Dangers of Ecstasy

Court documents quote an estimate from a former Los Angeles Police Department narcotics officer that 85 percent of the crowd at a rave — described as an all-night dance party with loud electronic dance music accompanied by lights and visual effects — is on ecstasy and other drugs.

The side effects of ecstasy, also known as MDMA and molly, include dehydration and a sharp increase in bodily temperature, which can be particularly dangerous in triple-digit heat. The lawsuit said people between 15 and 34 have substantially higher rates of death from accidental drug overdoses at raves than they do otherwise. calls through 6 a.m. Monday, compared with 617 last year — a 77 percent increase. Fifteen people were hospitalized.

Morse was said to have collapsed while waiting for a ride at the festival grounds.

Last year, California resident Kenani Kaimuloa, 20, died in a Las Vegas hospital a few days after she collapsed and began convulsing while waiting for a shuttle bus with her friends about 6 a.m. on the festival’s last day. The coroner ruled that Ecstasy and cocaine intoxication, combined with environmental heat stress, caused Kaimuloa’s death.

Morse’s cause of death had not been determined as of Tuesday. Toxicity screenings generally take six to eight weeks.

Insomniac Events said in a statementthatithadateamof“thebest doctors, nurses, EMTS, and paramedics in the country” on hand for the event. The company did not respond Wednesday to follow-up questions about accomodations for people waiting in the heat for shuttles or rides.

Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@ reviewjournal.com and 702-3830391. Follow @Wesjuhl on Twitter.