You might infer from their names that Death is not such a nice drug as Ecstasy. You would be right. PMA has been linked to a number of fatalities in the past and PMMA appears to be causing similar carnage.
A batch of ecstasy believed to be behind a spate of recent deaths in Calgary may have been tainted with a lethal chemical never before found in the street drug, according Alberta’s chief medical examiner.
Five people have recently been found dead with PMMA in their systems. All had taken tainted Ecstasy. The police know what batch is contaminated and they know what it looks like. They know what colour the pills are and they know what the stamp is. So what are they doing to prevent more fatalities?
Absolutely nothing.
Police in British Columbia are reluctant to tell the public what unique, colourful markings are on ecstasy pills suspected to be packed with a lethal additive linked to five deaths in the province over concerns users will believe they're sanctioning the rest.
Lisa Lapointe said while some police agencies have been voluntarily handed samples of the suspect pills, they've decided against putting photos online.
"We don't want to give the impression that these are the tablets that are risky, and other tablets are safe," she told reporters.
"At any time, any tablet can be contaminated with anything."
RCMP and police in Vancouver and Abbotsford have all promoted the message that no drugs are safe, while shying away from providing specific details around tracking the substance's source or revealing what stamps the pills bare [sic].
This is just appalling. In their desire to 'send a message' that all drugs are bad, these negligent imbeciles are prepared to conceal information from people that might save their lives. Why is there PMMA in the Ecstasy supply in the first place? Because of the War on Drugs. Why won't they give users health information that will drastically reduce their risk? Because of the War on Drugs.
This is, of course, the same quit-or-die mentality that allows snus and e-cigarettes to be banned because they may or may not be a 100% safer alternative to cigarettes. It is harm maximisation in action and it is utter madness.