Drug cases appear unrelated, police say

Police await tests after one woman’s death, hospitalization of another

Ottawa police now say there is no concrete connection between two serious drug-related medical incidents at rave-type events in the capital — one that led to a young woman’s death and another to a woman being in an induced coma.

Police are waiting on toxicology reports to explain whether the drugs could have been part of a bad batch, were laced with other drugs, or were taken in combination with other drugs or alcohol that could have led to what central district investigators are calling “severe reactions” after young women, who did not know each other, took pills between June 29 and Canada Day in Ottawa.

“We don’t know yet,” said Sgt. Steven Desjourdy of central district investigations. “We want to know what caused these reactions.”

The women took the drugs on different dates, in different parts of the city, but the common theme appears to be that they were in pill form, Desjourdy said.

Investigators are also considering that the hot and humid long weekend, coupled with users who may not have been hydrating themselves, could have created a “perfect storm” of adverse reactions, Desjourdy said.

After taking pills, which police say could have been ecstasy or MDMA, a 20-year-old woman from Ottawa went to a hospital, where she remains in an induced coma with liver problems. Police believe she purchased the drugs in Ottawa, consumed them but didn’t stay in one location after that.

In the second case, a 19-year-old Montreal woman was hospitalized after taking the drugs at the Escapade Music Festival held at Rideau Carleton Raceway and died just hours later. Police believe she likely brought the drugs with her from Montreal.

Escapade organizer Maninder Virk told the Citizen in a statement Friday that he was aware of the drug-related death, as publicized by Ottawa police, but had not been “informed of any major incidents that happened at Escapade.” Police have spoken to the woman’s parents who appreciate that police are looking into her death but have accepted it as a tragic consequence of drug use.

Both women are believed to have taken the drugs voluntarily and foul play is not suspected.

Police do not yet know how much of the substance was consumed by each woman or if the two women even took the same kind of pills, but they urge festivalgoers to be aware of the risks associated with taking drugs as the season continues.

“As a police organization, we’re trying to say there are dangers associated with this consumption,” Desjourdy said.

Drugs at rave events or electronic music festivals are typically found in pill or powder form, said Det. Doug Hill, a drug investigator with Ottawa police. But their ingredients are shrouded in mystery.

“These kids have no idea what they’re taking, and more than that, the trafficker, the person who’s selling them, has no idea what they’re selling,” Hill said. The only person who knows what went into the drugs is the cook, Hill said.

Even MDMA, a form of ecstasy initially heralded for its purity and distinctive high, is now just a brand name that dealers throw around. What’s being marketed as MDMA

Even MDMA, a form of ecstasy initially heralded for its purity and distinctive high, is now just a brand name.

is likely something else, police say.

“That is the result of one thing — the result of the trafficker and the producer’s motivation to make money,” Hill said.

Certificates of analysis that break down what’s in the drugs that Ottawa police seize have resulted in some shocking finds, like cattle de-wormer, which is popular as a buffering agent in cocaine, now being found in MDMA pills.

“It really is a crapshoot as to what’s in a pill,” Hill said.

A young drug user may use their limited experience to inform how much of a drug to buy, but every score they make ought to be treated like a completely new drug, police say.

At outdoor festivals where access to free water is sometimes limited, kids without a lot of cash are left to deal with the results, as the drugs they take increase their body temperature in an already hot climate.

Ottawa Public Health estimates that about 40 people die from overdoses a year.