Warning over ‘bad batch’ of ecstasy as three hospitalised

DRUG users have been warned a “bad batch” of ecstasy may be in circulation after at least three people needed hospital treatment after taking suspect tablets.

The consequences of taking the ecstasy could be fatal in severe cases, according to a HSE expert on addiction. Medical professionals in the south have been told to be on the alert for patients presenting with “severe symptoms” after several people attended the emergency department of South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel during the past week.

Gardaí are investigating the incidents, which the HSE said are believed to be related to a “strong batch of ecstasy”.

Two people died last month after taking doses of MDMA (ecstasy) at a party in London, while at least 20 other cases were reported across the south of the country.

Two of the people who attended hospital in Clonmel have refused to divulge the source of the drugs. It is believed the ecstasy may have come from Britain, but gardaí are keeping an open mind.

Three people treated in the hospital were suffering from severe stomach cramps, hallucinations, jaw clenching and teeth grinding after saying they had taken ecstasy. They have since been discharged.

“They went through a fairly ropey time,” Professor Joe Barry of HSE addiction services said yesterday, adding that the symptoms could prove fatal if unchecked.

“It could be, yes, because obviously people can get dehydrated and get acute cardiac failure, or with very high blood pressure they can get a stroke.”

If friends of anyone who takes ecstasy notices the person becoming ill, it is vital to move fast, he said.

“It’s important to get medical help as quickly as possible.”

According to images circulated by the HSE, the offending pills have the letter B in the centre with a circle around it.