Canada - Grief over teen's OD (ecstasy)

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Grief over teen's OD

Girl who died after taking ecstasy knew the dangers of drugs, says mom



The parents of a 14-year-old Edmonton girl who died after taking ecstasy are struggling to understand why their daughter, who was part of an anti-drug program, took the pills.

"Cassie had gone through DARE," said Angela Eyre, mother of Cassie Eyre. "She knew about drugs because I told her I didn't ever want her to take any. And she had told me she wouldn't because it would ruin her complexion."

WARNED ABOUT DRUGS

"I remember telling her just a couple weeks ago to stay away from drugs because there had been reports of ecstasy being laced with rat poison. I thought that would be enough to scare her, but I guess it wasn't," said Cassie's stepfather Guy Buehler, referring to a recent incident at Paul Band First Nation where two teen girls died after overdosing on ecstasy.

Cassie was taken off life-support Saturday afternoon at Stollery Children's Hospital after she and her best friend Ashley, also 14, fell ill Friday night after ingesting a batch of ecstasy pills.

The pair were attending the Rock 'n' Ride Dance Party at West Edmonton Mall's Galaxy- land amusement park when they were rushed to hospital and transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit.

Angela had been celebrating her birthday that night at a bar when her daughter Deanna, 17, called to tell her Cassie and Ashley had been taken to the hospital. They immediately rushed over to see the girls.

Angela said she was shocked by the sight of her daughter, hooked up to various IV needles and a tube down her throat to help her breathe. Ashley's condition stabilized and is said to be doing well, but Cassie's condition kept worsening.
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"Her blood pressure wouldn't stay up, her oxygen level was low. So they gave her blood transfusions. And when they tried to hook her up to life support, they had to give her CPR for almost 20 minutes because her heart had stopped again," Angela said.

Cassie was taken off life-support shortly after 4:30 p.m.

Her parents later learned she had taken six pills and each one was three times the normal dosage, adding they think it was the first time she had taken the drug.

A 16-year-old suspected drug dealer believed to be linked to the case was arrested Saturday afternoon after police tracked him to the area of 105 Street and 106 Avenue.

SUSPECT COLLAPSED

After leading officers on a foot chase through a nearby laundromat and into a parking lot, the teen suffered "medical distress" and collapsed as police tried to handcuff him, said Staff Sgt. Graham Hogg.

The teen was taken to hospital in critical condition and has since improved, Hogg said. He will likely be released from hospital this week and could face charges.

Angela said she has no idea who this suspect may be, calling him "some random guy at the mall."

By CLARA HO, SUN MEDIA

Mon, April 27, 2009

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmo...57741-sun.html