The St. Paul Pioneer Express reported an incident involving the use of the hallucinogenic designer drug, 2C-E. Nicknamed "Europa" ,  2C-E is an unregulated substance that is predominantly sold through European websites. The drug is a member of the psychedelic phenylethylamine family, a group of hallucinogenic substances that pack a wallop of an effect. In this case, a house party involving a group of teenagers and young adults featured 2C-E (2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylphenylethylamine) , it appeared that everyone in attendance had consumed the drug. Within a relatively short time following consumption of the drug, nearly everyone had became ill. Responding police and paramedics discovered the partygoers to be in varying degrees of distress. Emergency responders described the victims as being in altered states of consciousness. Some were described as being engaged by profound hallucinations. One 19 year old attendee was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Ten others who took the drug were also hospitalized, all are expected to recover. 

While the facts of the case are all but clear, it appears that the Blaine partygoers may have believed that they were consuming a drug called 2C-I (2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine), a somewhat more mild hallucinogenic substance. In any event, there is limited data and information associated with the use of either drug. Dosing for these drugs is difficult to gauge, the effects unpredictable. A few descriptions of the effects of 2C-E have been reported on the Internet. Most users experience moderate to powerful hallucinogenic experiences. The effects seem to be exaggerations of the experiences described by LSD users. And like LSD, the effects of 2C-E (and 2C-I) are long lasting. Most highs extend somewhere between 6 and 12 hours in duration. "Bad trips" are reportedly tempered by the administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants. Physical symptoms of 2C-E ingestion include:

Dilated pupils, reactive to light.

Facial flushing, increased perspiration

Grimacing and grinding of teeth

Fast internal clock

Elevated pulse and increased respiration

Rapidly changing emotions (crying jags and excessive laughter)

Detachment from surroundings

DAR and DRE trained personnel will find that people under the influence of these drugs will exhibit classic symptoms of the hallucinogen category. Of note here is the tendency for the phenylethylamines to agitate and over stimulate users. In that regard, these drugs are similar in their effects to the amphetamines.  In many respects, these two drugs are reincarnations of the Vietnam War era drug with mixed-properties known as DMT. Both these drugs are capable of rapid onset of symptoms. In some cases auditory disturbances have ensued within a minute or two of ingestion. 2C-E and 2C-I are usually found on the streets in the form of single scored white tablets the size of a common bottle aspirin. In some locales, the drugs can be found as fluffy white powder packaged in small plastic "dime" bags. The powdered drugs can be snorted or injected. There have been scattered reports of smoked 2C-E, but its molecular characteristics cause it to burn somewhat unevenly.

The legal status for these drugs is questionable. Although not explicitly banned by federal law, manufacture and sale of these drugs for human consumption is likely prosecutable under the auspices of analog statutes related to 2C-B, a related drug that is banned due to its placement on Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act.  

Readers who are interested in obtaining drug test systems for these drugs and other designer drug compounds should contact MEDTOX at MEDTOXJournal@MEDTOX.com