Gospel Of Dribble

[dudette]

Tuesday Feb 20 12:01 AEDT
The family of Annabel Catt, who died from a suspected drug overdose after taking ecstasy at a Sydney concert, say they want people to learn from her death.

Ms Catt, 20, of Elanora Heights, on Sydney's northern beaches, collapsed at a party at nearby Warriewood on Sunday about 5am (AEDT).

Just hours earlier, she had left the Good Vibrations music festival at Centennial Park.

Ambulance officers were told the woman, who was showing signs of respiratory distress, had taken MDMA, usually found in ecstasy.




Brother Antony Catt said family and friends were devastated by the death of "beautiful Annabel".

"We would like everyone to learn from this tragic mistake," Mr Catt said.

"We would like a positive to come out of this and that is that people think twice about putting any sort of drugs in their mouth or into their body.

"We just want it be a lesson."

Ms Catt was a part-time dance teacher at an Avalon dance school and had been a dancer with the Brent Street performing arts school since 2001. She was completing a traineeship with HCF Eyecare.

"Annabel was much loved and will be deeply missed by all who knew her," Mr Catt said.

"We wish to thank all the staff at Mona Vale Hospital, the police, and the coroner for their involvement.

"We request that our need for privacy at this time be respected."

Ecstasy, which usually contains methylene-dioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), has been available in Australia since the mid-1980s in liquid, tablet or capsule form. However ecstasy can also contain more dangerous chemicals.

The effects on the body of ecstasy are noticeable for up to three hours. The drug increases blood pressure, pulse rate and sweating.

Professor Nick Crofts, from the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, said it was rare to overdose on ecstasy.

"It's extremely unlikely in the current circumstance, I would have thought you would have to take a lot," Prof Crofts said.

"The majority of what manifests (on the street) as ecstasy is not ecstasy.

"The majority is Ketamine or amphetamines with various things, like caffeine, that are thrown in.

"It could have been a mixture of anything.

A funeral for Ms Catt will be held at the Pittwater Uniting Church on Friday at 2pm.
_________________
"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as Gods. Cats have never forgotten this." Anonymous.

[dudette]

WOW SCARY

its a shame they dont know how many she had or what ones they were
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"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as Gods. Cats have never forgotten this." Anonymous.

[dudette]

Woman charged over supplying drugs
Thursday Feb 22 06:40 AEDT
The highly toxic amphetamine commonly passed off as ecstasy was been found in the system of a young woman who died after attending a Sydney concert, prompting an immediate police warning.

Initial toxicology results carried out following the death of Annabel Catt, 20, of Elanora Heights, on Sydney's northern beaches have found the presence of the rare drug Paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA).

Sold with street names including red mitsubishi and red death, police said six people died after taking the drug in South Australia between September 1995 and January 1996.


RELATED LINKS
VIDEO: Police issue warning
More National news ...
AAP reported an Adelaide man and a Sydney teenager died after taking the drug in October 2004.




Ms Catt, 20, of Elanora Heights, on Sydney's northern beaches, collapsed at a party at nearby Warriewood on Sunday at about 5am (AEDT).

Just hours earlier, she had left the Good Vibrations music festival at Centennial Park.

Ambulance officers were told Ms Catt, who was showing signs of respiratory distress, had taken MDMA, usually found in ecstasy.

The NSW Police Force said the drug, a highly toxic and highly hallucinogenic amphetamine, is often passed off as being ecstasy and may have been the cause of Ms Catt's death.

"The official cause of death of the 20-year-old woman is yet to be determined by the coroner, however the presence of PMA in the initial toxicology report has led police to issue this immediate warning," the statement said.

Drug Squad Commander Greig Newbery said PMA had more pronounced hallucinogenic properties than other amphetamine types such as ecstasy.

"We constantly issue warnings about the dangers of illicit drugs, and we now renew that urgent appeal," Commander Newbery said.

"People possessing or considering taking MDMA or any other substance sold as ecstasy, pills or capsules should be aware of the possible presence of paramethoxyamphetamine."

The effects of PMA include an increase in energy, visual hallucinations, a general change in consciousness, pupil dilation and increased blood and body temperature.

It can also increase blood pressure and pulse rate, cause laboured breathing, nausea and vomiting as we well as convulsions, coma and death.

Police said they had not been able to issue an earlier warning about the drug because they had not received any information about any quantity of drugs that had an abnormal level or purity, potency or composition.

NSW Premier Morris Iemma said he would investigate claims the police media unit "sat on" information about the death for several hours.

He said if the police had knowledge of a "bad batch" circulating then the public had a right to know about it.

A 20-year-old woman has been charged with supplying drugs at the Good Vibrations music festival in Sydney.

Police said they have begun investigations into the supply of drugs at the event, held in Centennial Park on Saturday.

A 20-year-old woman on Wednesday attended Dee Why police station where she was subsequently changed with two counts of supplying a prohibited drug.

Police would not comment on whether the charges related to the death of Annabel Catt.
_________________
"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as Gods. Cats have never forgotten this." Anonymous.

[tekgal]

yeah PMA is nasty
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[dudette]

Death drug may become health crisis: expert
Thursday February 22, 2007
By Wade O'Leary
ninemsn


The drug that is believed to have killed Sydney woman Annabel Catt is a toxic hallucinogen that some experts fear may become more widespread as police crack down on ecstasy production.

Professor Gordian Fulde of St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney says paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA) increases blood pressure and body temperature to a point where "you just cook from the inside" as body cells melt and burst.

"It's different from all other amphetamines," he said. "It's a very dirty, nasty drug.







"It's more likely to give you side effects — you feel unwell, bad things happen to you."

Bluelight Drugs Forum convenor John Davidson believes PMA is "more dangerous than anything you can take in pill form", with a real danger of suffering a fatality from consuming a single dose.

"I understand (Annabel) took the drug in capsule form and that it hadn't been pressed into a pill, and that's important," he say. "That would suggest this particular batch is not being widely distributed right now.

"If PMA goes into major circulation — if a batch of pills sold as ecstasy is actually PMA — and a large number of people are struck down with this girl's symptoms, then that would be an absolute disaster from a health perspective.

"Hospitals would be completely overwhelmed by the level of care required to treat victims."

The emergence of PMA can be explained by the huge popularity of ecstasy — and the profits to be made from its sale — coming under pressure from ever-tougher policing of narcotics.

When MDMA — ecstasy in pure form — first hit Australia in the 1980s it was imported, but local manufacturing grew as Customs developed more effective means of detection.

But as police have improved monitoring and policing of the precursors (ingredients) that make MDMA, Mr Davidson says drugmakers may now be turning to other substances — including PMA — to meet the 100,000 pills-per-week demand that is believed to exist in Australia today.

"The reason we see PMA is that it's made in exactly the same way as MDMA is but with different chemicals, and these chemicals aren't monitored as closely as those in MDMA," he says.

"If you get your hands on one of the main ingredients of MDMA then you'd better have a very good reason ready, because the government and police are going to looking over your shoulder.

"This is much less likely when making PMA."

The NSW coroner has announced that PMA was found in Ms Catt's body during an initial toxicology survey, and while this has not been confirmed as the cause of death it has prompted police to issue a warning about the drug.

"We remind people that the content, potency and effects of these drugs are an absolute unknown and anyone taking them is gambling with their lives," NSW Police Drug Squad commander Greig Newbury says.

It is a warning thousands of people ignore every week, and Professor Fulde fears that drugmakers and dealers will gladly sacrifice more lives in the name of illicit profits.

"The reality is they just want to make money, and if they get stuck with PMA they just want to offload it by passing it off as ecstasy or whatever," he says.
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"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as Gods. Cats have never forgotten this." Anonymous.