Dennis RomeroA psychedelic drug invented by California Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin decades ago made a fatal comeback this week when a teenager died and 10 people were hospitalized Thursday after overdosing on Europa, a.k.a. 2C-E.
What's exceptional about this episode is not only that 2C-E is legal, but that it was synthesized under the auspices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Indeed. You see …
… Shulgin created his drugs at a home lab in the Bay Area with the help of a DEA license that let him do his thing in order to analyze drugs and give expert testimony when the agency went to prosecute dealers.
Sasha Shulgin, psychedelic inventor, “godfather of ecstasy.”
(That didn't last).
The death and hospitalizations happened this week in a Minneapolis suburb. The victims ranged in age from 16 to 21. The deceased was said to be 19.
Turns out a close relative to Europa, 2C-B, is a controlled substance, but that it only takes a little tweaking to turn that into 2C-E.
The result is a 6 to 10-hour, beyond-LSD trip, apparently.
The teens were partying at a two-story house.
Carol Falkowski, drug abuse strategy officer with the Minnesota Department of Human Services, told Associated Press Europa was big in the rave scene 10 years ago.
Two other U.S. deaths from 2C-E or B have been recorded since 2000.
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