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| Ecstasy pills increasingly made with child-friendly logos, says expert | Ecstasy pills increasingly made with child-friendly logos, says expert |
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| Ecstasy pills are increasingly being marketed with child-friendly logos, a drugs expert has warned, after three 12-year-old girls in Greater Manchester were hospitalised after ingesting “teddy tablets”. | Ecstasy pills are increasingly being marketed with child-friendly logos, a drugs expert has warned, after three 12-year-old girls in Greater Manchester were hospitalised after ingesting “teddy tablets”. |
| Fiona Measham, a member of the government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) and founder of The Loop, a charity that tests drugs found or handed in at festivals, said of the pills she tested at Parklife in Manchester earlier this month, half had logos or designs that might appeal to children. | Fiona Measham, a member of the government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) and founder of The Loop, a charity that tests drugs found or handed in at festivals, said of the pills she tested at Parklife in Manchester earlier this month, half had logos or designs that might appeal to children. |
| “I tested 30 different types of pills at Parklife and in terms of the design they fell into broadly two categories. One, what I’d call ‘luxury goods’. So, Louis Vuitton, Rolls-Royce, Rolex and things like that. The others had children and youth-oriented designs: we saw pills with Darth Vader on them, R2D2, Mickey Mouse, as well as these teddy pills, in both pink and yellow, which are actually shaped like teddy bears,” said Measham, who is also professor of criminology at Durham university. | |
| Related: Ecstasy in comeback as new generation discovers dance drug | Related: Ecstasy in comeback as new generation discovers dance drug |
| She said she doubted illegal drug manufacturers were actively trying to “entice children into a web of drug addiction”. It was more likely an attempt to appeal to the retro-kitsch market popular among young people, she said. | |
| The trio of 12-year-olds ended up in hospital in Salford on Saturday night after falling ill. | The trio of 12-year-olds ended up in hospital in Salford on Saturday night after falling ill. |
| Police were called to Salford Precinct shopping centre to reports that the girls had taken ecstasy pills described as “teddy tablets”. | Police were called to Salford Precinct shopping centre to reports that the girls had taken ecstasy pills described as “teddy tablets”. |
| Officers believe the drugs may have been mixed into a bottle of fizzy drink before the girls passed it around. | Officers believe the drugs may have been mixed into a bottle of fizzy drink before the girls passed it around. |
| A 22-year-old man and 21-year-old woman were arrested and questioned but both have now been bailed until 15 July. | A 22-year-old man and 21-year-old woman were arrested and questioned but both have now been bailed until 15 July. |
| Measham said that illegal drugs were cheap and easy to come by in Salford. “An ecstasy tablet which could keep an adult male going all night is only a fiver. It’s a very cheap night out,” she said. | Measham said that illegal drugs were cheap and easy to come by in Salford. “An ecstasy tablet which could keep an adult male going all night is only a fiver. It’s a very cheap night out,” she said. |
| Drugs are also getting stronger. Last month, a 17-year-old girl died at the Victoria Warehouse nightclub in Salford after allegedly taking one “MasterCard” ecstasy pill. Measham said she had tested MasterCard pills at Parklife containing 250mg of MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy. A standard dose for an adult for one night is 80-100mg, she said. | Drugs are also getting stronger. Last month, a 17-year-old girl died at the Victoria Warehouse nightclub in Salford after allegedly taking one “MasterCard” ecstasy pill. Measham said she had tested MasterCard pills at Parklife containing 250mg of MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy. A standard dose for an adult for one night is 80-100mg, she said. |
| “People just don’t know what they are buying. I’d liken it to buying alcohol and not knowing if you are going to get bitter shandy or whisky,” said Measham. | “People just don’t know what they are buying. I’d liken it to buying alcohol and not knowing if you are going to get bitter shandy or whisky,” said Measham. |