Police yesterday warned the public about the dangers of paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), a stimulant psychedelic drug, saying that six people died in Keelung last month after drinking coffee mixed with the drug.
PMMA coffee packets — which consist of coffee grounds mixed with the drug — have become increasingly common at house parties or KTVs, but most people, especially teenagers, do not understand its lethality, said an anti-narcotics officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Most people who overdosed on the substance “drank it and died,” the officer said.
Unlike amphetamine and ketamine, which usually take effect within two to three minutes, PMMA produces hardly any immediate effects on the body, leading users to drink more cups of PMMA coffee, the officer said.
Two of the victims last month were minors, the officer said.
Police found eight empty packets of PMMA coffee in the bag of a 17-year-old male, who had apparently died of an overdose, they said.
Some people take a cold shower to cool themselves after using the drug, but such efforts are usually futile, as an increased body temperature, spasms and shivering are signs of a PMMA overdose, they said.
Eighty-four people with an average age of 26 died after using novel narcotics in Taiwan last year, 34 of whom died after using PMMA, Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office data showed.
PMMA, dubbed “super ecstasy,” is seen as a cheaper alternative to MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy, but it is three to four times as toxic and could easily cause death, Ministry of Justice Institute of Forensic Science official Lin Tung-liang (林棟樑) said.
PMMA is listed as a Class 2 drug in Taiwan, Lin added.
To combat the rising number of new and emerging drugs, the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) has been amended to state that people who sell drugs mixed with more than one narcotic substance would receive an added sentence of half of the original one, the ministry said.
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