A west Cumbrian drugs charity has issued a warning over a deadly ecstasy-type drug. People taking PMA are risking their lives, the Rising Sun Trust says, as it can be stronger than ecstasy.  The warning comes as the government agency responsible for drug prevention said it was concerned with an apparent rise in the number of ecstasy-related deaths.

It is feared some tablets being sold as ecstasy actually contain PMA which can be stronger than MDMA (ecstasy).  Mark Dixon, 16, of Penrith, died last year after taking a cocktail of substances that included PMA pills.  The charity claims effects of PMA also take longer than MDMA to begin to be felt – so some users have overdosed by mistakenly taking pill after pill thinking nothing is happening.

Emma Pooley, of the Trust, said: “This seems to be right up there with the more dangerous drugs. This is not a case of scare mongering. It’s not a case of a bad batch. It’s the drug itself that is causing the problems. People take it thinking it’s ecstasy but it takes longer to get into your system. It could take up to an hour. People think the pills aren’t working and will take another lot and overdose.

“There are some really nasty side effects and the main one is over-heating which causes seizures.”

Source: www.newsandstar.co.uk  20th Aug.2013