VANCOUVER — Only one day after British Columbia’s coroner warned the public a tainted batch of the illegal drug ecstasy has recently killed ten people in two provinces, a 16-year-old boy may have become its latest victim.
The B.C. Coroner’s Service says it’s investigating whether the death early Sunday in Langley, a suburb of Vancouver, may add to the string of ecstasy-related deaths in Western Canada.
The teen was out with people on Saturday night when it’s believed he took the drug, along with other pharmaceutical drugs, according to the coroner.
A few hours later he collapsed, prompting a call to 911. The boy was rushed to Langley Memorial Hospital, but could not be revived.
The teen, whose name has not been released, may be the second recent young man to die after taking ecstasy in that city. 20-year-old Tyler Miller, who lived in neighbouring Abbotsford, died while partying with friends on Nov. 27.
The coroner is conducting toxicology tests to determine if the drug was indeed responsible, as well as to determine whether it was laced with an even more toxic additive that’s been blamed for a spate of fatal overdoses.
Paramethoxymetamphetamine, or PMMA, has been found in the systems of three men and two women in B.C. among 18 ecstasy-related deaths since the start of 2011. Five more people recently died after ingesting PMMA in Calgary.