Two young people are believed to have died after consuming “Blue Punisher” ecstasy pills in north-eastern Germany. The Fusion music and culture festival is taking place in the region this weekend. The tablets were already circulating there, too.
There is worrying news coming from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania these days. A 13-year-old died there after allegedly consuming ecstasy. Other young people came to the intensive care unit (the star reported). And an overdose is also assumed to be the cause of the death of a 15-year-old in neighboring Brandenburg.
Police suspect the youths consumed blue pills called “Blue Punisher” that are circulating in the area. They contain a very high dose of the active ingredient MDMA. The authorities warn that even taking half a tablet can be life-threatening.
Blue Punisher pills seized at Fusion Festival
Equally disturbing is the horror scenario that Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s CDU General Secretary Daniel Peters is painting on the wall. According to the DPA news agency, he fears that “a major catastrophe could be imminent.”
The reason: The Fusion Festival has been taking place in Lärz in the Mecklenburg Lake District since Wednesday. Around 75,000 music fans are expected at the former military airfield by Sunday. It is more than an open secret that quite a few of them also use synthetic drugs such as ecstasy there.
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There are fears that if “Blue Punisher” is also circulating there, there could be a large number of people with overdose symptoms at the Fusion Festival. The police suspect that the high-dose drug will continue to be traded and consumed even after the youths have died. Experience has shown that there is a large number of unreported cases because owners did not report themselves.
As every year, the officials announced checks on arrival and departure at the festival site – also with a view to possible drug consumption by visitors. A mobile guard was set up on the site itself. Last year, 56 people were suspected of driving under the influence and 80 were charged with drug possession.
This year, on the first day of the festival, the police seized 60 “Blue Punisher” pills and several hundred other ecstasy tablets from a 29-year-old suspected drug dealer, as well as more than 180 LSD trips and other drugs. A visitor to the festival had observed the man attempting drug trafficking. Police were not aware of any other “Blue Punisher”-related incidents on the Fusion as of Thursday afternoon, a spokeswoman said star. She also warned against taking the ecstasy pill.
Drug use at the festival will not be preventable, but the organizers have taken steps to reduce the risk of ingesting the illegal substances.
Among other things, the Berlin association Eclipse eV is present on the festival site with experts on the former military airfield. According to the “safer use” principle, it advocates responsible use of intoxicants and provides information about the risks and side effects of consumption. According to the organizer, the club will provide a “psychedelic ambulance” at the merger. Drug users in crisis situations can get support there in a protected environment.
Dangerous side effects of ecstasy use
The team of emergency physician and “fusion doctor” Gernot Rücker from the Rostock University Hospital will also provide information on drug consumption at the festival. He has been at the festival for more than two decades and is supported by around 400 doctors, medical students, psychologists and nurses. Volunteer paramedics are also on site. “We have a drug advice center that works day and night. Almost all the pills that are in circulation are listed and posted there. We can look them up in databases, but we also have an efficient laboratory,” Rücker told Norddeutscher Rundfunk. “If we notice that there are pills in circulation that are dangerous, then there is an immediate warning that is posted for everyone.”
So-called drug checking has long been established, especially in Switzerland. Here consumers can check the composition of their drugs and have the risk assessed. The ecstasy variant “Blue Punisher” has been in the database of the drug information center in Zurich since the end of 2021. The institution expressly warns against “Blue Punisher”, among other things because of the “extremely high dose” MDMA content and unknown added substances.
Possible appearance of the “Blue Punisher” pills
© Drug Information Center Zurich
In Germany, too, “Blue Punisher” has long been known to the authorities. A DPA survey of security authorities revealed that thousands of blue pills with the skull and crossbones embossed on them have been seized since 2021. A fluctuating active ingredient content was found. The tablets circulating in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg may be a specific batch that was imported from other European countries, according to the police.
“Fusion doctor” Rücker and his team are also prepared for serious emergencies, for patients with an overdose. “If someone has complaints, then we are able to monitor them immediately.” The time factor is crucial in the treatment. In order to be able to react immediately, there are seven so-called monitoring beds at the festival’s medical station. “If we notice that the heart rate is increasing, blood pressure is falling or anything else is happening, we can intervene immediately.” Drug emergencies are “relatively rare” on the merger.
Faster heartbeat and falling blood pressure are not the only dangers of consuming ecstasy, especially the Blue Punisher variant. A single pill can lead to a six-fold overdose in a young person and be fatal, warned Rücker im star-Interview.
The potentially serious consequences of an overdose are well known. On the one hand, consumption leads to flights of fancy, sociability and loss of sense of time. On the other hand, the body’s own warning system is switched off. This can result in extreme water loss, organ damage or circulatory collapse, but also in fatal kidney failure and cerebral hemorrhage. Psychoses and warning ideas have also been observed.
In the case of the dead and poisoned girl from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, however, an arrest warrant has been issued against a 37-year-old suspected drug dealer. Three young people aged 16 and 17 are still being investigated. In the case of the deceased 15-year-old from Brandenburg, there is also initial suspicion of a young person. The investigations continue.
Sources: Press Releases Police Inspectorate Neubrandenburg, Press Releases Police Headquarters Neubrandenburg , Drug Information Center Zurich, North German radiok, ARD “Daily Topics”, Fusion festivalDPA news agency