You know what spices a homeopathy conference up a bit? If you answered ginseng, you should probably stop reading now. If your first thought was psychedelic drugs, you were probably in Handeloh, Germany over the weekend where an alternative medicine conference experienced an alternative ending.
Here’s how the plot was lost (via Deutsche Welle):
At 2:25 p.m. local time, a call for help came in from the convention center. No more than 90 minutes later, 150 first responders including firefighters, Red Cross, emergency medical technicians, poison specialists and police were on scene to deal with what looked a lot like a mass poisoning. In the end, [29] people were taken to hospital, displaying symptoms ranging from hallucination to breathing difficulties. They were between 25 and 55 years of age.
The participants at the conference apparently took the amphetamine 2C-E, or Aquarust, resulting in what Deutsche Welle called a “mass intoxication.” The drug “has an euphoric effect and, like Ecstasy and Speed, belongs to the group of synthetically-produced amphetamines,” according to Deutsche Welle. Local German media outlets suggested the participants may have taken the drug as part of a drug experiment that ended up sending many into a delusional state.
“The Association of German Healing Practitioners (VDH), which represents homeopaths as well as other naturopaths, quickly distanced itself from the embarrassment,” according to the Independent. “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.”
