ok, first off, i do not condone drugs use for people underage. the effects of drugs on the brain is not fully known, and the effects that it may have on a brain that is still developing are not fully known, early teens should not toy with such uncertainty.
that being said, i have a problem with a news article appearing in the canadian press.
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/canada/2009/03/23/8853481.html
The article talks of 6 14-15 year old girls who took ecstasy at a wedding. 4 girls were later admitted to the hospital in critical condition, with one having since been released. now, the headline speaks of an overdose, which many people would assume was what was wrong. but then it also goes on to plant the seed that the ecstasy that all 6 girls took was laced with rat poison. though that is very unlikely considering 2 of the girls were not hospitalized. not to mention that this was an incident on a first nations reserve near edmonton. now, to be fair i don't know who made the pills these girls took and where they came from, but i believe it would be more likely that they in fact came from or through edmonton, and since there hasn't been a string of cases of ecstasy laced with rat poison, this seems to be unfounded.
so, only halfway through the article and they're tossing around fears of rat poison laced drugs on an alleged overdose case. except they never actually say it was an overdose. matter of fact, they say that the girls had brain swelling.
this is a site that lists the signs of an ecstasy overdose. note the distinct lack of the term brain swelling. so how does one's brain swell? well, hyponatremia. what is that you ask? well, it's an overdose of sorts. not an overdose of ecstasy, but instead an overdose of water.
you see, ecstasy dehydrates people, and most ecstasy users are aware of this. ever seen the dance floor after a rave? water bottles EVERYWHERE. because they need to stay hydrated. the problem is, slightly fewer people also realize that too much water can also be dangerous. too much water in the body dilutes the electrolyte levels causing water to be absorbed into the brain cells, swelling them in size and possibly causing them to burst from the extra pressure. their brain swells.
but let's be honest, the media doesn't want people to think that the water is more dangerous than the drug. so they say it may have been an overdose, and let others say it may have been pills laced with rat poison. i find it strange that so many medical professionals are able to treat these girls to the point of even releasing one girl without actually knowing what was wrong. the truth is, they did know. it was hyponatremia and they treated the girls accordingly. but this gives an opportunity to scare people from drugs again, so they decide to allow the misinformation fester in the public mind.
that being said, i have a problem with a news article appearing in the canadian press.
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/canada/2009/03/23/8853481.html
The article talks of 6 14-15 year old girls who took ecstasy at a wedding. 4 girls were later admitted to the hospital in critical condition, with one having since been released. now, the headline speaks of an overdose, which many people would assume was what was wrong. but then it also goes on to plant the seed that the ecstasy that all 6 girls took was laced with rat poison. though that is very unlikely considering 2 of the girls were not hospitalized. not to mention that this was an incident on a first nations reserve near edmonton. now, to be fair i don't know who made the pills these girls took and where they came from, but i believe it would be more likely that they in fact came from or through edmonton, and since there hasn't been a string of cases of ecstasy laced with rat poison, this seems to be unfounded.
so, only halfway through the article and they're tossing around fears of rat poison laced drugs on an alleged overdose case. except they never actually say it was an overdose. matter of fact, they say that the girls had brain swelling.
this is a site that lists the signs of an ecstasy overdose. note the distinct lack of the term brain swelling. so how does one's brain swell? well, hyponatremia. what is that you ask? well, it's an overdose of sorts. not an overdose of ecstasy, but instead an overdose of water.
you see, ecstasy dehydrates people, and most ecstasy users are aware of this. ever seen the dance floor after a rave? water bottles EVERYWHERE. because they need to stay hydrated. the problem is, slightly fewer people also realize that too much water can also be dangerous. too much water in the body dilutes the electrolyte levels causing water to be absorbed into the brain cells, swelling them in size and possibly causing them to burst from the extra pressure. their brain swells.
but let's be honest, the media doesn't want people to think that the water is more dangerous than the drug. so they say it may have been an overdose, and let others say it may have been pills laced with rat poison. i find it strange that so many medical professionals are able to treat these girls to the point of even releasing one girl without actually knowing what was wrong. the truth is, they did know. it was hyponatremia and they treated the girls accordingly. but this gives an opportunity to scare people from drugs again, so they decide to allow the misinformation fester in the public mind.
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