.

Yes, it can, and it does.

Night of Ecstasy Leads to Death

Another night of partying, another Ecstasy death. How is it kids continue to think the drug is safe when nearly every week when I do a Nexis search on "ecstasy AND death," I find stories like this one:

EDMONTON -- A 21-year-old Edmonton man has turned himself in and faces a manslaughter charge in the death of 20-year-old Brandon Klein. Klein died Feb. 19 after becoming unconscious at a drug-fuelled party in a Clareview area apartment.

After friends urged him to give himself up, Shane Thomas Anderson surrendered at the downtown police headquarters Saturday evening, police spokesman Dean Parthenis said Sunday.

Tamara Golden, a friend to both the victim and suspect, said Shane phoned her last week, doing more sobbing than talking.

"He couldn't stop crying. He just told me he wanted to turn himself in but he was scared," said Golden, 15. "He was scared because that was like one of his best friends. They grew up together; they worked together for a while."

Anderson had phoned her several times in the two weeks since Klein died, always from blocked numbers so his whereabouts remained a mystery.

The arrest of the key homicide suspect gives some closure to Klein's family, still desperate to know how the party turned deadly.

"We are relieved now that somebody's going to have to answer to what happened that night," Karen Cadieux, his mother, said with a slight tremble in her voice. "We definitely will move forward now, but it doesn't unfortunately change for us as a family. Nothing changes." ...

Her son twice sought treatment for his crack-cocaine addiction, but relapsed both times. Friends at the party said Klein was taking the drug ecstasy and sipping vodka, and acted angrily at the party -- rare for a young man his mother called "a gentle giant."

At one point that evening Klein hit Golden. Klein himself was hit. Golden and Anderson attempted CPR when Klein fell unconscious.

He died in hospital later that night.

Police, believing the death to be a drug overdose, did not make any arrests that night. Later, an autopsy revealed Klein had died from a blow to the head.

The story was from the Edmonton Journal. I couldn't find a link to an online version, unfortunately.

Drug Expert Says Talk to Your Kids

Judy Shepps Battle, a drug counsellor, wrote a wonderful opinion column on methamphetamine, and the importance of parents to talk to their kids about drugs. Thanks to the Philadephia Enquirer for running it!

Battle believes as I do, that kids who have parents who talk with them about the risks inherent in drug use are better protected than kids whose parents don't have "the drug talk" with them. Here's what she writes:

Dissuading kids from using a feel-good drug that enjoys adult popularity is not an easy task. It means teaching nonchemical coping mechanisms for building and sustaining self-esteem during the teen years.

Such conversations about drugs and other harmful behaviors, along with setting fair and firm boundaries regarding substance abuse, must begin long before a youth enters adolescence.

Research indicates that children who learn about the risks of drugs from their parents are up to half as likely to use drugs than their uninformed peers.

Yet a recent survey released by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America reveals that 12 percent of parents say they have never spoken to their kids about drugs.

But there is more.

Of the parents who do have discussions about drugs with their children, the survey indicated the parent doing the talking was most often the mother. Only 39 percent of fathers talked to their kids "four or more times" in the last year about drugs, compared with 48 percent of mothers.

That means well over half of the parents out there aren't talking to their kids about drugs! Why? Is it because they don't care? No, I think it's because they don't know how to start, because they feel like hypocrites since they used when they were young, or they would rather live in denial, thinking their kids don't need the talk.

That's exactly why I made True Stories of Ecstasy and Ketamine, to encourage the drug talk. You can read more about it and even watch a clip in which I explain how to approach the drug talk for the best chance of success on this page of my Web site.

"Drug Marketers," not "Drug Dealers"

The global ecstasy production, shipping and distribution business is much too sophisticated for the outdated word "dealer." These are sophisticated marketing operations, as evidenced by this story from The Toronto Star:

Kid-friendly drugs seized by police

Members of Toronto's drug squad have made a $6 million seizure of cartoon-themed ecstasy tablets - designed to appeal to young teens - spiked with highly addictive methamphetamine.

The designer drugs were mixed with caffeine extract from China, methamphetamine and food colouring and stamped with Batman and 7-Up logos. "It's downplaying the dangers," Insp. Bill Ellison said. "(The drug producers) did their homework. Why buy a white pill when you can buy something more colourful?"

Five people face drug charges and are in custody.

These criminals are deliberately going after our children, creating appealing little pills that look fun and safe, but are anything but! Here's some more troubling information from an accompanying article in the Star:

"They think they were buying straight MDMA (Ecstasy). In actual fact, they were ingesting a variety of unknown substances including methamphetamine," Ellison said.

The seized raw materials could have made more than 240,000 pills worth about $6 million, said Ellison, and included two kilos of raw methamphetamine, two kilos of Ecstasy powder, 26 kilos of caffeine extract, a pill press capable of making 1,000 pills an hour and other pill-making paraphernalia.

Police also seized 237 grams of crystal methamphetamine, known as "ice," 100 grams of ketamine, 16 grams of marijuana and $22,784 in Canadian and American cash.

School Drug Tests -- Not a Good Thing?

This letter-writer to the Greensboro, NC News Gazette gets it right:

Despite the short-lived high it creates, marijuana is the only illegal drug that stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis a deterrent. A student who takes methamphetamine, ecstasy or OxyContin on Friday night likely will test clean on Monday.

If you think students don't know this, think again.

Many well-intented actions have ill-intended results, and mandatory random high school drug testing is one of them. Students who do drugs will migrate to drugs like ecstasy and ketamine that are not likely to show up on the test, meaning they will expose themselves to the kind of risk that had such tragic results Sara, Cathy, Steven and Erin, who are profiled in my film.

Pasta and Ecstasy??

I have heard of homicides in which GHB was the weapon, but here's some gossip about using Ecstasy to eliminate a pricey soccer pro, from the San Jose Mercury News:

Chris Middleton, a former executive for Leeds, told the Mirror tabloid about a plan to sprinkle powdered cocaine, ecstasy and steroids -- disguised as Parmesan cheese -- on the pasta of defender Michael Duberry. Leeds was going through an ownership change and wanted to rid itself of Duberry's weekly salary of 24,000 pounds (equivalent to $46,000).

Charges Brought in UK Ecstasy Death

The murderers of 17-year-old Lisa Marie Garnder, who died after being given Ecstasy, had their first day in court. From England's Daily Mail:

Three people charged in connection with the suspected ecstasy death of a teenager have today made their first Crown court appearance. Lisa Marie Gardner, 17, was suddenly taken ill when she returned to a friend's house in Plymouth after a New Year's Eve night out and died shortly afterwards.

Emma Stevens, 23, and her partner Gregory Stevens, 31, of Thames Gardens, Plymouth, yesterday appeared before Plymouth Crown Court charged with supplying a Class A drug to Lisa.

They are also accused, along with David Travers, 19, of Manston Close, Plymouth, of acting with intent to pervert the course of justice.

The trio spoke only to confirm their names, and were released on conditional bail until a plea and directions hearing at the court on May 13.

Terrible DXM Tragedy

DXM, dextramethorphan, Triple-C, dex. It's sold over-the-counter in cough and cold medications, and it's a killer. Just check out this story from the Ft. Myers FL News Press:

Two Cape Coral teenagers are dead and another is in critical condition after police say they overdosed Sunday on "Triple C."

Alex Kulwicki, 19, and two friends, both also 19, returned to his 102 S.E. 46th Terrace home sometime overnight.

When his family awoke around 9:40 a.m., relatives found Kulwicki passed out on a living room couch. The other men, whose names were not released Sunday, were found on a bed in the back room not breathing, Cape Coral police said. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Kulwicki was transported to Cape Coral Hospital, where he remained in critical condition Sunday night. A man who answered the phone at Kulwicki's home Sunday evening said the family declined comment.

Triple C, the slang term for the over-the-counter medication Coricidin HBP Cough & Cold, contains dextromethorphan, commonly called DXM. Other slang terms for the drug include dex, candy, skittles and red devils.

While it is legitimately used to treat colds or allergy symptoms, when taken in high doses the drug can cause hallucinations and a sense of dissociation. Effects can last as long as six hours.

In high doses, the drug can cause increased body temperatures, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, loss of consciousness, seizure, brain damage and death. Nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, headache and numbness of fingers and toes are other effects.

You can help me get the word out on Dex, so together we can prevent these sorts of heartbreaking tragedies. Revenues from sales of True Stories of Ecstasy and Ketamine will be used to make True Stories of GHB, DXM and Alcohol.

Like Father, Like Son

Jesse James Hollywood is behind bars, thank God. He was captured while on the run in Brazil, fleeing prosecution for a heinous crime. Here's the LA Time' description:

The fugitive's capture comes five years after he and four friends, who police described as a band of drug dealers operating in the western San Fernando Valley, allegedly kidnapped and later killed Nicholas [Markowitz] because the boy's half brother hadn't repaid a drug debt.

Though the accomplices were quickly captured, Hollywood remained on the run despite a $50,000 reward and segments about him on TV's "America's Most Wanted." Detectives followed up leads in Colorado, Canada and Mexico, but were unable to find him. Authorities now believe that he had been hiding in various parts of South America for four years.

US authorities are considering charging Hollywood's parents for supporting their son when he was on the lam. The elder Hollywood is no stranger to legal probems:

But the same day he was taken into custody, Santa Barbara County authorities arrested his father, John Michael "Jack" Hollywood, 50, at his Sherman Oaks home on suspicion of manufacturing GHB, a date-rape drug. Los Angeles County prosecutors rejected the case Thursday, saying that John Hollywood had the ingredients for GHB and a recipe, but that there was no evidence he had made it. But he remains in custody on a 2002 arrest warrant from Pima County, Ariz., in a marijuana case.

I've dedicated the last three years of my life encouraging parents to talk to their kids about drugs -- but not the way Jack Hollywood probably talked to Jesse Hollywood!

Drug-Assisted Rape Awareness Grows

It is at once disturbing and encouraging to see greater coverage of the drug-assisted rape (commonly and incorrectly called "date rape") crisis -- disturbing because this reprehensible crime continues to increase, and encouraging because the media is spreading the word. Hopefully girls (and men, since drugs are used to sexually assault them, too) are being more careful.

For example, the paper in Corpus Christi, Texas, a big Spring Break venue, ran a lengthy article Friday about the risk revelers face from GHB. Here's the link; registration required. And here's some good advice from the article:

* Watch your drink. If possible, watch while your drink is being prepared, and only accept drinks from servers. Keep in mind that GHB and Rohypnol (the rape drug called "roofies") cause no significant change in taste or appearance when added to drinks, so the only way to know for sure your drink is safe is to keep an eye on it yourself. These drugs not only can make you vulnerable to sexual assault, they can cause liver damage and even death.

* Finally, keep in mind that the most common weapon used in a sexual assault is not a gun or a knife - it's trust. The vast majority of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim-a relative, friend, acquaintance or coworker.

Who's Teaching Our Kids

Nearly all teachers accept their role in reaching kids with the dangerous truth about drugs, but my daughters have had some teachers who have made us wonder. It seems they would pass quickly and lightly over drug messages, as if they had spent the weekend partying and didn't feel like being hypocrites on Monday.

Maybe our feelings were well-founded. Check out this story from Associated Press:

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A middle school teacher has been arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs for sale and being under the influence of methamphetamine, according to San Diego police.

Agents arrested Alfred Lopez at his home Thursday and seized one ounce of methamphetamine, five small bottles of gamma hydroxy butyrate, or GHB, a so-called "date rape" drug, and $2,200 in cash.

Lopez, 38, is a sixth-grade teacher at Standley Middle School.

Good Details in this DXM Story

The London Free Press has a great article on DXM, the active ingredient in cold remedies that kids take in mega-doses to get high ... and sometimes die. Here's some good information from the article:

In fact, the growing use in North America of these drug-store stalwarts has spawned a whole new lexicon, including "robotripping" and popping "Skittles," "Red Devils" and "Triple Cs," the latter the street term for Coricidin Cough and Cold. Those who take them for a high are called "syrup heads."

All these non-prescription remedies contain dextromethorphan, or DXM, a cough suppressant chemically related to morphine, a potent narcotic. Fuelled by word of mouth and Internet how-to manuals, some teens are guzzling cough syrup or downing a handful of tablets to get their "dex" hit.

"One of the classic things is they can get it easy enough, it's not illegal, a lot of people have it in their medicine cabinets," says Bruce Ballon, a psychiatrist who specializes in youth substance abuse at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. ''It's not like you have to get alcohol underage or get cannabis, you can just go off and buy cough syrup."

But the dangers of taking many times the recommended adult dosage of these decongestants and antihistamines must not be sneezed at, doctors say.

"Taking any medication in a different way than it's meant to be taken means that you're putting yourself at risk for all kinds of complications," says Dr. Karen Leslie, a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

While the goal may be achieving the euphoria, dream-like state and mind-body dissociation reportedly caused by DXM -- robotripping refers not just to the brand name, but also to a robot-like sensation -- it comes at a price. Adverse short-term effects can range from nausea and vomiting to body itching, fever and loss of balance to an irregular heartbeat and hallucinations. Over time, DXM abuse may lead to liver or brain damage.

And ingested at megadoses, the drugs are a prescription for really serious trouble: seizures, psychosis, coma -- even death.

There has been a rash of deaths among U.S. teens who overdosed on DXM products in the last few years. Statistics on overdoses and deaths are not available for Canada.

Your purchase of True Stories of Ecstasy & Ketamine will help me make my next film, which will include a story and information on DXM.

Still Another Ecstasy Death

The New York Post has an interesting story ("Con: I'm Not A Monster") on yet another case of a young woman dying after taking Ecstasy. You'll have to pay to purchase the story; here's an excerpt:

Sing Sing inmate Javier Tamez broke down in tears yesterday as he told how he picked up stunning college student Veronica Hagman at a trendy Manhattan nightclub, took her back to a friend's apartment for sex, and found her dead in their bed the next morning.

"You have no idea how horrible it's been. I've had to live with this every day, alone, with no one to talk to," the convict said during an exclusive jailhouse interview. ...

He said he took a shower and checked, and "she was still sleeping like a baby." He made a sandwich, and then "I started to tap her on the shoulder . . . She didn't move . . .

"And then, oh, my God," he said, breaking into tears again. "I saw her, her lips were blue, her face was blue.

"I'll never forget this for the rest of my life."

Hagman - known as a brilliant, shy homebody to friends, neighbors and classmates at Western Connecticut State University - was pronounced dead an hour later.

I tell a similar story in True Stories of Ecstasy and Ketamine, of beautiful Sara, who died when given Ecstasy by a boy she knew.

No Charges in GHB Death

A young man dies at college from GHB. No charges are filed and someone gets away with murder or manslaughter. I'm planning on telling the story of a young man, Kyle, who was murdered with GHB at his college in my next film, so this story from San Luis Obispo CA is shockingly familiar:

The District Attorney's Office announced Monday it will not pursue involuntary manslaughter charges related to the death of Cal Poly student Brian Gillis.

An autopsy determined that Gillis, 19, died April 4, 2002, after taking a toxic amount of the drug GHB, which induces a euphoric and hallucinatory state.

Because of insufficient evidence, prosecutors decided not to file charges against three other Poly students who were also fellow Sigma Chi fraternity members.

"We don't have any confessions, no eyewitnesses or any physical evidence recovered" to prove such charges, said Stephen Brown, chief deputy district attorney.

Gillis' mother, Patricia Gillis, was upset with the decision.

She said that after reviewing civil depositions, she knows that another fraternity member gave her son a drink laced with GHB.

"A felony crime has been committed," she said. The prosecutors "just don't think they can win."

When you purchase True Stories of Ecstasy and Ketamine, funds will go toward the production of my film on GHB, DXM and alcohol.

Charges in Teen's Ecstasy Death

New Year's Eve party that ended up in an Ecstasy-caused death has led to murder charges against those who provided the drugs. From the Western Morning News in Plymouth, England:

Three people have appeared in court over the death of a Westcountry teenager from a suspected overdose, after a New Year's Eve night out. Lisa Marie Gardner, 17, from Plymouth, was suddenly taken ill when she returned to a friend's house just after midnight.

Despite paramedics' efforts to revive her, she was pronounced dead at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth at 2.40am.

Emma Stevens, 23, and her partner Gregory Stevens, 31, of Thames Gardens, Efford, Plymouth, appeared before Plymouth magistrates yesterday charged with supplying a class A drug - Ecstasy - to the teenager.

A third man was charged with attempting to subvert the investigation.

Mom Tells Story of Son's Death

Ashley Brixey died in a car crash, when the driver of the car he was riding in, who was high on Ecstasy and alcohol, lost control of his car, left the road, and crashed into a swimming pool, where Brixey died.

Brixey's mom wrote about the tragedy's impact on the Brixey family in touching detail in the publication This is Wiltshire. Please read the article and share it with those you love and want to protect. Here's an excerpt:

Ashley was our son. We love him so very much and miss him dreadfully. The pain is so great, it feels like my insides have been ripped out. Ashley had such a beautiful laugh and a great sense of humour. He grabbed life with both hands and he laughed every day of his short life. The void he has left will never be filled. We have lost our precious son. Melissa, Ashley's sister, has lost her only brother. Charlene, Ashley's girlfriend, has lost the father of her unborn child. The child, a daughter, will never know her father. Ashley has lost his life.

Ecstasy is a mild hallucogen; in my film True Stories of Ecstasy and Ketamine, designer drug expert Trinka Perata explains that many traffic accidents are caused by perception impairment brought about by ecstasy.

Ecstasy Just a Party Drug?

Ecstasy marketers have sold an image to teens and young adults that this heinous drug is "the feel good drug," and nothing but fun. But spend much time scanning newspaper articles like I do and you find something very different, like this story from Associated Press:

Gov. Jeb Bush signed a death warrant for a convicted murderer who strangled and hanged an Osceola County woman more than five years ago.

Bush set April 5 as the day of execution for Glen Ocha, who has changed his name legally to Raven Raven.

Ocha, 47, was convicted of killing Carol Skjerva, 28, at his Buenaventura Lakes home Oct. 5, 1999.

He was drunk and high on Ecstasy when he met Skjerva at a bar. She drove him home, and the two had sex. Afterward, Skjerva made a disparaging comment, enraging the man.

Ocha tried to strangle her three times until his arms got tired. So he hung Skjerva from a door and drank a beer while she died.

Ask the family of Carol Skjerva if they think Ecstasy is just a harmless party drug.