National alarm over liquid ecstasy

The incident involving the three-year-old girl drinking liquid ecstasy in Palma last week has caused national concerns. Ecstasy deaths and widespread use among young people in Spain was top of the news already last week following two deaths at clubs on the mainland, but the incident in Palma has caused serious alarm. Yesterday the head of the Toxification Institute in Madrid, José Cabrera, was left wondering what the so-called liquid ecstasy was doing in the public domain. He said that the substance is actually used as an anaesthetic for major surgery and its effects have nothing to do with ecstasy tablets. He admitted however, that liquid ecstasy was first discovered in the public domain in the Balearics just over a year ago and suspects that it had been smuggled in from overseas, possibly by tourists from countries where liquid ecstasy was already on the market. He explained that liquid ecstasy causes tiredness, a sense of floating and disorientation. He added that the sensation caused by liquid ecstasy has nothing to do with the tablets, which cause euphoria and extra staying power. Cabrera warned that using liquid ecstasy as a recreational drug could lead to heart attacks and respiratory problems, although so far, no one has died from taking the drug, although people in various parts of Spain, including the Balearics, have needed medical treatment after consuming the drug. At the moment, the number of cases involving liquid ecstasy are isolated, he said, but he added that the authorities know that it is being taken in clubs as if an illegal drug. So-called liquid ecstasy is in fact a legal substance. The authorities are trying to establish how people are getting their hands on the drug, whether it be by using false prescriptions or from sources involved with supplying the drug to hospitals. The child's mother on Sunday said that she had no idea that the drug was stored in her fridge and said that the incident was an accident.