A father, whose teenage daughter died after taking ecstasy at T in the Park last year, has called for testing stations to be set up at clubs and festivals so that young people can check the strength of any substances they are using.
Chris Bell's daughter Megan, from Seaham, near Sunderland, had "extremely high levels of ecstasy" in her bloodstream, an inquest found, but it was not possible to tell whether the 17-year-old had taken the drug voluntarily.
Mr Bell believes she did not, but called for better protection for those who do, after figures showed Megan was among Scotland's biggest ever death toll from the drug last year.
Deaths from the use of ecstasy or ecstasy-type drugs almost doubled between 2015 and 2016, from 15 to 28, leading to concern that a resurgence in the popularity of the illegal drug and increasing strength of street tablets are putting young users at risk.
The figures are the highest since the 2002 and 2003 when ecstasy-type drugs were implicated in the deaths of 20 people each year in Scotland.
Gareth Balmer, service manager with the substance misuse charity Addaction said: "The numbers are small, but this is a worrying increase.
"It may be due to a rise in the availability of very strong or adulterated ecstasy. Ecstasy type drugs available in Britain today are stronger than they have ever been.
"People think they are used to taking ecstasy, but one is now too much for one person. It is a familiar story: What is in them, and do you know how much you are taking?"
While the 28 lives lost make up only three per cent of Scotland's 867 drug overdose deaths in 2016 revealed this week by the National Records of Scotland, they reverse the concentration of fatalities among older users, with 10 of the victims under 25.
Mr Bell said: "I am a big believer in festivals and venues having drug testing kits. In a perfect world, people wouldn't be taking these drugs but people should know what they are taking.
We don't believe Megan took the drug willingly, but it seems to have come back into fashion and the doses that are in these tablets are astronomical, and they don't cost a lot more.
"This is seen by many as a party drug, and manufacturers make them look like superheroes, teddy bears and other fun things. But they are not fun, they are a dangerous killer drug."
He said government, police and venues need to do more to crack down on trade in ecstasy, but said making no-questions asked testing available could help.
"If Festival or venue staff are not there in numbers to prevent it, you can almost guarantee that people will keep risking it – so testing kits could be an answer."
Parents should also educate themselves, he said. "A lot of parents have limited knowledge about what their children are getting up to. We have lost Megan, who was only 17, still our baby. Our world has been turned upside down, we are devastated. It has left a huge void in our lives."
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