Health & Wellbeing

‘E’ warnings after club
death & collapses

Police in London have issued a special warning to club goers following the death of a man in his 30s after taking an ecstasy tablet.

Two men collapsed at the Fridge nightclub in Brixton in the early hours on Sunday May 11th and one was pronounced dead at hospital an hour later.
Later the same morning, a man in his 20s collapsed at Fire nightclub in Vauxhall after taking ‘E’.

He was taken to hospital and remains in a serious condition, police said.

The London Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) police co-ordinator PC Rick Skinner, from Hackney Police, issued the warning and urged other club goers to seek immediate medical assistance if they feel unwell after taking controlled drugs.

The unsafe tablets are described as pink with small white dots on them. Another is a white tablet with the letter G on it with various numbers, for instance ‘0030’, appearing on the reverse of the pill.
Police urged club goers to contact specialised LGBT police officers confidentially at Lambeth Police on 07824 474 003 with any information.

There have been several deaths among London gay club goers over the last few years, several after collapsing from taking ‘dodgy E’s’ or so called ‘liquid ecstasy’ GHB.

And people with HIV on antiretrovirals (ARVs), particularly those on boosted protease inhibitors, are advised to be very careful if they also take ecstasy as it is broken down by the same metabolic pathway in the liver as some ARVs.

This results in boosting of ecstasy levels in the body by as much as ten times normal strength. And consequently, those on ARVs are advised to less than half an ’E’ for the same buzz.

HIV positive club goers are advised to be extra vigilant with recreational drugs this summer. They can be boosted by HIV antiretroviral drugs to dangerous levels and often contain poisons and impurities.

Club goers who take drugs such as ecstasy, GHB or Ketamine (Special K) are advised not to drink alcohol and to drink lots of water.
And those taking cocaine are being warned of serious potential heart attacks.