Fake Ecstasy Drug Kills Six in Florida

Sept. 30 -- A knockoff of the popular “club drug” Ecstasy is being blamed for the deaths of six young people in Florida and at least three in suburban Chicago since May, law enforcement officials said.

The clusters of deaths in Illinois and Florida, along with sporadic reports of fatalities across the nation involving Ecstasy, underscores the dangerous nature of a drug that has been thought by many to be relatively harmless.

In Florida, the fake Ecstasy, called PMA or paramethoxyamphetamine, and PMMA, or paramethoxymethamphetamine, is killing young people by raising their body temperatures to as high as 108 degrees.

The pills being sold in central Florida are believed to be more lethal than Ecstasy, which is made of MDMA or methylenedioxymethamphetamine.The pills are similar and medical experts say it is virtually impossible to tell them apart unless they are tested in a laboratory.

“It is like Russian roulette,” said Bruce Goldberger, a forensic toxicologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “If you get these PMA pills and take them, there is a chance you will die.”

The counterfeit pills, which are cheaper to make, were being sold in central Florida, in the Orlando area, authorities said. Florida state police were trying to determine where the drugs were made.

Florida state law enforcement officials said Friday at least six people have died in Florida since July from taking the drugs.

Drug More Popular Than Ever

Use of Ecstasy in the United States is growing more quickly than any other abused drug. Congress held hearings this summer, and legislation was introduced in both houses to increase penalties for its trafficking and possession.

Ecstasy is known as a “club drug” because of its popularity among attendees of all-night music clubs that stage parties known as “raves.” The drug is extremely popular in rave clubs in Miami and also has a stronghold in Atlanta and across the state of New Jersey. A survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that about 3.4 million Americans at least 12 years old have tried the drug at least once.