Spate of aggressive reactions to dodgy E

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Medical professionals have treated a spate of drug users with symptoms like those of six Hamilton girls who swallowed pills at school.

A sample of the pink pills which caused the Fairfield College students to react aggressively and landed them in the emergency department on Monday is now being tested.

Health professionals believe much of the behaviour is caused by man-made chemicals such as mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDVP) in Ecstasy pills.

Auckland City Hospital spokesman Mark Fenwick said it was routine for the emergency department to treat Ecstasy users, some of whom were anxious to the point of being aggressive.

"[Doctors] assume that amongst the Ecstasy that has been taken - and they hear this as well - that mephedrone and methylone are the material that people are consuming."

National Poisons Centre toxicologist Dr Leo Schep said there had been a number of calls from health professionals asking about the drugs.

"There are patients turning up who are obviously on some sort of designer drug. But we don't know which one, because we'd have to do blood levels.

"Even the patient might not know - he may have bought this tablet at a pub in Auckland, thinking that it was Ecstasy, and he's taken mephedrone instead without realising it."

Dr Schep said that in rare cases people overseas had died after taking mephedrone.

Last week police busted an alleged criminal syndicate they said sold thousands of pills a week and was responsible for the bulk of Ecstasy manufacture and supply in New Zealand.

Police have confirmed the seized pills contained n-ethylamphetamine and n-ethylcathinone - drugs structurally similar to methamphetamine - and mephedrone.

Mephedrone and MDVP are related to cathinone, which was banned in the United States in September after health professionals said large doses of sedatives failed to calm some users.

Incidents included a man who climbed a flagpole and jumped into traffic and a woman who scratched herself raw because she thought there was something under her skin, the New York Times reported.

Staff at Middlemore Hospital were shocked by the aggression shown by six users of "Red Rocket" Ecstasy pills in September and the hallucinations they suffered.

Meanwhile, police are still seeking to interview the person who supplied pink party pills to the Hamilton teenagers. Classmates think the pills were taken from a parent of one of the girls.

- Additional reporting: Nikki Preston

WHAT'S IN THEM?
* Man-made chemicals known as cathinones.
* They are related to khat, an organic stimulant found in Arab and East African countries.
* Commonly used to replace MDMA, the traditional ingredient in Ecstasy.
* Linked to episodes of violence and paranoia.