BRUSSELS – A particularly dangerous batch of the drug ecstasy has found its way onto Belgium’s black market, the Belgian public health authorities warned on Wednesday.

The Belgian Scientific Public Health Institute said that pills from the batch contain unusually high amounts of MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy. 

The institute warned that the high-dose tablets could cause serious health problems including convulsions, overheating and coma.

In a worst-case scenario, the pills could be lethal, the institute added.

Most of the suspect pills are round, pink and have been stamped with the distinctive logo of the Mercedes car company. They weigh around 308 milligrammes each.

But the institute said there were other high-dose ecstasy tablets available on Belgium’s black market.

Users should also watch out for round, yellow tablets with the number seven stamped on them, said the institute.

[Copyright Expatica 2004]

Subject: Belgian news