A man in his early 30s died suddenly after taking small amounts of cocaine and ecstasy at a house party, an inquest heard yesterday.
The man, who was from Coolock in Dublin, was discovered unconscious in a bedroom of a house on Thornfield Avenue, Kilbarrack on May 7th, 2006 Dublin City Coroner's Court heard.
He had been at a party at the house the night before at which he took cocaine and when he woke up the following morning he took ecstasy, the court heard.
When friends, including the man's girlfriend, were unable to rouse him at approximately 8pm on the evening of May 7th, they contacted the emergency services.
Despite resuscitation attempts, the man was pronounced dead at Beaumont hospital at 9.25pm.
Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis found that the man died of cocaine and ecstasy toxicity. The court heard that although the deceased had consumed only small amounts of both drugs, they were sufficient to cause his death.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell expressed his condolences to the man's family and told the court that he frequently saw cases where people died after consuming small amounts of drugs - particularly when cocaine and ecstasy were involved.
"The levels are relatively low, but deaths associated with use of cocaine and ecstasy are not dose related. Both of these drugs are very unpredictable and can cause effects on the heart. It's an unpredictable toxic reaction and that's what happened," he said.