New Drug `Sass` Blamed in Illinois Woman`s Death

Nov. 13--A woman from Spring Grove died after apparently ingesting a synthetic drug known as "sass," a form of Ecstasy made from the sassafras plant, authorities said.

Cristina Villasana, 21, was admitted to the Lindenhurst Freestanding Emergency Center about 2 a.m. Tuesday, then was transferred to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, where she was pronounced dead Tuesday night, police said.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office was notified by Round Lake Heights police and immediately interviewed a person believed to be a witness to the incident. That interview indicated that Villasana ingested the sass around 10:30 p.m. Monday before becoming ill, according to a sheriff's news release.

Police believe that false information provided by the people who drove Villasana to the hospital hampered the initial investigation. Authorities were working to identify who might have supplied the drug.

Sass, a euphoric stimulant also known as Sally, was a new term to some drug abuse experts, who said drug production and slang change constantly. Safrole, derived from sassafras oil, can be used as a precursor to MDMA or Ecstasy, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned its use in food as a cancer-causing agent.

Though witnesses called the drug sass, that doesn't mean it was, said Kathleen Kane-Willis, who conducts research into drug abuse and policy at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Street drug users often have little assurance of what's in the substances they're using, and producers often create knockoff or adulterated drugs that may be more toxic than the original, she said.

Dr. Gregory Teas, chief medical officer at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates, agreed, warning, "The toxic effects may be totally unrelated to the drug desired by the consumer."

The Lake County Coroner's Office conducted an autopsy on Villasana's body and found no signs of significant trauma, though the victim may have bitten her lip and suffered prior bruises from falls, Dr. Thomas Rudd said. The office will have her blood and urine tested for drugs and alcohol and may take three to four weeks before releasing the results.

rmccoppin@tribpub.com

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