A woman who was 37 weeks pregnant died in hospital a week after being found unresponsive on a canal towpath. Nicola Harvey, 35, succumbed to a bleed to the brain after taking monkey dust.
Nicola was put in an induced coma after being taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital on 13 June, 2023. But a heart-breaking decision was made to switch off the ventilator and she passed away on 20 June, 2023.
An inquest held this week ruled that Nicola’s death was drug-related, reports Stoke on Trent Live. North Staffordshire area coroner Emma Serrano said: “Nicola suffered a bleed to the brain caused by the use of monkey dust.
“In relation to how she passed away, the evidence explains how she used monkey dust which caused a hemorrhagic stroke, causing fits and causing pressure, and she was unable to recover from that and passed away. Nicola passed away as a result of using monkey dust and her death will be recorded as in relation to drugs.”
Monkey dust is a synthetic psychoactive substance also known as MDPV (3,4 methylenedioxypyrovalerone), a stimulant drug often found in crystal or powder form. Its effects are likened to those of amphetamines or cocaine.