By Taylor MacPherson

‘Like drinking pesticide’: health expert, police explain 2C-B

Mar 1, 2017 | 4:00 PM

When Prince Albert police encountered the synthetic drug 2C-B for the first time last month, six people were taken to hospital. According to a local medical health officer, the victims may have been lucky to survive.

Police were called to a P.A. home to assist Parkland Ambulance with an overdose call on Feb 20. When they arrived, officers and EMTs discovered six people suffering overdose symptoms. All six victims were taken to hospital for treatment, and police immediately opened an investigation to determine exactly what they were dealing with.

The Integrated Street Enforcement Team, which is comprised of city police and RCMP officers, raided an 11th St. E. residence the next day. Officers arrested a 19-year-old suspect and seized a number of unknown substances. Police identified one of the seized drugs as 4-bromo-2 5-dimethoxyphenethylamine, the synthetic psychedelic commonly known as 2C-B or “nexus.”

Police in Prince Albert, accustomed to dealing with crystal meth, cocaine and opioid overdoses, have never encountered 2C-B before. A spokesperson for the Saskatoon Police Service said they were equally unfamiliar with the synthetic drug, but noted that does not necessarily mean the city is free of 2C-B.

The drug is common in Montreal and police there have dealt with it on numerous occasions, especially in the rave and music festival scenes.

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“It’s very common for the Montreal urban police to seize ecstasy, 2C-B or nexus,” Nicodemo Milano, commander of the Montreal Police Department’s organized crime division told paNOW. Although Milano said Montreal Police are familiar with the drug, which appears almost exclusively in the form of homemade pressed pills, he noted officers in Montreal have “never had any overdose issues with 2C-B.”

Dr. Khami Chokani, medical health officer with the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region, agreed with Milano’s statement that 2C-B is often sold as ecstasy or other party drugs, and noted the 2C-B overdose victims in Prince Albert may have been told they were taking something else.

Chokani said 2C-B is attractive on the party scene because of the intense visual hallucinations it causes, and described its effects as “a step up from ecstasy.” In addition to the desired psychedelic effects, however, Chokani warned 2C-B also elevates blood pressure, body temperature, breathing and heart rates, and an overdose can lead to side-effects as serious as seizure or death.

“2C-B is a nasty drug,” Chokani said. “It’s like someone going and drinking pesticide.”

The drug was first synthesized in the 1970s as a by-product to other manmade compounds such as caffeine, Chokani said. The compound has no known medical or pharmacological use, he said, and is typically disposed of as a waste product. When this waste 2C-B falls into unscrupulous hands, Chokani said, it can be cut with other substances, pressed into homemade pills and sold to unsuspecting buyers under whatever name the home-manufacturer chooses.

“There’s no quality control; there’s no checks and balances,” Chokani said, warning of the dangers of homemade drugs. “You can get every single effect, or you may get zero.”

Amateur drug manufacture can often lead to overdose, Chokani said, because the pills are rarely mixed properly which leads to inconsistent dosage. Like fentanyl, Chokani said 2C-B may be widely available through online markets, but emphasized there is no guarantee the purchased product will match the seller’s description.

The 19-year-old suspect arrested in the Feb. 21 raid was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, trafficking a controlled substance and possession of the proceeds of crime. He will make his first court appearance March 7.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews