This is Gemma.
Gemma Thom was 17-years-old when she bought her tickets and headed off to Perth’s Big Day Out music festival with friends.
“It’s going to be hot, you need to make sure you drink lots of water. Go to the first aid tent and get some suncream on”, her mum told her as she walked out of the house.
“Yes, Mum, yes, Mum, stop lecturing me, it’s fine,” was the typical teenage reply from Gemma.
Gemma went to the festival with 40,000 other revelers. And she never came home.
After taking three ecstasy pills, the trainee hairdresser collapsed and was rushed to hospital where she died 12 hours later.
Last week, Gemma’s story was shared on the ABC’s 7.30 program.
This is an except from reporter Bronwyn Herbert’s interview with Gemma’s parents Peta and Paul:
Gemma’s parents
BRONWYN HERBERT: The teenager with so much to live for made a tragic mistake. Gemma, along with a girlfriend, took an ecstasy tablet before reaching the festival.
Gemma was carrying two extra ecstasy tablets that she was planning on sharing with her friend once inside the gates. But she panicked after seeing police drug sniffer dogs and swallowed those two extra tablets as well.
Inside the showgrounds, amongst a crowd of 40,000 people, Gemma became sick and was taken to a first aid tent.
PETA DAVIES: We got told she was shaking, she was… her pupils were dilated. She felt really hot. She was not herself. She looked pale.
PAUL DAVIES: She had admitted…
PETA DAVIES: She had admitted that she had taken dexamphetamine. We got told she admitted taking three. She then sort of had a basic assessment, nothing much, and then asked if she could leave and was let back out in the crowd again.
And I think it was only within not even an hour of her walking off somewhere else and going on a ride that she got off the ride and collapsed because she had already started going blue.
She was unconscious then at that stage and started having seizures, and then got taken to the second first aid tent.
BRONWYN HERBERT: And then an ambulance was called from there?
PETA DAVIES: And then an ambulance was called from there. I had a knock on the door from the police and they told me that they had suspected Gemma had had an overdose and had been taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, and I yelled out for my husband.
BRONWYN HERBERT: Less than 12 hours after Gemma was admitted to hospital, Peta Davies turned off her daughter’s life support.
Gemma Thom’s parents looking at pictures of her.
A toxicology report found that Gemma had three times the deadly dose of MDMA in her system. The drug caused her body to overheat to more than 45 degrees (eight degrees above normal) and she died when her internal organs started to fail because of the heat.
“She didn’t go out there to doing anything stupid. She just was there to have a really good time and unfortunately it cost her her life,” were the words from Peta and Paul Davis who want to raise awareness of about the danger of drugs.
The Big Day Out is a festival held in the capital city of every Australian state in January each year. It has a strict anti-drugs policy but that doesn’t mean that illegal drugs don’t make it through the gates.
In fact, more than 70 people were arrested for drug-related offenses on the day of Gemma’s death, three years ago. In the weeks after Gemma’s overdose, many people were quick to blame the police for the incident. This from the ABC:
New South Wales Greens MP Sylvia Hale has been warning governments for years this might happen if they use sniffer dogs at festivals.
“It just makes one incredibly sad,” she said. “What do you say to the parents? What do you say to the police or the state governments who have so consistently ignored the warnings?”
Ms Hale says a 1996 report by the NSW Ombudsman criticised the use of dogs at music festivals, saying they are ineffective.
“They’re real PR exercises, trying to persuade the public at large what they’re doing is effective. Whereas, indeed, it really is life-threatening behaviour,” she said.
But police and other politicians say that Gemma’s death was an example of the effects and risks of drugs and that the only solution can be for young people to be better equipped to refuse drugs when they’re offered.
ABS figures indicate that around 23% of people aged 15-24 years have used using illicit drugs within the last 12 months.
And the message to those young people from Gemma’s parents is clear.
“You don’t know what’s in it. You might look the same as you had last week but it might be different. It might be that potent and then you will end up like Gemma. She was a beautiful kid, life ahead of her,” Paul Davies said. “When they’re doing these things it’s Russian roulette. You just don’t know. You don’t know. You are taking a massive risk.”
You can watch the full ABC report about Gemma Thom here.
Did you take drugs as a teenager? Were you aware at the time of just how dangerous it was?
Comments
107 Comments so far
Drugs are becoming more and more socially acceptable. Just like drinking. People of this age make bad decisions, some make life-threatening or even life-ending decisions, though clearly that isn’t the intent. This poor girl didn’t think through what might happen. I guess in part because she had already had one pill so her judgement was even more ‘off’. Clearly if she thought rationally she’d know there’d be sniffer dogs there, or she’d know that her life was at risk because she had no idea what the true chemical makeup of the drugs was. All the reasons that the drugs are illicit in the first place. I only hope that some teens and young adults can learn from this tragic situation.
Blaming the police? Nope, not their fault.
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Pretty sure its more than 23%. I know because in a group of ten (any group) I am almost always the only one who hasn’t!
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Not to detract from this important issue, but last time I checked, Tasmania is an Australian state and certainly gets no Big Day Out.
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There is neurological research which supports the theory that teen brains may mature too quickly & consistently make high-risk decisions without logical thought of the consequences.
Yes, silly decision. One of millions of silly decisions that millions of teens make all over the world, every day. Doesn’t make Gemma “stupid”, “an idiot” or mean that she had “selective hearing”. Just a normal teenage girl who made one silly decision that we know of – sadly paying the ultimate price.
The “blame the police dogs” mentality seems a bit off though……..
RIP, Gemma & may her parents find comfort in each other & their attempts to raise awareness.
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I’m reading through this and I can see that the story keeps saying she took ecstasy, but the parents are quoted saying “She had admitted that she had taken dexamphetamine.’
Did it come out later that she was lying about what she had taken ?
apologizes if im just failing at reading today ^_^
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Sadly her parents said she didn’t go out to do anything stupid. Well popping illegal drugs is stupid for a start. Taking a few in one hit is lethal. Learn from this sad story. There are consequences for your poor actions
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This story makes me so incredibly mad.
This girl is not a victim of a ‘horrible accident’.
She took a large amount of ecstasy in a short period of time, lied to the first aiders and said she had taken dexamphetamine (a different drug, legal yet controlled), and subsequently died from her poor choices. She could have easily dropped the pills instead of taking them. She could have confessed to the first aiders and received the medical help she needed. She chose to do neither and, as sad as it is, she died as a result. There is noone else to blame here – not the first aiders, who were simply doing their utmost with the rights and information they had, and certainly not the police!
I lived in Perth for the past few years and there were stories like this often. For example from memory some youths were joy-riding down Riverside Drive (a straight stretch of road in the CBD with palm trees down the middle) one evening. The passenger was not wearing a seatbelt and they were doing an absolutely ridiculous speed. They lost control of the car (What? No way!) and hit a palm tree with such force, the car split in two either side of the palm and burst into flame. Needless to say the boys were both killed instantly.
This story was broken around Perth as a ‘senseless tragedy’ and ‘horrific accident’. I was gobsmacked. The boys were CLEARLY doing something incredibly dumb and again, paid the ultimate price for their poor choice.
Don’t mistake me as callous and unfeeling. I do feel sorrow for the parents of these kids. Their babies made terrible choices which in turn lead to their untimely deaths and that must be heartbreaking for them.
I however reserve the majority of my sympathy for those who meet misfortune or death through no fault of their own.
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Gemma did not hurt anyone but herself. Had she forced her friend to take the pills, or gotten in a car to drive away after taking them – then I would be upset at her. But she just made a poor choice. She did not have the intention to die. I find it very surprising that so many people are judging Gemma, as if they themselves have never stumbled in life.
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For all of you out there calling Gemma an idiot, stop. She is the exact same age as I am and it’s not as simple as her just being stupid. You say there’s tons of education and information out there but it’s just not true. I didn’t have a single session (past the age of 7, and I didn’t understand any of it then anyway) at school “educating” me or any of my classmates on the dangers of drugs. My parents never took drugs and neither did any of my older siblings so it wasn’t brought up at home. If it wasn’t for the fact that I love science and watching the news I wouldn’t know the dangers.
Not to mention Gemma sounds exactly like every other kid my age; “it won’t happen to me, I’m indestructible”. Are you going to sit there and pretend you never felt that way at the same age? Also, people my age are constantly looking for the next thrill and sometimes that comes in the form of drugs. It’s dangerous and it’s unhealthy but they do it anyway, often because they don’t know the risks. How many 18 year olds do you know who regularly watch the news and read the latest scientific journals?
Get off your high horse and let these parents do what the government is failing at.
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You are absolutely right, no one should be calling Gemma an idiot. She made a mistake and your input is a reminder of what it was like as a teenager. Thank you, but wether it be drug education or sex education it should first and foremost start at home. The only thing the government is failing at is making sure it is implemented into all high schools and that it is in a format that will have an affect. I wish there was an alternative for teenagers who are looking for the next thrill.
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I completely agree with you. I am shocked at the comments I am reading – she is an idiot, moronic, stupid, has selective hearing…obviously this girl was terrified at the consequences and judgement she would receive from adults. She has DIED due to that fear, and yet still she is still being judged.
Maybe I have experienced a vastly different upbringing thanyou criticizers. I assume those who are so harshly criticizing this girl and her family have made no mistakes of their own, especially as teenagers. Lucky for you. I was raised in a town where drug use was RAMPANT. Weed smoking on school property, harder drugs on the weekends. I have never taken drugs, but as approximately 85% of my graduating class has, I am friends with many people who did.
There are many reasons why people take drugs – peer pressure, running away for something, curiosity….this article has described ONE NIGHT in poor Gemma’s life. For all we know, it was her first time trying any sort of drug at all. And even if it was her 50th time, who are we to judge when we know so little about her?
This story is tragic. Hopefully it serves as a warning to other teenagers who are considering drug use.
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So what you are saying is you need the government to come to your school and tell you “kids if someone gives you 3 pills I would suggest not bombing them right at the start of your night cause you might die” please at 17 you need to take a bit more responsibly than that and pointing fingers.
It is very sad what happened to Gemma but its not hard to find this information on the internet if you just look.
Go to your school and ask some random student if its a good idea to take that many drugs in one hit. Most will know that its not a smart thing to do.
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What you say is valid. However we also need to remember that medical research has proven that youth 18, 17 and under the section of their brains which affect sensible behaviour and choices is not fully developed. This is extremely important to remember and explains why so many young people do make stupid decisions.
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Can I just add, MoE…Gemma has not pointed one finger at what happened that night. She, unfortunately, is deceased and cannot defend herself or her reasoning for taking all of the pills. And I doubt she went there thinking “I’m going to take all 3 pills if the drug dogs come by” – so why would she look it up on the Internet beforehand?
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How do you know she took them out of fear and not because she did not want to waste good drugs?
I do not know either and am not pretending to. I am basing this on experience with drug users.
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Okay, fine Chrissy. Let’s say she took them all because she didn’t want to miss a high. So what? This gives people grounds to call a girl, who died at 17, stupid and idiotic.
I will not change my opinion on this, no matter how much or how little of an addict she was. Even if she lived for drugs, how disrespectful is it for her family to call her names? Besides the fact she was 17 years old, she was still a person and deserves some sort of compassion.
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I went to public school in NSW and we had drug education every year from year 7-10. Then we also had special seminars/meetings about it in year 11 & 12. I dont believe you had no drug education, its a massive part of the PDHPE curriculum. We even learnt about drugs (mostly focusing on alcohol and smoking though) in primary school.
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I am sixteen. Not sure what school you go to (I go to a Catholic school in NSW) but we have had a never-ending cycle of drug education, sex education and “healthy relationships” education in PDHPE from years 5-10. We have also had many very articulate guest speakers over the years, each looking at the issue from a different perspective. For example, a couple of the speakers we had last year were Paul Dillon, who spoke about what to do if things went wrong (i.e. if your friend had overdosed, was drunk) and an ambulance officer who showed us what the consequences of drugs and alcohol looked like. Both men engaged, shocked and enlightened my grade.
I know that there are people in my grade who experiment with drugs, and more who drink. This doesn’t mean that I judge them as people- most of them are lovely people and intelligent. But I fully reject that if something were to happen to one of them, it would not be the fault of “lack of education” or “not knowing the consequences”.
You and I might be more interested in more traditionally “grown up” areas- it sounds like you love science, while I am a political junkie. But this doesn’t mean that we are superior to other teenagers. If we have the interlectual ability to grasp that doing drugs, especially so many at once, is stupid, than they do too.
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It doesn’t matter, on drugs, not on drugs, it is well known that people of this age and even older are incapable of using proper reasoning and good judgement all the time. This is why we don’t allow children to sign contracts, get married etc. it doesn’t matter how much information there is out there, and how many times she was told, young people just don’t think it will happen to them. Plus, for every horror story they have been told, they have friends who have taken drugs and lived to tell the tale, in effect, disproving the “drugs are dangerous” story that they hear all the time. It is not as simple as stupid or not stupid, it is youth and innocence, and the only thing we can do to help in this situation is assure kids that they will not get in trouble for seeking help when they or their friends need it. Had my brother not feared the repercussions of calling for help when my sister ingested a lethal combination of drugs, perhaps she would still be here today.
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While this is, undeniably, horrifically sad, it is yet another story that is used to mistakenly fuel the ‘anti-drug war’ farce. What this stands as a warning against is taking an overdose of MDMA. She died from taking a fatal overdose, not of taking MDMA full stop.
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The police are to blame? Please. This is a tragic story but the bottom line is, drugs are illegal. As terrible as it is, actions have consequences.
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Dexamphetamine isn’t illegal and that’s what she took according to the mother.
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She confessed to taking that, yet she actually took MDMA (ecstasy)
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I never tried it, and know plenty of people that have never tried it. I didn’t find that a difficult choice….. So I don’t see why it’s unrealistic to expect that people have a smidge of common sense!
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I’m epileptic and have never taken drugs, as they would almost certainly kill me. Cocaine, ecstasy- those drugs which can cause seizures in normal people would be fatal for me. I think it’s the combination of the epilepsy and the meds i’m on, i’m sure they wouldn’t mix too well. I’m 22 and i know a few people who take recreational drugs, but i’ve never ever been tempted, the possibility of death is just to high.
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I am somewhat appalled both by the blaming of sniffer dogs and the comments advocating a “sensible, controlled” approach to illegal drug-taking. Hello, there is no such thing!! If you’re buying an illegal substance off the black market, there is NO way of knowing for sure whether or not it will be safe to take.
We have no idea how many lives have been saved by the sniffer dogs preventing a large number of drugs from making it into the festival in the first place.
Gemma’s death is a total tragedy and I am so sorry for her and her loved ones, but it is in no way the “fault’ of anyone but Gemma and whoever supplied her with that dangerous stuff. Trying to shift the blame will not save a single life imo.
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Ha I can tell you now the dogs catch such a small % of people that it has never been a good deterrent and have not saved that many lives.
A fast internet search about Sniffer dogs at the BDO last year (sniffer dogs bdo 2012 arrests) and the Sun reported that the dogs caught 12 people…. 12…. out of thousand…. and they only had to go to a small rehab program that’s it…
also she took dexamphetamine which is not an illegal drug
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Pretty sure she took ecstasy, which is illegal.
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Police and sniffer dogs are pathetic! They do not save lives, in fact they endanger them by people like Gemma panicking and taking the drugs at once.
Why pick on concert attendees who have small amounts of drugs for personal use – those resources are better spent targeting the drug importers, dealers etc.
It’s just police propaganda, trying to make them look like they’re battling the drug wars, what a joke.
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Well said Sydgel!
I’m reading through this and I can see that all through the story they keep saying she took ecstasy, but the parents are quoted saying “She had admitted that she had taken dexamphetamine.”
Did it come out later that she was lying about what she had taken and wasn’t made clear in this story?
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This story is a crock. I have a 10 year old nephew who fights every single day of his life just to STAY ALIVE and some self indulgent girl takes THREE ecstasy tablets and we’re expected to feel bad for her? What an idiot. One is bad enough. Three is UTTERLY MORONIC.
This makes me so angry that whatever message, be it drug awareness or whatever, is totally lost.
How about a story on kids in hospital who through no fault of their own struggle to live every day.
I feel sorry for the parents that they had such a stupid daughter who acted stupidly and caused them grief.
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I don’t know if I am more saddened by this comment or the number of likes.
Teenagers are simply not wired to fully accept the consequences of their actions, and they are more likely to put more onus on the benefit than the possible detriment to themselves.
Yes, there are people in the world that struggle to live, and nobody is taking away from that ongoing tragedy, but kids make mistakes, thay are not morons, they are kids.
And unless every person who has agreed with this stance has never taken an illegal drug, a prescribed drug, alcohol, cigarette, caffeine, red meat, honey, eggs or fish – there is someone somewhere judging your choices.
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Are you kidding me Sylvia Hale??? It’s the governments and the police’s fault that people who take drugs die? What a load of crap! This teenager was an idiot plain and simple. There is so much information and warnings about taking drugs that what happened is beyond ridiculous. I feel bad for her parents as they have lost a daughter, but she is not some poor innocent person as they seem to think “She didn’t go out there to do anything stupid”. Yes she did, she chose to take drugs.
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Another sad example of the danger of taking drugs. Unfortunately, warnings will always be ignored by those who have selective hearing skills.
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While this is a tragic story and I cant imagine what the parents are going through, this comment really makes me angry
“She didn’t go out there to doing anything stupid. She just was there to have a really good time and unfortunately it cost her her life”
Yes, she did go out there to do something stupid. She went with an ILLEGAL substance with the FULL intention of taking it and also getting her friend to take it. She decided for whatever reason that the only way to have a good time was by taking ILLEGAL drugs.
Stop making excuses for what she did. She made a CHOICE, she was NOT the victim of a terrible accident, she was not the victim of something that was unavoidable.What happened to her was 100% avoidable.
SHE bought those tables to get high,she put those tablets in her mouth. NO ONE ELSE IS TO BLAME.
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Teach your kids that rules and laws are there for a reason…….
There’s a reason why it’s illegal to train surf,
There’s a reason why it’s illegal drink underage,
There’s a reason we can’t drink and drive,
There’s a reason why we have an age of consent,
There’s a reason why we can’t carry handguns,
There’s a reason why we can’t do drugs.
It’s not rocket science.
And the consequences are not the responsibility of the law enforcement.
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Teach your kids that…
Smoking is legal and therefore can’t really do that much harm
Drinking is legal and therefore doesn’t constitute a drug
Smoking marijuana is worse than drinking because an arbitrary government says so.
That…
No. Teach your kids what you want, but I’ll teach mine to think, to experiment and make discoveries and forge conclusions, for themselves.
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Research shows that marijuana has long term Psychiatric consequences like paranoid schizophrenia, amongst other mental health problems. Smoking maybe legal but have you not seen the powerful anti smoking campaign out there that seems to be working. Now there is an anti alcohol campaign happening which may take a few years but will possibly work along the same lines as the tobacco campaign. Social change doesn’t happen over night.
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I took my first ecstasy pill at the age of 23, after I’d decided I’d never do hard drugs. It just happened one night. I was a bit older and more mature than a teenager. And I was with the right group of people – friends who would look after me – and I took half of the pill first. Then, later in the evening, I took the other half.
I’m not going to lie – ecstasy is mad fun! The come-down over the next 1-3 days is a killer, which is why I haven’t done it for many years and will probably never do it again, but the evening itself is always good. I’ve probably done it about 10 times in my life.
Of course taking drugs is a risk, but the mistake this girl made was taking three in one hit – that’s craziness! If you’re reading this and thinking of doing drugs, DON’T DO THAT. Do what I did, if you really, truly, want to try it. I say this because I think preaching abstinence is unrealistic. A large percentage of teens and 20-somethings are always going to want to try drugs.
It’s a terrible tragedy what happened to Gemma. Sadly, she made an uneducated and, ultimately, fatal decision.
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Totally agree! She would never have taken 3 at once if there hadn’t been police dogs. People are totally unrealistic to think teens/young people wont try it.
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I’m curious. The difference between taking pills out of her pocket and putting them to her mouth… versus taking the pills out and dropping them on the ground is.. what? I understand she didn’t want to get caught but surely discarding them another way was an option? Or was she so silly that she couldn’t stand the idea of missing out on a buzz by throwing the pills away? Stupidity is not the responsibility of police with dogs…
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Are you kidding me? My nephew will probably die soon because he tried it and loved it. He is now on anything he can lay his hands on, it is a shocking thing to to happen to anyone. He has a beautiful soul and a very kind heart but all that has disappeared in a haze of drugs.
And it all started with a couple of joints and some ecstasy.
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Its easy to blame everything on drugs but there has to be a lot more to it than “he tried it and loved it”
Sounds like he needed a more support in his life and friends like the OP to help them know what is good for you and what is not
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Great Comment Yo! I agree completely!
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It’s not just teenagers that take drugs…. I’d say well over 50% of the people I know in their late 20s to early 40s take recreational drugs (usually coke) relatively regularly. It’s also not the sterotypical low life druggies that are into it. Drug usage is rife amongst almost all the lawyers, stockbrokers, bankers, accountants and other professionals I know. I think those that haven’t ever taken drugs often don’t quite grasp just how common it is.
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Wow, what sort of circles do you move in? I know nobody who takes those sort of drugs, and if they did I wouldn’t want to hang out with them. I’d want to either help them or get away from them.
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Totally agree with you. I’m a well educated, professional in my late 20′s and most of my very well educated, professional friends in their late 20′s to late late 30′s take recreational drugs (ie coke). The cost of coke is “luxury” in the sense that it is far more expensive than what most teenagers and stereotypical druggies can afford and yet Australia is one of the most profitable cocaine markets in the world. Who do you think is buying it!?! I’ve worked in a high profile professional services firm, where staff did lines of coke off the back of a toilet seat on a Monday morning to help ease the come-down from their recreational drug taking on the weekend.
Wake up people if you think drug use is isolated to what you see on Underbelly – you’ve obviously led a sheltered existence (and I’m not even from one of the big cities in Australia).
Most of the comments on this page are very naive and narrow minded. A lot of smart people take drugs and it’s an informed decision they make armed with all the available information. The fact that some drugs are illegal is not even a consideration to most people who participate in recreational drug use. In countries where drugs have been legalised, drug use has not increased and other drug related crimes have decreased considerably.
Issues of drug use and illegality aside, this post is actually about the tragic loss of a young life (regardless of how it happened) – she was someone’s daughter!
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Yes, yes and yes! Drug use is every where unless you are so very blind. Why do you think two people exit a toilet cubicle together? People out for dinner clearly not sober but not eating? I could go on. Plenty of different circles of people take them but the problem is few young kids treat them with respect and a little fear. Having an understanding for what your body can take including alcohol will set you up for a much safer life.
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Totally agree! There are more drugs floating around Sydney than the whole of South America it seems!! Sometimes it feels like everyone is “on it”…….mainly coke…..people in their 20′s, 30′s, 40′s………
Some people just talk about it with a selection of friends, not work mates (depending on their profession)……
I am a bit saddened by the number of folk here who appear to not be aware of the research which suggests that teens are neurologically immature & make high-risk decisions based on their brain development.
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It really frustrates me that people continue to do drugs. There’s no such thing as doing drugs safely, or sugarcoating experiences to make it seem ok, or “tragic”. It’s difficult to feel sympathetic for the girl who ultimately made that choice herself. I feel embarrassed for her parents to have to suffer her loss in such selfish circumstances.
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This is an absolutely awful story and I do feel for her parents. I can’t imagine what they are going through. In the article they said that she didn’t intend to do anything stupid, I however feel that intending to take any form of illegal drug is stupid. I’m 22 and I can honestly say that there is no way in hell that I would even consider taking an illegal substance, it just isn’t worth it. You always hear of these type of stories where young adults are taking drugs at festivals and dying or becoming really sick. I hate that drugs, because they are illegal, are somehow a cool thing to do. It makes absolutely no sense to me. My friends have admitted to doing drugs at festivals and it just baffles me, why put your life in danger like that? It’s not worth it.
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reading the posts, it astounds me how many people are defending drug use. irrespective of the ongoing discussion of it being harmful or not the fact remains that it is illegal. Its a crime. and this tragic incident is point in case as to why it is a crime. i really struggle to comprehend how we can march towards tobacco and alcohol regulation with a community consensus that it is harmful for your health but be apologetic for the use of an illegal substance. another young life has been tragically cut short and while family look for answers more and more young people are presenting to hospitals in states of anxiety and psychosis. before claiming it isnt harmful and this was a tragic accident, try running that argument to a psychiatric registrar on duty in a hospital emergency department
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Did she take Ecstasy or dexamphetamine? They’re two different things.
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I believe she took ecstasy, but told staff in the first aid tent that she had taken dexamphetamines.
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I understand her parents are grieving, and my heart goes out to them, as the loss of a child would be devastating. I’m sure Gemma was just out for a good time, but make no mistake, taking drugs is a stupid thing to do.
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At the risk of sounding “pretty judgemental”, the taking of illegal drugs is harmful to one’s health. Yes, there are many other health problems associated with non illegal drugs but the really harmful one’s are illegal for a reason. The general acceptance of drug use (for recreational purposes) amongst our society is contributing to the increase of drug use, and to blame others for this poor unfortunate incident is to transfer blame as well as responsibilty. What Gemma’s parents are trying to tell everyone is not to take drugs in the first place. Teenagers do risky things but drug education is in all high schools and perhaps thats where the focus for prevention should be increased.
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Dangerous, yes, if you are reckless in quantity taken. But health problems associated? No long term ecstacy effects have been proven… (Not a drug user, but I did look into this years ago when friends worried me)
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I like your comment and I agree with all your sentiments. I have one thing to add:
Why do we call them recreational drugs? When I was growing up and I think even today recreation is sport, or something we do to stay healthy and enjoy in our leisure time. There is nothing healthy or sporty about drugs. Why can’t we use a proper term such as illicit drugs? Because when it comes down to it that is what they are ILLICIT DRUGS and maybe if we called them as such they might cease to be cool and fashionable.
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As someone who did ecstacy in her teens and early 20s, I think I have a good comment to add.
Yes, taking drugs is dangerous. But you can take measures to ensure you’re doing it as safely as possible.
I went to many festivals and took ecstacy. I would only carry what I myself would take (1 pill). If a friend wanted me to carry theirs in I would refuse. I know one friend once stored a bunch of them in her hoo-haa and smuggled them in that way. I would store my 1 pill in my bra. If I came across sniffer dogs I would just take it early. (They were usually taken at 6-8pm in my group of friends).
I only brought from people I knew.
I started out taking 1/4 of a pill, over the course of a year it increased to taking 1/2, then finally 1 full pill at a time. I never double dropped (taking 2 at once) as you never knew how strong they were made.
I was with friends I could trust, I also knew that if I had a problem I could go to First Aid and they couldn’t call the cops on me. THIS IS IMPORTANT! So many people don’t know their rights, like Gemma. If she and her friends didn’t lie she might still be alive today.
So yes, you CAN be smart about doing drugs.
As an aside, I am in a successful career, never did any other drugs (I’ve tried pot once but didn’t like it) and stopped taking them when I started to need to take 2-3 to get the same buzz. I have a great relationship, didn’t come from a broken home, I was a timid bookworm as a child. I’m basically the opposite of the stereotypical drug user.
The only downside I found from ecstacy is my memory is pretty crap now. I never experienced come-downs or loss of appetite. The only side effect I had was I would sleep a lot the next day (as most of you would if you stayed out until 5am).
I knew how dangerous it was, but I prepared myself for any situation. Kind of like driving a car…
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I don’t know about this… about whether there’s a ‘smart’ way to do drugs. All the precautions you took were very sensible, and I applaud you for those and your forethought. But the bit that always gets me- and the bit you can’t control- is that these drug are illegal, and therefore how on earth can you really know what’s in them? It’s not like they’re being made in a laboratory to Australian standards by people in white coats. It’s not like buying Panadol, or a prescription medicine. I had a Uni friend who stuffed his short term memory after taking a bad drug- and he bought from someone he knew and trusted, but the people who are selling aren’t always (or often) the ones doing the making. The thing about street drugs is you simply don’t know what extra crap they might have in them, or how strong that particular batch is, or how they’re going to interact with your unique physiology… and until that happens I still don’t think there’s a “smart” way to take drugs. Just my two cents.
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I read this book when i was about 11 http://books.google.com.au/books/about/Anna_s_Story.html?id=WbGwHAAACAAJ, I don’t think mum even knew what I was hiring from the library near my nans, but i’m sure if she realised this book is the reason i’ve never taken drugs before i think she would be pretty chuffed. Parents, I would recommend this to your kids!
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What I got from this book was that she died from drinking too much water.
They started the book saying it was her first time trying drugs, then later on revealed that she had tried speed, weed, booze before this incident. I also remember there was a big emphasis that she was a virgin, like that somehow affected her drug choices?
If anything that book taught me to be careful with drugs, don’t drink too much water, be aware of your surroundings and to not lie to the ambulance if you’re in trouble.
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I’m glad that this book steered you into not taking drugs.
However I believe Anna Wood’s ‘story’ and her parents campaigning is just plain dangerous. They campaign a just say no/zero tolerance/war on drugs policy was has been proven to be ineffective and dangerous. As quoted above 23% of people aged 15-24 years have used using illicit drugs within the last 12 months. I hazard a guess that this figure is actually lower than real figures.
We should be arming our kids with how to do things safely if they are going to insist on doing them and to know what to do if things go wrong – like seeking medical attention immediately and confiding in parents. Anna Wood’s story as told now by her parents is fear mongering and drives a wedge between parents, authorities and kids when they are vunerable and engaged in risk taking behaviour.
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We had to read Annas Story in high school and I can honestly say that reading that book is the sole reason why I haven’t taken a single ecstasy tablet in my life. I haven’t even been tempted when a few of my friends tried it. To me it just wasn’t worth the risk.
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Me too! I read Anna’s story when i just started uni and will never touch drugs after reading it.
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I feel for Gemma’s parents, and it is sad this young woman has lost all her chances to live a full and meaningful life.
Deaths like Gemma’s undoubtedly make good headlines and good episodes of the 7.30 Report and so on. However, it should be pointed out that compared to the handful of deaths attributed to ecstasy ever year, there are nearly 20 000 deaths from cigarette smoking.
Please don’t let your outrage about this very uncommon incident make you blind to the dangers of perfectly legal cigarettes. Popping a pill every now and then is likely going to be okay. Start smoking and then you’re in trouble.
And for the record, I neither smoke nor take pills. I just get tired of media sensationalism.
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Almost no-one dies from Ecstasy use. Even then it’s often the fact that they have ingested something which has been sold as Ecstasy, but isn’t, or in the sad case of Anna Wood, who didn’t actually die from Ecstasy, rather from water intoxication. (yet water remains legal….)
Far, far more people die every year, or have other health problems, due to the use of legal drugs, tobacco, alcohol and prescription medications. It’s my understanding that the highest number of drug overdoses presented at hospitals, are for paracetamol.
Another thing that annoys me is that there are pill testing kits available on the internet. I believe that these are illegal to buy in Australia. In this particular case I don’t think that it would have made any difference, but I hate the fact that the message sent out is that since drugs are illegal, we can’t allow or support any product which makes it safer to take them, because that could be seen to be to be advocating illegal drug use. It says to me that the lives of our kids or others who choose to take these substances, are less important than the message that “drugs are bad”.
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I completely agree.. I work in drug and alcohol and I think rather than pretending these things aren’t happening let’s do what we can to minimize harm and provide facilities to do drugs safely (such as supervised injecting centers)..
It’s naive to focus attention on drugs being illegal and stopping drug use completely, it will always happen.
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I’m epileptic and would almost certainly die if i took ecstasy, but i guess i’m in the minority. the thought still scares me though
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I’m really disapointed with some of the harsh comments on here saying it was this girls own fault that she died. Yes, it was in a way and it was a terrible mistake to make, but she was 17 years old. I took drugs when I was younger and even though you might know that taking three tablets is dangerous, it sounds like she panicked. I think the bins where you can put the drugs in without getting in trouble are a good idea. It seems pretty judgemental to say “she chose to take them, end of story” when teenagers don’t always make good desicions and we need to try to keep kids safe. I hope my son will never take drugs, but if he did I don’t think he would deserve anything that could happen. By the way the parents of this girl do try to educate teenagers on the dangers of drugs, but a lot of people will still take them.
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I’m sorry to say this parents, but your children will be offered drugs at school, as a 15 to 17 year old, it’s actually easier to get your hands on drugs than alcohol. EVERY school has kids pushing drugs to other kids, they don’t need ID and the drugs are relatively cheap.
I completely agree that this poor girl made a stupid decision, but I’m also sure in her eyes she was just trying to have fun. Educate your kids, surely if she knew that 3 could be lethal she wouldn’t have taken them.
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What a tragic loss, I really feel for gemmas family. I do not, however, think that restricting the ability of the police to apprehend indiduals with drugs is a solution to anything. These music festivals have been out of control for years, and the unfortunate truth is that Gemma was very silly- not only did she take drugs, she planned on distributing them to her friends, took an extremely high dose and then lied about what she took. The festival organizers are not blameless here either- once she admitted to taking something illegal she should have been watched more closely.
I just don’t understand the logic – oh, so you took something illegal and you are having an adverse reaction? Totally normal, off you go! What no one seems to be questioning is why it’s so acceptable for underage kids to bombed out of their mind because it’s a music festival. She was doing something illegal and dangerous and there was surely a duty of care to either send her to a hospital or the police. These promoters need to be held to account and have better security measures in place. If this happened in a club it would be shut down.
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Hi there,
I just wanted to bring up what you mentioned about the festival organisers being at fault, that she should have been more closely watched after admitting to taking illegal substances.
Health care at such events is provided by a volunteer branch of the local ambulance service, which abides by WA law. I was working that day as a first aid officer, but did not deal with this young woman directly. If a patient comes into our first aid tent having a reaction to drugs or alcohol (sadly, most of the people through the doors), we do what we can to help them with our limited resources -give them water, observe their neurological status and hydration, allow them to rest and call their parents or an ambulance if needed (if conscious and over 16, the patient must agree to this).
If a person says that they want to leave, that they don’t want any further treatment, then we can NOT stop them despite how much we may want them to stay for their own wellbeing. We strongly encourage them to stay, but if that fails we tell them what signs to look out for and encourage them to return.
The age of consent for health matters in WA is 16, so we could not have held or treated Gemma against her will; as first aid officers the only time we can treat someone without consent is when they are unconscious. We were not legally allowed to keep her under medical supervision if she wanted to leave.
It’s sad, and I understand were you are coming from, since those under the influence of illegal substances are often affected to the point that they aren’t competent to make decisions, but that’s the law and we are liable if we hold someone against their will.
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Thanks Kat, I was also wondering why the first aid officers didn’t keep her there. I suppose there’s always a grey area with these decisions – was she actually in the process of ODing, or was she just hot and exhausted and the pills she tool were actually sugar pills? Very hard to tell – especially when you’re a first aid officer and not a doctor. Thanks for your efforts and clarification though!
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That’s actually very interesting, I had no idea. Clearly the individual first aid responders do not have the authority to do anything to help except administer first aid. However, I still go back to the organisers themselves, who undoubtably make a lot of money from these festivals. Surely, like club owners, they have some responsibility in providing a drug free premises? Why is it so acceptable to do illicit drugs at a music festival – again, if this was at a nightclub it would be shut down if police knew of one instance of drug use. Perhaps they should be required to employ security, or hire doctors rather than volunteer first aiders who can’t alert police to illicit drug use- I don’t know. We have St Johns at our netball courts, why on earth cant they do it at a festival of 40,000 people? Either way, I do believe that police and sniffer dogs, or whatever law enforcement required should have free reign at these events.
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Oh my goodness, if every nightclub was shut down because of ‘one instance of drug use’, there would be no clubs open ever! They certainly don’t get shut down if someone gets caught with something they get charged or a warning, the club stays well and truly open.
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Blaming the promoters for drug use? What a joke! The responsibility for what someone puts in their body rests with that person alone. How naive to think that the promoter of a festival has any power over
Someone’s personal choice. Festivals do not promote drug use but they do promote responsible behaviour. That means that instead of sticking their heads in the sand and saying “oh no no no – zero tolerance of this behaviour” they accept that people are going to do what they are going to do and say party safe and watch out for your mates.
It goes back to what others have already said. Zero tolerance and “just say no” campaigns are the reason people end up making uninformed decisions about drug use. If Gemma had known that three pills could kill her I am sure she would have made a more educated choice. The lack of drug education in this country is ridiculous. Your kids will encounter drugs, some of them will use them no matter how many times you tell them “just say no”. Pull your head out of the sand and teach them about the power of an informed choice. Scare tactics do not work.
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well said. I am an emergency department nurse and we cant force people to stay either. They come to us unconscious, they wake up in ED and storm out. Usually after hurling some abuse at us!
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This story got quite a lot of coverage in WA at the time and again recently when the inquest was being held.
I have utmost sympathy for Gemma’s parents – losing your child in any way is indeed tragic.
At the time of her death, the media painted her out to be a first time user and it was the sniffer dog’s fault – ie she panicked and did not know how to do the drugs “safely” so she took all at once. She was portrayed as the media’s “darling” – a “good girl” come undone by external sources.
As a long time festival goer (who does not do drugs but has had plenty of exposure to them), this did not sit right with me. Perth is a small town – stories filtered through from her circle regarding the true situation.
So it was quite interesting to read at the time of the inquest that Gemma was indeed quite experienced with taking pills, had been doing them for 2 years (this is from friend’s testimony I believe) and had already taken some drugs before leaving for the festival.
As parents we are often not aware of just what our children are actually up to. I can guarantee my parents had not a clue of the risks I took and the places I went and with whom. If something had happened to me the truth would have shocked them.
I think this is the case here. This loss was tragic. And also 100% preventable. Not by removing sniffer dogs or altering the way the BDO is run.
By Gemma making the decision to not do drugs in the first place.
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I’m SORRY but the main thing that stood out to me in this article was this-
“She didn’t go out there to doing anything stupid. She just was there to have a really good time and unfortunately it cost her her life,” …..taking 3 ecstasy pills is extremely stupid.
Also the fact that she was aloud to leave the first aid tent after admitting to taking 3 pills was an extremely stupid decision by whoever was on duty. I’ve heard of a girl dying after taking half a tablet, how did alarm bells not go off in the heads of the medics.
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I think she told them she took dexamphetimine pills (a prescription drug where taking 3 wouldn’t be of any real concern).
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I missed that, my mistake!
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Thank you for pointing out the difference Cathy, I was thinking myself that the first aid tent was a bit irresponsible. Now I understand why they let her go.
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Firstly Gemmas death is tragic and sad. Theres no debating that she made a stupid decision and paid the ultimate price.
In relation to having sniffer dogs at festivals saying they are ineffective is ludicrous. People know they will be there, if they choose to carry drugs they take that risk. The fact that Gemma chose to swallow the pills rather than get caught with them is not the police sniffer dogs fault that was her own choice. A bad one that cost her her life.
The thing that worries me most here is that she was assesed by first aid and let go. If she admitted to taking 3 tablets she should have been sent to hospital straight away. Also if the festival is so strict on drugs why would they let her stay if she has taken drugs. Maybe because if they kicked everyone out who was high or stoned they would have no audience.
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The sad thing is that if she had been caught with these drugs instead of hastily swallowing them she would most likely have been sent to a Drug Diversion program and had a good time at the festival.
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It’s sad that she lost her life and heartbreaking that her parents have lost their daughter. But she made the choice to take drugs – and why wouldn’t she just throw the other two pills away if she saw the sniffer dogs?
I’ve never taken drugs so perhaps I’m not the best person to comment on this, but if you chose to take a risk (whatever it may be – drugs, tobacco, alcohol or even just driving too fast etc) then you have to be ready to accept the consequences, whatever they may be.
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I think the Greens’ point is that having sniffer dogs at these events doesn’t stop people from taking drugs, or bringing drugs with them. What it *does* do is make people like Gemma panic about being caught, and as a consequence, take a lethal dose of drugs.
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How can the parents say that after the fact their precious baby is dead due to drugs that she wasn’t doing anything wrong that she was just out to have fun???
What are you kidding me?? She caused her own death!
She took a noxious substance, an illegal substance.. THE SUBSTANCE.. that killed her. Her poor choices lead to her own death.
For gods sake blaming the sniffer dogs. She could have thrown the drugs away, she didn’t have to take ALL THREE! And more importantly she didn’t have to take drugs to begin with!
What a waste.
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It’s made very clear to festival goers that there are police dogs and in 99% of cases you *will* get caught if you attempt to take drugs in. For most people this acts as a deterrent and its perceived as being too risky. As an 18 year old my heart goes out to this girls family. It is a tragic situation and a heartbreaking. Unfortunately these are the concesquences for her actions. She clearly knew drugs weren’t allowed. It’s sad; such a waste of life on something that could have been prevented by following the rules.
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99% you will get caught? Of the thousands of people that go to these festivals, half or more are taking drugs in and of those half, only about 100 get caught. The use of sniffer dogs is completely uneffective and police strip searching people without reasonable cause (aka if they just pull someone out of the crowd) is outside their powers and they can be prosecuted.
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I don’t know what music festivals you go to but I went to bdo this year in Sydney and there was only one person I could definitively say was in drugs that I saw…
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I’ve been going to festivals including BDO, Future, Stereo, Parklife, Field Day etc for the past few years and unless you know what to look for (dilated pupils and big eyes, chewing, chattering jaws, wearing sunglasses at night time and even then most people can control this) or someone is outrageously off their face, you probably wouldn’t notice. It’s also very easy to turn a blind eye…
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One person on drugs at BDO. You’re taking the piss, surely Alex?
This article reveals a lot about your readership Mammamia, and I’m not so sure I fit into your demographic.
I’m a 40+ professional w/ 2 degrees, earning 6 figures.
I have a 20+ year history of taking recreational drugs at festivals & parties etc.
I’ve had the experience of (choosing to) double up b/c of sniffer dogs. My price to pay was simply getting extraordinarily sick.
Ppl who take drugs are risk takers. I wouldn’t underestimate teenagers. They have access to a lot more information that I did when I was there age. I’m pretty sure most of them would know there are risks associated with taking drugs. What most of us don’t think about is the consequences. We choose to ignore them, thinking “it won’t happen to me”. If we did think about the consequences – then we probably wouldn’t do it. Much like smoking tobacco (take note – all you non-drug taking types out there who smoke).
This girl was unlucky. Yes she made stupid choices. Yes, she paid the ultimate price.
My questions are:
Can we change the behavior of risk takers?
Can we change the reasons why ppl take risks?
I suspect the answer will be sometimes, for some ppl. But not always for all the ppl.
So then the real question is: What else can we do to minimise these kind of outcomes.
We need to look at all the variables in the equation.
And to all you self-righteous types who seem to think she deserved to die b/c of her actions – perhaps a little empathy and compassion might be in order? Just sayin.
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Applauding this comment.
I don’t know why I am wasting the time reading people’s responses. They are, foe the most part, uninformed and extremely naive. I am
Frustrated
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I just don’t get the whole drugs scene.
I didn’t do drugs as a teenager, and I’ve never done anything as an adult. My husband has had to point out to me when we’re in a crowd at a music festival when it has smelled of pot because I don’t have the foggiest idea as to what it smells like and couldn’t pick it out.
I’m not even sure whether my folks expicitly sat me down and said ‘Don’t do drugs’, I think it’s just one of those things I’d picked up in conversations and in health classes, etc where it’s a case of ‘Drugs are bad’ and that was it, I didn’t need to know anymore.
Sometimes I just wonder if it comes back down to this whole ‘common sense is never that common’ concept.
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As a person that is sensible (though I don’t know if I have common sense
), and did drugs a fair bit as a teen, my thoughts are:
Drugs are enticing because they play around with our own inbuilt feelgood hormones. Taking drugs is not just a weakness in a few people – it’s something that’s inherently pleasurable to the majority of people.
You’re lucky (or, I suppose some would say, unlucky) if you don’t get a sense of pleasure out of drugs.
A lot of people take drugs because they are unhappy with themselves or their lives, and drugs help them feel better and forget that. SO many ‘non drug takers’ use alcohol, another drug, for this reason.
Fair enough if you are not like this, but many people don’t want to just accept what other people tell them – they like to find out for themselves! This was me as a teenager.
I think an understanding of other people is always a great thing to have … so even if you don’t want to do them, I think it can be good to ‘get’ the drug scene.
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Spot on!
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The Greens are blaming the police for using sniffer dogs?!?! How…I…Are they serious?!
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I had my first ecstasy tablet at age 16. I was dating a much older man who provided them for me. I also started smoking weed on the weekends with him and occasionally taking speed.
This continued for about 6 months. The side effects were horrible but I ignored them because I was having “fun”. I was always tired, dizzy, moody and had no appetite. I was so depressed that I started cutting my arms.
One weekend after taking ecstasy I randomly decided to kill myself.
I’d taken a pill on the Saturday and on Monday afternoon I tried to end my life by eating rat poison. It seemed the easiest option and it was in the garden shed. I will never forget the look of horror on my mums face or her screams as she ran to call an ambulance after I had panicked and told her. At the hospital I was made to consume a thick charcoal liquid and 2 days later they let me out.
I’d had the “don’t take drugs” talk from my mum but being a rebellious teenager I ignored her warnings.
The scary thing is the drug might not kill you but the side effects can. They mess with your head and make you do things you normally wouldn’t consider.
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Thanks for your story Anon.
I am so glad you put the word “fun” in inverted commas. I have never taken drugs and at the age of 41 I think it is fairly unlikely to happen. I always have fun when I go out though, and if I’m not having fun I go home. Having to manufacture ‘fun’ somewhere you should already be having fun and with people you should already be having fun with seems completely ridiculous.
I feel terribly sorry for Gemma’s parents but their seemingly accepting attitude to their daughter’s quest for ‘fun’ at a music festival seems terribly shortsighted, especially considering the end result.
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Is this story about the danger of drugs or promoting the Green agenda?
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How could people possibly blame the police for this?
It is a terrible tragedy one that could easily happen to a friend or relative of mine, however, if she hadnt been carrying the ecstacy pills she wouldnt have taken them.
I feel like Im missing a part of the story.
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It’s not ‘people’ blaming the police. It’s ‘greens.’ Different.
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Agree the Green’s MP blame game is way out of line. Not necessarily relevant to this poor family’s situation but I do however think that governments should not be permitted to penalize parties/organisations that offer services outside events to analyze the contents of tablets etc, allowing more informed choices that could avoid this situation.
I don’t necessarily think legalisation of these types of drugs is the way to go (I’d be a hypocrite to say so when I’d happily outlaw cigarettes!) but without legalization we have the issue of lack of regulation of the drug contents.
Saying “just don’t do it because these could be the consequences” sounds logical at first but it’s really kind of like saying the same thing about sex while banning contraception.
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Taking drugs like ecstasy is stupid, whichever way you look at it.
It’s terrible that she lost her life, but she knew there was a risk of death by taking drugs when she took them! She also clearly knew it was illegal.
And no, I never took drugs as a teenager. There was no need as I had fun without it!
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Exactly. There is no way of knowing what has gone into an illegal drug and the risk of death is real.
I never got into drugs and it always surprised me that girls I knew who were so uppity about eating well and looking after themselves (or girls that would flip out about a hair in their food or a fly landing on their salad!) would ingest something they bought illegally from an unknown (funding terrorism, gangs and organised crime) and that could have been made in a grotty bathtub out of light bulbs and battery acid.
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a lot of the time it is those kinds of girls, no calories like alcohol
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