Dutch man reports theft of Ecstasy pill collection

AP -

A man who said he spent two decades collecting Ecstasy pills of all colors and shapes as a hobby has turned to police for help after they were stolen -- because he said some of them are poisonous.

Police say the 46-year-old man, who was not identified, decided to report the theft despite the illegal nature of the collection because he was worried about the possible consequences if anybody were to swallow one of the poisoned pills.

It was not immediately clear why about 40 red-and-white pills out of the 2,400-pill-strong collection would be poisoned, but the police said they fear the drugs could be lethal if swallowed.

"That's really the main reason he came to the police," said police spokeswoman Esther Naber, adding the man "knows he's not going to get his collection back."

A report in De Volkskrant daily Thursday said the man claimed he was not a drug dealer or user.

"I've tried it before but didn't like it," the report quoted him saying. "My passion for collecting comes from the varied collection of colors, shapes and logos that are printed on the pills."

According to a police statement, the man gathered the pills over a 20 year period and carefully stored them in coin collecting folders.

The folders were allegedly taken during a break-in Wednesday at the man's home in Eerbeek, 56 miles (90 kilometers) east of Amsterdam.

Police spokesman Naber said investigators tended to believe the man's story.

"Why would you make something like this up?" she said.

Prosecutors and drug enforcement officials are still weighing whether to charge him with a crime.

"Given that the pills have disappeared, for the moment there's no evidence to support a possession charge," Naber said.

The pills' street value is estimated at euro11,000 ($16,200).

Ecstasy 'not worse than riding'

The panel will review the latest evidence before making its decision

Taking the drug ecstasy is no more dangerous than riding a horse, a senior adviser has suggested.

Professor David Nutt, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), outlined his view in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

The council, which advises the government, is expected next week to recommend that ecstasy is downgraded from a class A drug to a class B one.

Ministers have outlined their opposition to any such move.

Professor Nutt wrote: "Drug harm can be equal to harms in other parts of life. There is not much difference between horse-riding and ecstasy."

Organ failure

The professor said horse-riding accounted for more than 100 deaths a year, and went on: "This attitude raises the critical question of why society tolerates - indeed encourages - certain forms of potentially harmful behaviour but not others such as drug use."

Professor Nutt's academic work does not prejudice that which he conducts as chair of the ACMD ACMD spokesman

Ecstasy use is linked to around 30 deaths a year, up from 10 a year in the early 1990s. Fatalities are caused by massive organ failure from overheating or the effects of drinking too much water.

The ACMD last night distanced itself from Prof Nutt's comments.

A spokesman for the body said: "The recent article by Professor David Nutt published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology was done in respect of his academic work and not as chair of the ACMD.

"Professor Nutt's academic work does not prejudice that which he conducts as chair of the ACMD."

'No safe dose'

David Raynes, of the National Drug Prevention Alliance, told the Daily Telegraph: "He is entitled to his personal opinion, but if his personal view conflicts so very strongly with his public duties, it would be honourable to consider his position.

"If he does not, the home secretary should do it for him."

Last September a Home Office spokesman said the government believed ecstasy should remain a Class A drug.

"Ecstasy can and does kill unpredictably. There is no such thing as a 'safe dose'," he said.