New killer drug alert as mortgage adviser dies
A NEW party drug which, together with Ecstasy, killed a young Sheffield mortgage adviser has the potential for "horrific consequences" and should be a "huge concern for society", a coroner has warned.
Assistant deputy Sheffield coroner David Urpeth said there is a "significant chance" more deaths will occur from Benzylpiperazine, also known as Natural Ecstasy or BZP.
He issued the stark prediction at an inquest into the death of 22-year-old Daniel Backhouse, who died from heart failure after downing a "lethal cocktail" of BZP and the powdered form of Ecstasy, MDMA.
BZP - said to enhance a user's sense of taste, sound and colour - is legal in the UK as it has yet to be classified and can be sold as soil fertiliser. It is banned from sale in the USA and Australia.
Mr Urpeth said: "BZP is a new drug and a cause for concern. It does not cause fatalities on its own. It is only about a tenth the strength of Ecstasy. But it appears to cause death in conjunction with Ecstasy."
Consultant forensic pathologist Dr Alfreda Eugene Walker, who conducted the post mortem examination on Daniel, said: "The cause of death was Ecstasy and BZP. It is likely this caused an abnormal beat of the heart. Taking these drugs increases the heartrate and force of contractions. Your heart can tolerate that to a point but there comes a time when it can no longer cope."
The court heard Daniel was seen taking two or three pills of what a pal assumed was Ecstasy at friend Victoria Gafney's barbecue and housewarming party on Vincent Road, Sharrow, on May 9 last year. The next day he took MDMA given to him by another friend, Harry Hopkinson, but soon started to complain he felt too hot before his condition quickly deteriorated.
Friend Gregg Hunter said: "It was pretty sudden. He started shaking. He was trying to say things but he wasn't making sense." Another pal, Jordan Rubenstein, recalled: "His breathing sounded like he was having an asthma attack."
Jordan drove Daniel to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, where CCTV footage from the foyer showed him barely conscious and being supported by his friends. He died soon afterwards despite attempts by medics to resuscitate him.
Harry Hopkinson admitted giving "a tiny bit" of MDMA to Daniel on the day he died, but insisted he was not a drug dealer and had not supplied him with pills the night before.
"I have never, ever, ever, heard of BZP," he said. "It was the first time today I have heard its name. That is the problem when you take pills, they're cut with anything. You never really know what you're going to get. There's no label on them."
Daniel's mother Claire Moran told Hopkinson in court: "I hope I never have a friend like you." Looking her directly in the eyes, Hopkinson said: "I loved Daniel and I try to forget what happened all the time but I can't. I think about it every day."
Det Sgt John Fitzgibbons of South Yorkshire Police said the Crown Prosecution Service had decided not to bring any charges.
"They looked at whether there was evidence to bring charges against Harry for manslaughter by supplying Class A drugs to Daniel," he said. "But, while there was evidence Harry had supplied drugs, it was decided it was not in the public interest to prosecute him.
"He has to live with the fact he supplied the drug that killed his very close friend. The view is a court would not be able to impose any more punishment."
Recording a misadventure verdict, coroner Mr Urpeth added: "While Daniel has to bear responsibility for taking the drug, it is an entire tragedy for him, for someone of such youth, to lose his life."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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