Drug Users OD by Confusing Coke, Ecstasy

They die by accidentally snorting MDMA, UK council finds
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 27, 2008 7:31 PM CDT
Drug Users OD by Confusing Coke, Ecstasy
Many drug users are confusing white powder ecstasy for cocaine.   (Shutterstock)

One of the biggest dangers of ecstasy, the drug’s opponents say, is that it looks a lot like cocaine. Hospitals have faced a rash of accidental overdoses from drug users who unwittingly snorted the psychedelic drug, the Independent reports. Britain's drug advisory council is probing the spate as it considers whether to downgrade ecstasy from a class A to a class B drug.

“If you are buying white powders from someone, how do you know if you are getting MDMA, methamphetamine or cocaine?” asked the council’s incoming chairman. “It's potentially very dangerous.” One doctor said accidental ecstasy snorting was “a clinically common issue.” (More ecstasy stories.)

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