Gardai have dismissed earlier reports that they became ill after taking a lethal new concoction, known on the streets as "scuzz".
The seven were admitted to hospital and six of them were said to be in a serious condition.
All had been behaving very erratically and, according to gardai, posed a danger to themselves and to others.
Gardai warned, last night, that taking the two drugs on the same night could also result in a heart attack. Those admitted to hospital were all either medical or veterinary students at UCD.
However, a UCD Students' Union spokesman said that the issue was not solely confined to UCD.
As a result of inquiries over the past week, gardai from the Donnybrook district drug unit carried out a planned search of a house in Blackrock, in south county Dublin, on Wednesday night.
They seized nine LSD "deals" in paper form in the house. The paper depicted the comic superhero Captain America. Gardai believe a total of 16 "deals" were purchased.
They pointed out that LSD tabs in paper form cannot contain amphetamines and following toxicology tests they were satisfied that the ill students had taken the two separately.
The alarm was raised initially last Friday when a student at a party in Dundrum began behaving abnormally after taking the drugs and an ambulance was called.
By the time the ambulance arrived, three others were also unwell. A fifth student in the house was also taken away in the ambulance as a precautionary measure
and all five were brought to St James's Hospital.
A sixth student was later hospitalised after he was found behaving erratically in the city centre, and on Wednesday morning a seventh was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital after he was detained by gardai under public order legislation when found in Harcourt Street.
A garda told the Irish Independent: "There has been a lot of misinformation about the drugs involved. There is no evidence of any cocktail and it is clear from the toxicology tests that the hospitalised students had taken amphetamines and LSD separately.
"But the result of taking the two can be very dangerous as the users lose control of themselves and can also suffer wider effects such as cardiac arrest," he added.
He said the source of the "deals" had not yet been traced but said they had made substantial progress and were following a number of lines of inquiry.
Officers from the garda national drugs unit are overseeing the investigation and the HSE has also been alerted, while the UCD students' union sent out a warning about taking the two drugs.
The seven were admitted to hospital and six of them were said to be in a serious condition.
All had been behaving very erratically and, according to gardai, posed a danger to themselves and to others.
Gardai warned, last night, that taking the two drugs on the same night could also result in a heart attack. Those admitted to hospital were all either medical or veterinary students at UCD.
However, a UCD Students' Union spokesman said that the issue was not solely confined to UCD.
As a result of inquiries over the past week, gardai from the Donnybrook district drug unit carried out a planned search of a house in Blackrock, in south county Dublin, on Wednesday night.
They seized nine LSD "deals" in paper form in the house. The paper depicted the comic superhero Captain America. Gardai believe a total of 16 "deals" were purchased.
They pointed out that LSD tabs in paper form cannot contain amphetamines and following toxicology tests they were satisfied that the ill students had taken the two separately.
The alarm was raised initially last Friday when a student at a party in Dundrum began behaving abnormally after taking the drugs and an ambulance was called.
By the time the ambulance arrived, three others were also unwell. A fifth student in the house was also taken away in the ambulance as a precautionary measure
and all five were brought to St James's Hospital.
A sixth student was later hospitalised after he was found behaving erratically in the city centre, and on Wednesday morning a seventh was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital after he was detained by gardai under public order legislation when found in Harcourt Street.
A garda told the Irish Independent: "There has been a lot of misinformation about the drugs involved. There is no evidence of any cocktail and it is clear from the toxicology tests that the hospitalised students had taken amphetamines and LSD separately.
"But the result of taking the two can be very dangerous as the users lose control of themselves and can also suffer wider effects such as cardiac arrest," he added.
He said the source of the "deals" had not yet been traced but said they had made substantial progress and were following a number of lines of inquiry.
Officers from the garda national drugs unit are overseeing the investigation and the HSE has also been alerted, while the UCD students' union sent out a warning about taking the two drugs.
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The Health Service Executive also issued a warning this afternoon.
It said: "Taking drugs carries serious health risks. It is important that anyone who has taken drugs and is experiencing side effects seeks medical help immediately."
The HSE outlined some practical steps that drug users should be aware of to prevent an overdose:
- Avoid mixing drugs and mixing drugs with alcohol
- Recognise that medications prescribed by a doctor may interact with street drugs and cause an overdose
- Injecting drugs increases your risk of overdose
- Injecting drugs is always a risk but can be even more so with an unfamiliar supply source.
- If someone gets into difficulty after consuming a substance it is critically important to get help immediately
- Recognise that medications prescribed by a doctor may interact with street drugs and cause an overdose
- Injecting drugs increases your risk of overdose
- Injecting drugs is always a risk but can be even more so with an unfamiliar supply source.
- If someone gets into difficulty after consuming a substance it is critically important to get help immediately
Gardaí say they are liaising with the HSE about the incident.
A UCD Students' Union spokesperson told RTE News, that a number of their students were hospitalised last night, after taking a cocktail of drugs, believed to have included amphetamines and LSD.
The union said that they were approached by gardaí to issue a safety message about the incident and warn students that a particularly "bad batch" of drugs is circulating Dublin.
They posted a message on their Facebook account:
"Several students have been taken into hospital last night after taking a bad cocktail of drugs that may have included amphetamines and LSD.
"The gardaí are worried that fatalities may occur if this batch is not taken out of circulation.
UPDATE:
Several UCD students have been hospitalised after taking a "bad cocktail of drugs" known as "scuzz".
Several students are now in a stable condition after they were taken to hospital on Tuesday night after taking the combination of LSD, speed and other amphetamines.
During the course of this search a small quantity of suspected LSD / Methamphetamine paper (pending analysis) was recovered. the paper depicts a picture of the comic superhero Captain America.
Gardaí have launched an investigation and have asked the college to issue a warning to students.
Officers made the arrest after raiding a house in Blackrock, south Dublin, late last night.
Senior sources say that officers recovered nine ‘deals’ of the drug which is believed to be a combination of LSD, speed and other amphetamines.
It is understood that the arrested man had been living with students at the house in Blackrock.
He is suspected of dealing the drug to students in UCD over the past number of days.
Gardai investigating the drugs cocktail have warned that fatalities could occur if the batch is not taken out of circulation.
A garda spokesman could not confirm the numbers hospitalised this morning.
The students union at UCD took to social networking sites to warn its members about the potential dangers of the drug.
“Several students have been taken into hospital after taking a bad cocktail of drugs that may have included amphetamines and LSD,” a warning from the student union said.
It added: “The gardai are worried that fatalities may occur if this batch is not taken out of circulation.”
Hospitalised: It is understood that the students who were hospitalised are in a stable condition and are likely to recover.
A UCD Students’ Union spokesman said that the organisation had heard that two students remain in hospital after taking the drugs but he said the numbers aren’t confirmed.
“We’re on the ground and seeing how prevalent this is amongst the student body. We don’t think this is solely confined to UCD or that this batch of drugs is confined to UCD,” he said.
“These things generally are Dublin-wide or they might be going through the college scene in general,” the spokesman added.
It is feared that there could still be a considerable amount of the drug in circulation and the HSE has been notified a garda spokesman said.
Anyone with concerns or who has any more information on the illegal substance has been urged to call the garda drug unit on 01 666 9200.
UCD Students Union stated on Facebook: "Several students have been taken into hospital last night after taking a bad cocktail of drugs that may have included amphetamines and LSD.
"The Gardaí are worried that fatalities may occur if this batch is not taken out of circulation.
"If you are concerned or have any more information contact the drug unit on 01 6669200 or contact us here in the SU. We'll be checking emails and social media after office hours."
EDITOR's NOTE:
The name "SCUZZ" appears to be the nick name of a convicted drug dealer in the US rather than a common name for a street drug.
.... At the time, Nate was a nineteen-year-old high school dropout who worked at a Pizza Hut in Coeur D'Alene - a gorgeous but dull resort town in Idaho - and sold the occasional dime bag on the side. Chubby and baby-faced. Nate had never been the type to come up with a million-dollar brainstorm. "He was one of those guys everybody used to pick on," says his friend Scuzz - Ben Scozzaro, a year ahead of Nate at Coeur D'Alene High. "He looks like the Keebler Elf. That's what we used to call him, actually." Nor was Nate much of a scholar. His girlfriend Buffy once received a letter in which Nate spelled "pot" with an extra "t." "He can't spell 'marijuana,' either," she adds. ... www.drugfreeworld.org
EDITOR's NOTE:
The name "SCUZZ" appears to be the nick name of a convicted drug dealer in the US rather than a common name for a street drug.
.... At the time, Nate was a nineteen-year-old high school dropout who worked at a Pizza Hut in Coeur D'Alene - a gorgeous but dull resort town in Idaho - and sold the occasional dime bag on the side. Chubby and baby-faced. Nate had never been the type to come up with a million-dollar brainstorm. "He was one of those guys everybody used to pick on," says his friend Scuzz - Ben Scozzaro, a year ahead of Nate at Coeur D'Alene High. "He looks like the Keebler Elf. That's what we used to call him, actually." Nor was Nate much of a scholar. His girlfriend Buffy once received a letter in which Nate spelled "pot" with an extra "t." "He can't spell 'marijuana,' either," she adds. ... www.drugfreeworld.org
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