Sun God kills, baby

The post-mortem on a UCSD computer-science student who died hours after this year's controversial Sun God festival has finally been released, confirming widely held suspicions that an illicit drug was responsible for the fatality and raising more questions about how the school is handling the increasing substance-abuse problems of its undergraduates.

The next step is said to be up to chancellor, Pradeep Khosla, who in 2012 commissioned a task force in response to warnings from hospital emergency rooms that Sun God was an alcohol-and-drug-overdose disaster waiting to happen.

“Health and safety problems associated with Sun God have increased significantly in the last two years,” the Sun God Festival Task Force reported last fall, “with marked increases in students entering the on-campus detox center and being transported to area hospital emergency departments.”

“In 2012 there were 21 recorded medical transports, both inside and outside the venue; in 2013 this increased by 129% for a total of 48 recorded medical transports.”

Arrests also skyrocketed: “In 2012 there were a total of 95 arrests at Sun God; in 2013 this increased by 54% and a total of 146 were arrested at Sun God.”

Despite continued warnings of more incidents and possible deaths to come, Khosla allowed the show to go on this past May with a few changes, including an attempt to reduce the number of overdoses being treated by the complaining hospitals.

"There will be a new emergency on site medical care to manage more serious cases needed for detox but not severe enough for hospitalization," according to the minutes of the April 2014 task-force meeting. "This will be staffed by UCSD medical faculty, their residents, and EMT providers."

Also: "messaging will go out to local landlords in the neighborhood regarding problematic behaviors associated with Sun God and efforts of the university to ensure a safer festival. The campus will be asking landlords for their cooperation in enforcing their rental/tenant polices on this day."

"Messaging to the Greek community has been very intentional, as most recently there were 15 transports and 21 arrests made in large part to underage drinking during this year’s Rush period. The Greek community at UCSD is about 2,000 members."

The festival still produced a familiar litany of alcohol- and illicit-drug-related casualties, including the death of 20-year-old Ricardo “Ricky” Ambriz, a third-year Revelle College student.

Ambriz "was reported to have partaken of alcoholic beverages during the day and evening while attending the festival," according to the county medical examiner's autopsy report regarding the May 17 death.

"Eyewitness accounts stated that the decedent also admitted he had taken a drug at some point in the day at the festival.

“After leaving the festival at midnight, his friend noticed him to ‘freeze’ at times during their walk back to their apartment. The friend also stated he was 'starting to reach out into the air grabbing at stuff.' He had clenched teeth and was having difficulty breathing.

"After returning to his apartment with his girlfriend he was witnessed to collapse and become unresponsive –– he was noted to be talking 'gibberish' minutes before collapsing.

"Examination at the scene of death documented foam and blood exiting the decedent’s oral cavity. A 'Chinese research chemical' along with some e-cigarettes were located in the dorm room by the campus police."

Tests later performed by the medical examiner revealed Ambriz had taken 5-APB, also called "benzofury", a chemical variant of Methylenedioxyamphetamine, otherwise known as MDA.

"The effects described are euphoria, empathy and color enhancement," the autopsy report says. "Side effects include nausea, vomiting, jaw clenching and sleep. Pharmacological effects are consistent with it having both stimulant and hallucinogenic properties similar to other stimulants in the same class."

Ambriz was found to have had a blood alcohol level of .02, not enough to play a direct role in his death, the medical examiner added.