stargurl

From the Toronto Star:

Adam Segal - STAFF REPORTER

A 16-year-old Toronto boy is dead after swallowing several pills at a rave party in a downtown nightclub early yesterday.

Police say the boy, who attended the ``Chronic Sessions'' rave party at the Digital Night Club on Mercer St. near Spadina Ave. and King St. W., bought the pills from a someone in the club and swallowed several of them.

He collapsed and fell unconscious around 3:30 a.m. and was taken to St. Michael's Hospital, where he died at 12:30 p.m.

Police would not speculate on whether the pills were the popular rave drug ecstasy.

An 18-year-old woman who was at the club said she felt frightened as she watched paramedics work on the boy.

``He was so pale white, it was really disturbing,'' said the woman, who did not want to be identified.

``He was breathing really fast and I heard the paramedic say:'I've only seen someone breathe that fast when they hyperventilate.' ''

The woman said that, earlier on in the party, she saw security officers take four pills from someone at the club.

The rave was put on by Big Bud, a popular rave promoting group in Toronto. One of the Big Bud promoters was shocked when informed yesterday of the boy's death.

``I've never had problems before,'' said Raymond, who would not give his last name. ``I can't talk to you now, I have to digest this.''

It is not unusual for children under 18 people to attend raves, said Toronto police Detective Dan Ross.

``Kids as young as 12 can get in (to raves) as long as there is no booze there,'' Ross said. Rave supporters said the death shouldn't be blamed on raves.

``I would caution anyone before they try and paint this as a rave problem as opposed to a youth problem,'' said Will Chang, 27, of the Toronto Safe Dance Committee.

People who know the club, formally called Exit, describe it as an after-hours club that usually opens after midnight on days at the end of the week.

It is an old warehouse-style brown brick two-storey building on Mercer St. across from Metro Hall. No one from the club could be reached for comment.

Ecstasy was blamed for the death of a young woman at a downtown rave last June. The drug - also known as MDMA - is an amphetamine-based stimulant and hallucinogen.

Elizabeth ``Beth'' Robertson, 21, died after a night at the Systems Soundbar, a club on Peter St. in the Yonge and Queen Sts. area.

Just before Robertson's death, a coroner's jury made 27 recommendations aimed at making raves safer.

The jurors, who had been investigating the death in October, 1999, of Ryerson student Allen Ho, said Toronto needs a safe venue for raves, along with tough new provincial laws to curb drug use at the all-night affairs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With files from Eric Shinn and Henry Stancu

stargurl

From the Toronto Sun

Rave Teen Dies After Taking Pills

by Jonathan Kingstone

A teenager died yesterday after apparently overdosing at a rave in an entertainment district nightclub, Toronto Police say.

The 16-year-old and several friends went to the dance party at the Digital club on Mercer St., near King St. and Spadina Ave., Saturday night.

"While inside the club the victim was observed consuming several pills," police said last night, adding he bought the drugs from "an individual who was also inside the premises."

A short time later, police said, the teen "fell into an unconscious state" and was rushed to hospital.

The youth -- whose name his parents asked police to withhold -- was pronounced dead in hospital yesterday. Police said their investigation is continuing.

Although police would not disclose what pills the teen had taken, Ecstasy has been the most common drug associated with raves.

stargurl

From Cable Pulse 24

Perilous Pills

He was only 16-years-old. But when the teenager went to an all-ages rave at the Digital Nightclub on Mercer Street Saturday night, witnesses saw him buying and swallowing several pills. Not long after, he collapsed, and was rushed to St. Michael's Hospital. He died there on Sunday afternoon.

Authorities are awaiting autopsy results to find out what killed the still unidentified teen. Police refuse to speculate on whether the boy ingested Ecstasy, a drug popular with the party crowd. Rave supporters have worked hard to clean up the reputation of the all-night parties, which came under extreme scrutiny following the drug-related deaths of 21-year-old Elizabeth Robertson last June, and Ryerson student Allan Ho in October 1999.

A coroners inquest looking into the latter's death made 27 recommendations regarding raves, including making sure they're held at safe venues and stiffening the penalties for illegal drug use at the events.

July 9, 2001

Everybodies_Daddy

Sad, isn't it.

Something we need to know-

Why does this keep happening when it doesn't have to?

Any ideas?

MCED

__________________
Dirty Little Secrets

Hot + Dirty

Fibonacci

Everybodies_Daddy why do u think it keeps happening? Its pretty obvious isnt it? Drugs and Teenagers dont mix and if
you try to mix them this is what will happen from time to
time even if its just E. Lets face it this is what the Toronto
Rave scene has become today, a trendy party where kids can
do all the drugs in the world. What do u think the outcome
of that will be?

=cyprus=

Regardless of if this boy knew what he was taking, how completely stupid do you have to be to take 7! SEVEN, the number scares me.......

It is unjustifiable, and sick....

He didn't deserve to die though, but why did this happen, did he not think any harm could come out of it? What do you do, more education....

I just can't understand, why?

QTBOOTY

thats why when u do decide to do drugs u dont do 7 pills at a time......................
its called drug awareness.....

__________________
=*Þ

~*~pRiNcEsS juLiA~*~

Awww...It's really sad that this happened Hmmm... I guess one good thing about it is that the one thing that I saw on the news about it.. was how it showed Will Chang 9as mentioned above) and he was defending raves.. saying that this could happen anywhere, etc.

I was going to go to this partie too.... It's sad. People don't realize how bad E really is.. I was in the hospital for ONE week from Ecstasy.. because not only did I overdose.. I was unfortunate enough to get pills that had PMA in (lethal substance) . Although I was not at a rave, it changed my views completely on drugs. I should have died, but for whatever unknown reason I made it through. my experience made me realize just how powerful these chemicals really are.. People need to look at this as a lesson, and not just brush it off and say "well that won't happen to me" because it could. I never thought I would wind up in the hospital either..

All I'm saying is that we all need to take this VERY seriously because Ecstasy and other chemicals seemed to have become very popular in the rave scene these days..

People should think about WHY their raving... is it just an excuse to go out , get high, etc? well if thats your reason.. you should do some reassessing.. because people who are more into it realize that it should NOT be about the drugs.. although drugs seem to be flooding the scene.. It's really sad.

Nubbie

The articles didn't say 7 pills... they said several. Several can be anywhere from 2-(Whatever). What if he only took 2?
Personally I've double dosed before, and yes it was by choice.

I guess unfortunatly... that is the chance we take when we choose to dose and get high.

RIP young one.
"My angel's wing you to your rest"
-=Nub=-

=cyprus=

.

~*kErbiE*~

Sorry Cyprus, I think that Nubula is right on this one...several doesn't necessarily mean seven. In my opinion, several can mean anywhere from like 3 or over.

I have never double-dosed before, I've done like 3 1/2s in one night, separated, and that was only under the influence of someone's "pressure". Sure you all may say that peer pressure shouldn't be an excuse, but for me it was at the time. It was a dumb move, but I was lucky enough that nothing bad happened to me.

That's avoiding the point though, I think that it is completely irresponsible to do "several" pills at one time, especially when you're in a place that represents what you believe in. If you fuck up, or you do something, like pass out, overdose, etc. Don't put yourself in a situation where you're going to disgrace the people around you, or going to put them in an awkward spot. Everyone's involvement plays a role in their surroundings, whether or not they believe it.

I had a point, and then I lost it.

__________________
karlene.

Nubbie

It is the worst catch and half the time you barely notice it... it seems anaways.

"Everyone else is dosing... so why shouldn't I?"
-=Nub=-

stargurl

From today's toronto star:

Teen bought ecstasy at club shortly before he died: Cousin
`I'll never touch that stuff,' says dead 16-year-old's relative
Dale Anne Freed
STAFF REPORTER
Hours before he collapsed inside a downtown Toronto rave, a 16-year-old Brampton teen had gone looking within the club to buy ecstasy, says his cousin who was with him that night.

Daniel Engson had been dancing at the Digital Club on Mercer St. Saturday night before he collapsed at about 3 a.m. Sunday, 4 1/2 hours after he arrived at the club with 15 other friends to celebrate his cousin Gerard Engson's 18th birthday.

Daniel Engson, 16, died after taking what he believed was ecstasy.

``He bought them (the pills) within the club. At about midnight he wanted to buy some ecstasy. He went off by himself to buy it. He was going around asking for it (the drug),'' said his cousin and best friend Gerard Engson.

Daniel fell into unconsciousness three hours after taking two pills about midnight, his cousin said. He was taken to St. Michael's Hospital about 3:30 a.m. and died about nine hours later.

Before he collapsed, Daniel sat down, ``he asked for water a lot. . . . He started shaking a bit. A bit later he started convulsing. He couldn't hold himself down. The girls around him were trying to keep him down,'' said Gerard, who hurried off to get his cousin more water.

But when Gerard returned with the water, Daniel had been taken outside by his friends. Paramedics were around Daniel, and he was rushed to hospital shortly after, Gerard recalled.

Investigators are waiting for toxicological testing to determine the cause of death after an autopsy yesterday yielded inconclusive results, said regional coroner Dr. William Lucas.

``We'll be looking for alcohol, drugs and quantities,'' Lucas said.

Tissue testing will also reveal any serious infections or diseases the teen might have suffered.

``We're still at the preliminary stages of the investigation. Our primary suspicion is that this is a drug-related death,'' Lucas said.

Someone with a sensitivity to the drug ecstasy might only need to ingest one pill, he added.

``I'll never touch that stuff. . . . It was my first rave. I'll never go again,'' said Gerard, an OAC student at St. Thomas Aquinas in Brampton.

Instead of celebrating his birthday, which was yesterday, Gerard and his family met with Daniel's parents last night to make funeral arrangements for Saturday.

Now Daniel's mother wants to warn other kids about the drug's lethal dangers.

``I hope they will stop doing that drug (ecstasy) and learn a lesson from that,'' said Annie Engson.

``Now I would never let my other children go to a rave,'' she said. Engson and her husband Amande have two other children, Ian, 12, and Jessica, 8.

Daniel was due to start summer school next week. A Grade 11 student at Cardinal Leger high school, Daniel was going to be making up credits in English and math before he entered Grade 12 in the fall, said his mother.

Investigators will also be looking at whether the management of the club advised the police about this event and whether they had the appropriate security measures, police Sergeant Jim Muscat told media at police headquarters yesterday.

``At this point in time there's no indication of any charges.''

``There's going to be an inherent danger of consuming anything you purchase off the street unless it's bottled water or pop,'' Muscat said.

And hang on to that drink if you want to make sure no one slips anything into it, he added. ``It's difficult to tell what effects these drugs will have on the heart and the brain.''

Lucas feels it would ``make sense'' to look at making raves safe rather than driving them underground ``where you have absolutely no control over them.''

Rave supporters say the dances aren't to blame.

``There have been 20 ecstasy-related deaths in Ontario since 1998 and only three of those 20 have been attributed to raves,'' said Will Chang, a Toronto lawyer and a rave advocate who is a member of the Toronto Dance Safety Committee.

Friends of the 5-foot-8, 150-pound teen told his mother he took two ecstasy pills, she told The Star.

``Some of the others said they took ecstasy too. They're all all right,'' his mother said.

Daniel told his mother he'd be staying at his cousin Gerard's house after leaving the rave.

But when the teens didn't show up, Gerard's mother, Eloisa Engson, phoned her son on his cellphone about 1 a.m. to ask why they weren't home yet.

She phoned again after 3:30 a.m. very worried, her son said. ``We're in trouble. We're in big trouble. Daniel is in the hospital,'' he told his mother.

stargurl

From the toronto Sun:

A mother's anguish
Raves are not for teens: Mom of OD kid

By JASON TCHIR, TORONTO SUN

The mother of a Brampton teen who died of a suspected drug overdose at a downtown Toronto rave pleaded tearfully last night for "no more dead teenagers."

"They shouldn't have 16-year-olds and 13-year-olds in there," sobbed Annie Engson, whose son Daniel, 16, died Sunday after collapsing during a rave at the Digital club.

Asked what she'd tell police, Annie cried: "No more dead teenagers, no nothing."

"I knew there was no alcohol (at the event). I thought it would be safe. We just didn't know there would be drugs inside," Annie told The Toronto Sun.

SMUGGLED

Daniel had experienced raves and Ecstasy before, said cousin Gerard Engson, 18, who was with Daniel at the club on Mercer St.

While security searched patrons at the door, Gerard believes drugs were smuggled inside underwear.

"We heard some girls were smuggling it inside their bras," he said. "It's all just so stupid and pointless to go to those lengths to take drugs. It's stupid to use something like a rave as just an excuse to get high."

Daniel and several friends bought pills they thought were Ecstasy inside the rave, Gerard said.

"He had tried it before and was okay. That's why we were so surprised this happened," said Gerard, who said he did not take the pills himself. "We think he had three but I don't know if he took them all."

Gerard witnessed his cousin's collapse.

"He was really hyperactive. I don't know if it was the Ecstasy or just Daniel being himself. Then he just started convulsing," Gerard said.

Daniel was taken to St. Michael's Hospital around 3:30 a.m. and died nine hours later.

GRADE 12 STUDENT

Coroner Dr. William Lucas said the teen had a "really high core body temperature" consistent with an Ecstasy overdose.

Daniel was going into Grade 12 at Cardinal Leger high school.

stargurl

God.. I just read the articles from today's Star and Sun..

Daniel lived across the creek from my parents place. He went to the highschool I should have gone to. His family belonged to our parish. He was my younger brother's age. They could have been, would have been classmates if Zach went to Leger.

This hits too close to home. Every rave death hits too close to home. This is our community and people are dying as a result of it. Drugs are an undeniable part of our culture, but I truly wish that they weren't. It scares me that so many people react with a "He shouldn't have been so stupid" or a "Ohmygod what's going to happen to parties now". A boy is dead.

Yes, there are drugs everywhere, but drug use is rampant at raves. At raves, drugs are openly consumed. Flyers and party names hint at drugs. Our music references drugs. It's no wonder that people see us as they do, because their observations are true. Go to a party sober, look around.. it can be a fucking scary experience.

I have always partied sober. I have never understood the desire to go out and get high and I wish that others didn't as well. Something needs to be done. Nothing will be accomplished if people simply preach moderation. Define moderation. Is that 1 pill once a week? 1 pill a month? 1 a year? 3 a weekend? The concept is so subjective. There are too many factors involved.

I could say that kids don't belong at raves, but that would be a bullshit statement coming from me. I was 13 when I walked into my first rave. I could say that we should try to eliminate drugs, but that would be a bullshit statement as well. That would be me on a soapbox. That would be an unreasonable claim.

Moderation? Education? I don't know what the solution is.

No more rave deaths.

Rest in peace, Daniel.

fireflygodess

You want to know what's really killing these people? Their own lack of common sense. I mean not only do they go out and buy drugs from people they know absolutely nothing about but they take these things in arbitrary doses. I don't know about you guys, but I really don't think that I can feel sad for them. I can feel sad that they chose not to think and that this is the reason that they are dead. Anyone with some sort of common sense would know:

a) that buying drugs from someone they know absolutely nothing about carries risks (the drug may not be what the person is telling you it is; mostly a begginers mistake, The drug could be laced with something that it should not have been mixed with in the first place; no one can really tell that until the drug is consummed, or the dealer could be some fucked up jerk who gets his/her kicks from deceiving party kids and watching them die)

and

b) excess of anything in this life can kill you, especially drugs.

I can't feel sorry for people who are stupid and show so little respect for themselves. Too bad the kid died, but he died as a result of his own stupidity. All I can say is THINK DAMN IT!!!!THINK!!

Firefly

__________________
An Idle mind is the devil's workshop. Stay out of hell

Nubbie

That's like saying if I walked into traffic and forgot to look you wouldn't care.

Have some respect... regardless of how it happened, a human being is dead now.

Whatever happened to respecting the dead?
-=Nub=-

RIP Daniel Engson

fireflygodess

Take it which ever way you want,but before you go passing judgement on me, check your premises. We are taught to feel bad for things that are not our responsability, as if by feeling sad or anything will change the results of what has happened. I said it was too bad that he died, but I cant compare walking onto a street without looking to what this kid did. At least when you walk out on the street there is another factor that could have changed the outcome. If the person was hit by a driver then the factor that could have been changed is the drivers reaction time and how closely he/ she was paying attention to the road, so that the accident could have been prevented.

Someone who, in full knowledge of the effect of a drug takes more than the recommended dosage out of their own stupidity or lack of common sense, is fully acountable for what they are doing and the only factor that could have changed the outcome of this situation would have been if he had had enough common sense and respect for himself to think about what he was doing before he went on to obliterate himself. So you go ahead and feel sorry for him. I for my part only feel sorry for the fact that so much grey matter is wasted on those who are not willing to use it, because that IS sad. To have the ability to act in your benefit, but to instead choose to destroy yourself is moronic, and undeserving of pity. If I were to feel sorry I would feel sorry for someone who had no control over the way they died, like the person walking out on the street in your example, but what this kid did is almost like putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger. Who knows maybe we are all here arguing about wether it should be sad that he died or not, and maybe dying was his intent. So maybe this whole argument is pointless anyway. I just wanted to let you know where I was coming from.

Firefly

=cyprus=

I agree with all of what you said, but this part was the most important I believe....

"We didn't do it to him, he did it to himself"

Jess

i don't know what to think...

i am deeply saddened by another death in our community

i think part of the problem is that the human species all seem to have the "it's not going to happen to me syndrome"

everyone knows that smoking gives you cancer-yet we still smoke

everyone knows that fast food is not the way to go-yet we still eat it

everyone knows that drinking and driving kills-yet there are still people out there who do it

___________

i also have a problem with this huge outrage the rave scene gets. at Lollapalooza or some concert in Europe I believe there 161 drug charges, and 7 charges of people who had EXPLOSIVES on them...yet concerts will not be banned...

I'm not sure of the exact numbers but this is close to the number 15th ecstasy related death in four years or something, and number 7 ecstasy/rave related death? someone please correct me. if you take the number of partiers from all over canada and divide by 7, you'll notice the number is small, it's still too big as any life lost is too many, btu when compared to alcohol or tobacco (2 very legal substances in canada) it's small

___________

my heart goes out to his friends and family

__________________
www.neksis.com

bucky

sounds like possible heat stroke to me... drugs that dehydrate ya + poorly ventilated venue = not a good situation...

still a sad situation...

__________________
http://www.wnysor.net
http://www.polishsoup.net
http://www.throatpunching.com

Commander Keen

sigh, another one bites the dust.

I honestly don't know what to think about the whole thing.. a lot of good points have been made...
Yes, I do believe that we should be held accountable for our actions, yet most of society denies their responsibilities... when someone smokes, and gets lung cnacer, they do not blame themselves, they blame the tobacco comapnies..
however, this is not a time for casting blame on the parties involved... it's a time for mourning and remorse.

Please don't let this death be a meaningless one... learn from this person's death, and what can be done in the future to avoid a repeat.

I agree with stargurl 100% when she says that drugs are a part of the culture.. it is a large part, and although one does not need to partake in the drug aspect, one must acknowledge it's part it plays. I'm pretty sure that the dealer who sold the kid the pills was not intentionally selling anything harmful, and if the dealer did find out that he was selling bad shit, I have some faith that the dealer would not sell the batch of pills.
however, we must realize that although we are a community, we are buying something that may or may not contain the desired substances from people who are basically strangers, or buying stuff from people who bought the pills from another person, who bought them from another person.

know the risk of your activities, and be prepared to accept the consequences whether they be good or bad.

Fibonacci

fireflygodess that is the stupid's thing ive ever heard anyone say.
This could have happened to anyone that does ecstasy. Half the
dealers out there dont even know themselves what is exactly in their pills, so why would it matter if you know your dealer or not? I mean how well can you possibly know your drug dealer anyways, their just out to make money off of silly little kids.
And no one said that this kid went out and took 7 or 8 pills, it could have just been 2 or 3. Its not as if he went out and over
dosed to oblivion. I dont think that most people know
how dangerous ecstasy is and the risks it poses. Studies show
that people sensitive to ecstasy can potentially over dose on
one pill.
As sad as it is as long as people continue to dose, this will
continue to happen.

=cyprus=

I saw the Sun today, and it had the boy's picture on the front cover.

What got my attention though was the quote they got from his mother ...."16 year old's should not be attending raves!"

That made me think because my mom knows I go to the same things, and that I am 16, but with that statement, it makes it look like only the young kids die at these places.

It is not the age that necessarily underlines who will, or will not die at them, it is the knowledge they have and who they really are.

The age is less important, well unless we are dipping into 13's and 14's. But what is more important is what they know about the places, why they go, for the music, or to get high.

Saying "16 year olds should not be attending raves' is contrary to the point. His age did not change his actions,it was his knowledge nieve sense and lack of experience that did.

Many 16 year olds go to raves, for the social accept and the music. Not all go to does to extremes.

With that, it is not always the young kids that o.d and sometimes die, many have been older then this age.

In short, 16 year olds should be allowed to attend raves, sensibly.