A 2010 publication of this column, “Explaining Your Medicines”, had alerted the general public then about ecstasy, a date rape drug, as a dangerous social indulgence. Today, 12 years later, this synthetic substance seemed to have crept in from our eastern neighbours and have spread across various regions in our country.

In January 2022 the Guyana drug enforcement agency destroyed just about 3.1kilogram which was confiscated in 2021. From weight per pill calculations, this could be estimated to be about 5,500 ecstasy pills with a market value of G$8.25 million.

Recently, the news media frequently featured the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), either solely or in collaboration with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana Police Force, successfully uncovering the organised criminal network of this trade, tracing sources of origin to Suriname and French Guiana.

In March 2022, CANU successfully unearthed leads of the clandestine operations for ecstasy where 266 grams with a street value of $400,000 was seized from a group in Georgetown, as reported by Newsroom Guyana.
Then June, Stabroek News published the seizure of 400 ecstasy pills with a street value of $600,000. This operation was initiated at #79 village Berbice where they found a repeated offender in possession. In July 2022, a Guyana Times report featured a joint operation with GRA and CANU where a female Berbician was found in possession of 168 ecstasy tablets with a street value of $260,000.

Similarly, the Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) working along with the Quezon City police and the Bureau of Customs was tipped with information from Chinese authorities at the beginning of this year, about a package passing through Netherlands. That parcel was confiscated and found to contain in excess of 3,000 ecstasy pills valued at $5.1 million local currency.

Today, the Loop, a non-profit organisation, noted that at a public summer festival in the United Kingdom, the trade moved from fake ecstasy to higher potency party pills. Over the years, this business model expanded its target market for wide spread distribution where school aged children became the focus using peer pressure strategies. According to a 2018 CANU report, five schools in Regions three and four were targeted then.

However in December 2021, the laws of Guyana were amended to deal with this escalating scourge where the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Bill was amended so that offenders could be charged. Hence the possession and the unlicensed usage of such synthetic drugs are now included on the revised list. This amendment was expedited since early offenders had evaded penalties because the state had failed to verify that the drug in question was indeed ecstasy and in the other instance it could not be declared as a restricted substance since it was excluded from the scheduled drug list.

Ecstasy, abbreviated MDMA (pronounced me-thy-lene-di-o-xy-meth-am-phe-ta-mine), is a drug which can be used for two extreme purposes; as a stimulant and as a tranquiliser. It is commonly called ‘Molly’, the love/hug drug, happy pill, XTC, vitamin X, disco biscuit or beans. It is available in tablet form, which may have a cartoon character stamped on it, and also powdered form. It is a Schedule One drug which means it is highly addictive and potentially dangerous. Persons who use ecstasy reported that they got an extra boost and can dance the entire night at parties or clubs without being exhausted. Some explained that they feel connected to persons and reach out to hug them as a result since it boosts their self-confidence. Ecstasy can stay in the body for 12 to 16 hours and is only detectable via specialised tests.

The side effects of ecstasy are muscle tension, jaw clenching, nausea, blurred vision, rapid eye movement, faintness, chills and sweating. When this drug is taken at high doses it can result in a sharp increase in body temperature which can lead to dehydration if enough water is not consumed. More severe outcomes of a high dose of ecstasy are kidney failure, heart attack or death. When alcohol is added to the mix it is even more dangerous. Eventually a person’s thoughts and memory are negatively affected since it produces an amnesia like effect.

Clues that may indicate the indulgence of ecstasy are sleep problems, skin rash (resembling acne), regular attendance to late night activities, pacifiers (to combat the jaw clenching effect) and possession of pills with cartoon characters.

However, it is recommended that conclusive evidence be sought since assumptions can have an equally detrimental effect if you were to falsely accuse an innocent person. Generally persons with very low self-esteem may either be influenced by peer pressure or simply have a desire to experiment where they seek this drug for comfort but only achieve a false boost in self-confidence and temporary pleasure. Other persons who indulge in ecstasy may unjustifiable report that the “women like it” but it is important to educate them on the dangers of such indulgence so that they can desist from this practice.

Some additional outcomes of long term substance abuse are depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation, delirium, seizures, heart attack and stroke. Negative indirect effects are poor decision making and risky sexual behaviours resulting in unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

In conclusion, parents of young girls must be aware of these current occurrences since only cowards or persons with very low self-esteem will use ecstasy as a date rape drug to prey on vulnerable school aged girls.
For further pharmacological guidance, contact the pharmacist of Medicine Express PHARMACY located at 223 Camp Street, between Lamaha and New Market Streets. If you have any queries, comments or further information on the above topic kindly forward them to medicine.express@gmail.com or send them to 223 Camp Street, N/burg. Tel #225-5142.