‘VERY SCARY’
DEATH TOLL RISES TO SIX IN TAINTED ECSTASY SCARE
B.C. chief coroner Lisa Lapointe calls death of Langley teen Kato Burgess (left) ‘terribly sad’
Kato Burgess, a 16-year-old Langley teen, may be the latest in a rash of ecstasy-related deaths.
The B. C. Coroners Service announced Monday it is investigating the death of the teen as being potentially related to the use of ecstasy.
On Saturday night, Kato reportedly took ecstasy along with other pharmaceuticals. He collapsed in the early morning hours of Sunday, was raced to Langley Memorial Hospital, but could not be revived.
Last week, the B.C. Coroners Service announced that ecstasy tainted with PMMA was linked to five ecstasy-related deaths in B.C. in the past six months, along with several Pmma-linked deaths in Alberta.
B.C. Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe said this latest death shows that anyone taking ecstasy is at risk, since there is no way of tracing where the unregulated drug came from.
“It’s very scary,” Lapointe told The Province. “Three people have already died this year — don’t take this stuff.”
Kato attended Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School in Surrey.
A Facebook site, entitled “In Loving Memory of Kato Burgess,” quickly sprang up — with tributes as well as warnings to not follow in the dead teen’s footsteps.
“This is a hard thing for all of us,” wrote Sarah Koi on the Facebook memorial.
“Kato had a lot going for him, but his life was cut short. Please, you all have so much ahead of you. If you truly want to honour, ‘in loving memory of Kato Burgess’ — then think twice about what you do.
“Choose your friends wisely. Follow your gut. Never say, ‘It won’t happen to me.’ He was worth so much more than a $5 pill.”
Ninety-nine B.C. deaths have been linked to ecstasy in the past six years.
In 2011 alone, 16 deaths were
“Choose your friends wisely. Follow your gut. Never say, ‘It won’t happen to me.’ He was worth so much more than a $5 pill.” — Sarah Koi on Kato’s Facebook memorial
linked to ecstasy, including three tainted with PMMA.
The year 2012 has proven to be especially deadly, with three ecstasy deaths already — two linked to PMMA — and now the Langley teen’s death.
“It’s terribly sad,” said Lapointe. “The challenge is, people take ecstasy, or know people who take ecstasy, who have no ill effects.
“It’s a designer drug that’s created by somebody, maybe using a recipe off the Internet. We don’t even know if they’re putting in the PMMA by mistake.”
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall said skeptical teens may not believe that ecstasy can kill — but they should face facts.
“The evidence is there right in front of us,” said Kendall.
Kendall said teens are bombarded with messages that drugs are bad and can kill you, but right now they should really be taking that message to heart.
“We have to put out the message in a believable way,” he said. “It takes something horrible to happen.”