Ten in hospital after 2C-B rave

A group of revellers were rushed to hospital after taking a psychedelic drug rarely seen before by Nottingham's emergency services. The dealer who supplied them is awaiting sentence and the city's drug services are relaying the lessons learnt. REBECCA SHERDLEY and MICHAEL GREENWELL report

WHEN 10 people were rushed to hospital in the early hours of November 16 last year, medics found themselves dealing with something new.

They are trained to deal with overdoses and side-effects from a variety of drugs, but the symptoms exhibited by this group of people were different and alarming.

They were suffering vivid hallucinations, extreme anxiety and some of their heart rates were at worryingly high levels.

Some of the group – including six students from the University of Nottingham – said they had taken 2C-B, a drug "rarely seen" in the city.

It has been described as a cross between ecstasy and LSD, which propels users into an energetic state mixed with hallucinations and disorientation.

It is often dealt in capsules containing a dose of the drug, but the 10 people, who would eventually be hospitalised, may have taken 2C-B in an unmeasured, powder form.

Inspector Nigel English, of Notts Police drugs directorate, said: "2C-B is a synthetic drug, and one that we have rarely come across in the last few years.

"It could be that those who took it were unfamiliar with the drug and unaware of its potential side-effects or safe dosage levels.

"It may be that they mistook it for another more common drug, like ecstasy or amphetamine, and assumed it could be taken in a similar quantity."