Ecstasy Vancouver BC – Substance Abuse
Jan 12th, 2012 by Janet
Ecstasy in Vancouver British Columbia, has again emerged as a substance abuse issue with four deaths in Vancouver, in the past two months caused by young people using ecstasy tablets during the festive season.
Ecstasy thrills – ecstasy kills, and it is unpredictable. When you buy ecstasy you never really know what you have got in your hand until you feel the effects. If you take ecstasy, and start to feel a bad reaction – the best thing to do is to get emergency medical help. Don’t wait to see if things will get better, or try to sleep it off.
Ecstasy is a stimulant/hallucinogenic. Ecstasy can bring on feelings of anxiety, panic attacks and psychosis, make people more likely to engage in risk taking behavior, it can also cause death. Young people in Canada are putting their lives on the line whenever they choose to use ecstasy.
Ecstasy is a party “drug”, often given or sold to you by friends. It can give you a false sense of security, that ecstasy is a “love” drug, that does no one any harm.
People who use ecstasy to party don’t think that they have a “drug problem” - ecstasy is simply not seen as being a “hard” street drug, but is regarded as something you use for fun – or perhaps for weight loss.
Young people do not see a need to get help for substance abuse, see a substance abuse counselor for using the party drug ecstasy – that is associated with raves, d.j’s, excitement and good times.
Brightly colored ecstasy pills add to the atmosphere of the party – in the lead up to the Olympic games in 2010 – ecstasy tablets sold in “Olympic City” were imprinted with “Olympic Rings” to make them more appealing to users.
Although manufactured by professional dealers, there are no quality controls when making ecstasy – which can be cut with anything from rat poison, to LSD, viagra or aspirin according to urban legend.
The ecstasy that you buy could be cut with a harmful substance – there is no guarantee of safety. It might even be that what you buy as ecstasy is in fact simply another drug, such as ketamine or ephedrine, and not MDMA.
Two drugs commonly added to ecstasy are levamisole, a veterinary medication, and MCPP.
Of the young people in Vancouver and Victoria, BC who do club drugs – 79% were using ecstasy in early 2011 according to a survey conducted by The Center for Addictions Research of University of Victoria.
Many participants in the survey expressed their concerns about the purity of the street and party drugs - often cut with substances not intended for human consumption.
According to this study of illicit drug use in Vancouver, ecstasy is a drug used mainly by young adults and school aged children – with people over 35 years old being 5.5 times less likely than the 15-24 year olds to be reporting ecstasy use during the past month. Those aged between 25 and 34 were three times less likely to have used ecstasy than the 15-24 year olds.
Therefore, ecstasy use in Canada is something that calls out for more parental guidance and supervision. Many of the young people who use ecstasy are under age. Parents and guardians have a moral and legal responsibility, a duty of care and protection to ensure that children in their care do not go out unsupervised to use ecstasy at raves.
It is however quite understandable that many parents in Canada might feel overwhelmed by the issues involved in bringing up children who can say no to drugs. Peer group pressure and prevailing social “norms”, that children will naturally learn and seek to imitate can make it hard to enforce and maintain different social and personal values.
Substance abuse counseling for families is available in Canada, with professional, experienced substance abuse counselors who are trained with, and use comprehensive programs. Comprehensive alcohol and drug addiction recovery programs provide detoxification from substance abuse – and a comprehensive drug education.
Substance abuse in Vancouver, BC can be prevented and completely recovered from in families who develop strong family bonds, and who strengthen family values, and by building drug resilience and self esteem in individuals who have become addicted.
Help and support for families where substance abuse is involved can be obtained in Vancouver British Columbia by calling a Narconon helpline. Narconon Vancouver*
If you have concerns about your drug use, concerns about a friend or family member, fears for your children – you are not alone.
Narconon International has provided help and support for complete alcohol and drug addiction recovery for over forty five years.
Narconon gets results. Parents, and young children who want help to get free of substance abuse and dependence can rely on Narconon.
With drug free detox, healthy living, and life enhancement training – Narconon can help you to find the way.
