Chaos Ensues After German Homeopathic Conference Members Take LSD-Like Drug

A conference on alternative medicine in Germany met a very alternative ending after delegates took a hallucinogenic drug called 2C-E and “chaos” broke out, a local broadcaster reports.

The 29 members of the Association of German Healing Practitioners (Heilpraktikers), ranging in age from mid-twenties to fifties, were described as “staggering around, rolling in a meadow, talking gibberish and suffering severe cramps.”

A rescue team of more than 160 medical staff and police, in 15 ambulances and a helicopter, reportedly swooped in on the scene and took the “raving delegates” to the hospital, where they were treated for a range of symptoms, including delusions, rapid heartbeat, and breathing problems. Some were deemed in “serious condition,” a German newspaper reports.

Blood and urine tests revealed the delegates had taken 2C-E, a synthetically-produced hallucinogenic drug known as “Aquarust” in Germany, known to produce euphoric effects similar to LSD. 2C-E is an amphetamine, like ecstasy or speed, and has been illegal in the country since last year. Synthetic drugs like 2C-E, bath salts, and K2, are unregulated substances that are considered especially dangerous since their effects are so unpredictable.

There is much speculation about how and why the drug was taken. “It must have been a multiple overdose,” said Torsten Passie, a member of the German government’s expert commission for narcotics. “That does not support the view that the people concerned took the hallucinogen knowingly. One has to assume that people were not told about the substance, its effects and risks before taking it.”

Police are reportedly investigating if the drug was taken as part of an experiment, or if the conference participants may have been dosed as part of a prank. No arrests have been made yet.

A spokesman for The Association of German Healing Practitioners (VDH), which represents experts in homeopathic and naturopathic medicine, said the organization “detests such misdemeanors.” They insist none of their official representatives were involved.

“The organizers of this obscure conference are unknown to us and such events will not be tolerated by our association,” said a spokesperson. “Unfortunately, the conference in Handeloh has severely damaged the image of the alternative medicine profession ... and we have clarified that such acts are not in the spirit of natural therapy, and contradict our values both morally and legally.”

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