Homeopathy Conference Goers Ingest Hallucinogens, Alt Medicine Gathering Takes Unexpected Turn


A homeopathy conference in Germany took a rather unexpected turn when 29 of the guests overdosed — perhaps accidentally — on hallucinogens. The homeopathy practitioners, or “heilpraktikers” in German, were at an alternative medicine conference at a hotel in Handeloh, Germany, recently, when 150 medical staff members, ambulances, and police had to be called in to take control — and find — the group of 29 men and women who were “staggering around, rolling in a meadow, talking gibberish and suffering severe cramps,” according to the Independent.

The conference goers affected by the hallucinogens ranged in age from 24 to 56, and when they were all finally corralled, were found to be suffering from hallucinations, delusions, breathing problems, racing hearts, and cramps. Some were in very serious condition, and none had recovered enough to talk about the homeopathy conference until Monday, a police spokesperson said.

Tests on the blood and urine revealed that all 29 affected conference attendees had, at some point, ingested the synthetic drug 2C-E — known as Aquahurst in Germany — a powerful hallucinogen that is a schedule 1-controlled substance in the United States, and has been illegal in Germany since the end of last year. 2C-E has been likened to the hallucinogen LSD and can cause “muscle tension and aching, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and paranoia in some users,” reports Business Insider.

It is still uncertain how or why the homeopathy practitioners ingested the halluciongen, but Torsten Passie, a member of the German government’s expert commission for narcotics, told German broadcaster NDR that due to the fact that the affected overdosed on the hallucinogen, it seems likely that they did so unknowingly.

“It must have been a multiple overdose. That does not support the view that the people concerned took the hallucinogen knowingly. One has to assume that [these] people were not told about the substance, its effects and risks before taking it.”

Police continue to investigate all avenues into how the conference goers overdosed on 2C-E — whether as a joint experiment, or perhaps given to those affected as a prank — and so far no arrests have been made.

While 2C-E is not as popular as other hallucinogens are in Germany, police and medical professionals were quick to act when they were called to the conference as that particular psychedelic drug — which the British Government’s drug advisory service, Frank, describes as having effects “somewhere between ecstasy and LSD” — was the direct cause of three deaths in 2011 alone.

The investigation will continue, police say, as a potential violation of Germany’s Narcotics Act, and they will consider it as such until the time that the actual cause of the homeopathy conference attendees’ hallucinogen drugging is determined.

[Image Credit: News9]

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