AWAIT THE TOXICOLOGY REPORTS BEFORE JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

May 06, 2014 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

All over Guyana and even outside of Guyana, the issue being discussed is the deaths of those four persons this weekend after allegedly ingesting cocaine-laced SSS tonic.
Most persons are accepting reports in the instant media which allege that the family unknowingly ingested the substance believing it was a multi vitamin tonic. Many are angry at what has happened and demanding that action be taken against the person or persons who had dropped off the tonic to the family for another person to take overseas.
The media in Guyana should always exercise caution when reporting on the causes of a death in the absence of the necessary medical reports. Many times in the past, the so-called instant news sites have broken stories and pointed to certain causes which turn out to be far from the truth.
The problem with these stories is that because there are blogs usually attached to them, it leads persons to take for granted what is being reported. When these causes turn out to be false, they can lead to mass delusion.
An incident may happen for example that involves the police. The instant media goes to work. The reporters interview someone who is a relative of the person who may have had some altercation with the police. They take that person’s version and they report it. It becomes an unverified truth and spread like wildfire, eliciting all manner of responses from the public criticizing the police.
If a different truth turns up, those who have committed themselves to accepting the version being peddled by the instant media, find themselves having to decide whether to retract their earlier emotive responses or to stick to their original line which may have been influenced by unverified information. They often end up doing the latter and in order to justify their position accuse the authorities of covering up the truth.
Instant or breaking news is now provided on a number of web sources. They bring breaking news of accidents, deaths, murders and even political scandals. But when it comes to causes and the apportioning of blame, the public has to be very circumspect. It is best to await for when verified reports are given.
This past weekend there were many tragic stories appearing as breaking news. The most heartrending of these was the news that four persons who were alleged to have ingested SSS tonic, died. The assumption which has been made was that the tonic was laced with cocaine. It is said that the tonic had been left for someone to have taken it overseas but after this was not done, the family decided to use some of the tonic not knowing that it was laced with cocaine. As a consequence they suffered ill- effects resulting in the death so far of four persons.
This is a very sad story which has led to public consternation against whoever it was that is believed to have left the bottle of tonic to be taken overseas.
The assumption is that the family became the victim of someone’s scheme to traffic cocaine laced tonic overseas and when they drank the product, four members have so far died.
The media has to be very careful because the only way that you can conclude that the family died as a result of cocaine toxicity, is if tests conducted on the SSS tonic confirm that it was laced with cocaine.
But even this is the case, the concentration of cocaine in the tonic would have to be determined to see whether a few teaspoons of cocaine -laced tonic could lead to death.
The ingestion of even small amounts of cocaine orally can be fatal. But can we say for certain that those who took the tonic did end up consuming a deadly amount of the substance. There has been no toxicology report presented as yet.
The public should await the toxicology reports. These reports would indicate whether the tonic was indeed laced with the narcotic drug. And the toxicology report on the deceased persons would indicate the levels of any illicit substances in their body.
Until these reports confirm the ingestion of cocaine laced tonic, the public should be reserved in arriving at a final decision as to what led to the deaths of the four persons, one of the most tragic events in Guyana for this year.

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AWAIT THE TOXICOLOGY REPORTS BEFORE JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

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