15 year old Trinity Bird died last night after her and some friends took what they believed was ecstasy at a party on the Paul Band First Nation, just outside of Edmonton, Alberta.  The local news  reported that nine girls took pills and three of them were hospitalized.  It is reported that these pills were ‘bad’ ecstasy.

After the incident, one of the girls grandparents reported that “My only hope is that the kids survive.”  He said “I know if my granddaughter survives this, she won’t be doing that again … It’s a hard lesson to learn; she probably just wanted to experiment.”

This has been a hard lesson for the Paul Band First Nation.  My hope is that something good comes out of this tragedy.  Drug abuse has been a concern for the Paul Band First Nation.  The sense that I get from hearing about this story is that drug use is viewed as a part of growing up; a rite of passage.  I never got the sense that drug use was perceived as dangerous.  Ecstasy, after all, is a fairly common drug taken at parties and does not usually have dangerous side effects.

As of late, drug use has been taken too callously.  Today’s youth may have heard that drugs are bad but there is the perception that drug abuse refers to heroin addicts not high school students.  The possibility that marijuana, “shrooms”, or ecstasy can be dangerous, does not appear to be a reality.  While Trinity’s death is a tragedy, it may serve as an example for others about the dangers of drugs and help to save the lives of other young people.

Illegal drugs are not manufactured with government standards in mind.  The quality control is not the same as the pills you are prescribed at your local pharmacy.  Side effects, even as serious as death, can and do happen.  There is no recourse! You can’t sue your drug dealer like you could a pharmaceutical company for not taking enough steps to ensure safety.  While Trinity is not the first young girl to die from drug use, I just hope that her death will not be in vain.

Drugs should not be seen as a rite of passage, or something that everyone needs to experiment with at one time or another.  The negative consequences of drug use do not only apply to addicts.  One bad pill could mean the difference between life and death.

My condolences go out to the family of Trinity Bird.

Update:

A Second girl has passed away from an Ecstasy overdose.  Leah Dominique House, aged 14, died Wednesday night after being taken off life  support.  Crisis team member Virginia Rain described the tragedy as a “wakeup call” for the community to become more involved in the prevention and education of illegal drug use.  The Edmonton Journal notes that in the past four years, at least five teen girls have died from taking ecstasy.  Click for the full story