1 Dead, 7 Injured In Mass Drug Overdose In Konawa

Saturday, May 7th 2011, 6:25 pm

By: News On 6

NewsOn6.com

KONAWA, Oklahoma -- At least one person is dead and others are injured after more than a half-dozen people overdosed on an ecstasy-like drug in Konawa.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said a 911 call early Saturday morning led authorities to the scene.

Upon arrival, they found eight young adults--ranging in age from 19 to their early 20s--suffering from severe drug toxicity from the substance 2C-E. The drug is described as a powerful hallucinogenic similar to ecstasy.

One victim was transported to a Seminole hospital where she was pronounced dead. Seven others remain in the hospital, with two of them in critical condition.

One of the seven victims includes a woman named Madison Wolf, who we are told remains in an induced coma after she consumed the psychedelic drug.

"It can increase body temperature, it can cause hallucinations; it is a synthetic designer drug. Part of this 2-C family is designated by the DEA as a controlled substance, other parts are not," said CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton.

The drug, OSBI officials say, is similar to other wildly popular drugs.

"It's accessible online, and people can be lulled into false sense of security by thinking, look if I can get it on the internet it must be safe, obviously as we see here it can be deadly," said Dr. Ashton.

The drug has already killed a teen in Minnesota and now at least one other in Konawa.

The man who authorities suspect supplied the drug, 20-year-old Cody Weddle, was arrested while visiting one of the victims at the hospital. Weddle is facing first degree murder charges.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office requested OSBI assistance. Pontotoc County Sheriff's Office and the Ada Police Department have also aided in this case.