CALGARY, Alberta, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- An Ecstasy-like drug known as "Death" is linked to eight deaths in southern Alberta in recent months, authorities in the Canadian province say.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Tuesday the latest known victim of the toxic amphetamine was a 38-year-old man who died Dec. 10.


The "Death" users who died in the six-month period apparently believed they were taking Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) but actually ingested paramethoxymethamphetamine, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Ecstasy also can prove deadly, the CBC said, and is being blamed for a death in Strathmore. There have been more than 450 Ecstasy-related emergency room admissions in Alberta since April, the network said.

The two drugs also are proving dangerous in neighboring British Columbia, where 19 people have died after ingesting either Ecstasy or "Death."