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FSPCA - Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance

Monday, March 14, 2022

Europe - Bottle of Champagne Contaminated With the Drug Ecstasy Kills One and Sickens 8

One man died and 8 others hospitalized in Germany and the The Netherlands after drinking champagne spike with a high level of the drug Ecstasy.  It is unknown how the bottles became laced with the drug.  The news report stated that the bottles of Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial were purchased on the internet.
"Toxicology reports found the champagne contained 1,000 times the normal dose of ecstasy, so much that the beverage had turned purple, according to the Daily Beast. Police do not believe the drinkers were aware of the drug or had added it themselves".

Clearly a case of intentional contamination.  Perhaps the bottles were spiked as a means to ship the drug and then were inadvertently sold?


https://www.insider.com/luxury-moet-champagne-spiked-with-ecstasy-kills-man-12-poisoned-2022-3
Man dies and 12 people are taken ill after drinking a $480 bottle of champagne spiked with ecstasy
Bethany Dawson Mar 6, 2022, 11:46 AM

A man has died and 12 became ill in Germany and The Netherlands after drinking a bottle of luxury champagne laced with ecstasy.
 Harald Georg Z,52, died after drinking a glass of the spiked Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial, and eight others were left poisoned at a restaurant in Weiden, Germany, The Times reports.

Drug smugglers are suspected of lacing the bottles with the drugs, The Times added.

Dutch health authorities said four people were hospitalized after sharing a bottle of Moet in The Netherlands, priced

The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said that "Touching and/or drinking the contents of the bottles is life-threatening. This has led to seven very serious illnesses and one death in Germany,"

"It is not known how the MDMA ended up in these bottles," the statement continued, adding that all the spiked bottles were bought on an unknown website.

Therefore, the agency is unable to estimate how many bottles may have been tainted and who is at risk.

Police investigations found that "there was no champagne in the affected champagne bottle, but the chemical substance MDMA, which is often also referred to as ecstasy," said the police headquarters in Upper Palatinate on Tuesday, according to German news site Bild.

Police spokeswoman said the liquid "was reddish-brown and quickly darkened."

A spokesman for The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said in a statement to the Daily Mail: "Even dipping your fingertip into the liquid and tasting it can cause serious health problems, even if you don't swallow it.

"People should also not touch, let alone taste, the contents. Taking a small sip can be fatal."

A warning is in place regarding 3-liter bottles of Moet & Chandon Ice Imperial with the serial number LAJ7QAB6780004.

https://www.insider.com/champagne-spiked-ecstasy-eight-hospitalized-one-dead-after-drinking-restaurant-2022-2?inline-endstory-related-recommendations=
Champagne spiked with ecstasy left 1 person dead and 8 hospitalized over Valentine's Day weekend
Gabby Landsverk Feb 14, 2022, 3:52 PM

Spiked champagne left one man dead and eight other people hospitalized over Valentine's Day weekend, the AP reported.

The group of people had ordered a bottle of sparkling wine and shared a toast at an Italian restaurant in Bavaria, Germany on Saturday night. According to officials, the bottle had been laced with ecstasy, an illegal psychedelic drug.

After sipping the champagne, drinkers began having seizures, passing out, cramping and otherwise experiencing symptoms of poisoning, the Daily Beast reported. Police arrived to find some of the patrons on the floor, and eight people were hospitalized. One 52-year-old man later died in the emergency room. Eight people, ranging in age from 33 to 52, are still in critical condition, police said.

Toxicology reports found the champagne contained 1,000 times the normal dose of ecstasy, so much that the beverage had turned purple, according to the Daily Beast. Police do not believe the drinkers were aware of the drug or had added it themselves, German media reported, although it's not clear where the drug came from or who added it to the champagne. Law enforcement is investigating where the restaurant obtained the champagne and if other bottles may have been tainted. Previously, champagne bottles have been used by drug traffickers to smuggle both liquid and pill forms of ecstasy.

Ecstasy, otherwise known as MDMA or molly, is a party drug with stimulating and hallucinogenic effects, known for amplifying sensations and causing euphoria. It's popular at music festivals, and often cut with other drugs, including the addictive anesthetic drug ketamine, research has shown.

Ecstasy can be toxic in large quantities, but research suggests it may not be life-threatening in most situations. However, ecstasy can have fatal interactions with other drugs, research shows, or lead users into risky situations, resulting in side effects like severe dehydration, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Since both ecstasy and alcohol are processed through the liver, mixing them can be dangerous, possibly causing high blood pressure , impaired movement and decision making, and potential overdose, studies suggest.

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