Saanich police have arrested a 19-year-old man after two young women suffered medical distress upon consuming what they believed was MDMA.
Sgt Steve Eassie with Saanich police says it was initially reported that at least one female, partially closed, was running around yelling and screaming in the area of Cordova Bay early Saturday morning.
Officers attended and found not one, but two females, that appeared to be under the influence of a drug.
One of them appeared to be in medical distress.
Both women, between 18 and 20 years of age, were taken to hospital.
The condition of one of the women significantly worsened while in hospital.
Her condition has improved slightly since the incident, but she is not out of the woods yet.
One of the women told officers they ingested MDMA purchased from someone living in the community.
That resulted in an arrest of a 19-year-old man Sunday afternoon and a search warrant was carried out, turning up approximately 90 grams of a powdered substance.
The man is now facing recommended charges of possession with a purpose of trafficking.
Eassie says the investigation is ongoing and if the woman’s condition does not improve, charges of criminal negligence causing harm or death could result.
The incident prompted Saanich police to issue a warning about a possible ‘bad batch’ of MDMA.
It comes on the heels of a near-death experience by a Vancouver teen after taking “Molly,” a form of MDMA. Seventeen-year-old Taylor Snider shared her story online in the hopes of raising awareness. Doctors told her that the drug she took could have been contaminated with something like Drano or rat poison.
READ MORE: What is Molly? How the party drug works and why it’s risky
“The problem with ecstasy right now is that a tablet sold as ecstasy often does not contain any of the actual drug,” says Constable Drew Robertson with Saanich police. “It is an expensive product to acquire. There are a lot of synthetic drugs out there that are much easier to get. Those synthetics are being combined with things like PCP, LSD and a whole host of other drugs and substances, anything from sugar and caffeine to anti-histamines and cough syrup.”
Robertson says a cocktail of these substances combined with inconsistent dosing can potentially lead to severe reactions.
“For anyone who is using ecstasy, I would consider it one of the most dangerous drugs that’s out there,” says Robertson. “People that have low tolerance to any sort of drug are being exposed to large doses of methamphetamine and a whole host of other chemicals. So if you are going to use ecstasy, be aware that you really have no idea about what’s in there and be prepared to deal with potentially serious adverse reactions.”
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