OVERPOWERED BY GRIEF, DEAD GIRL'S PARENTS WON'T REST IN FIGHT AGAINST
ECSTASY

Jim and Elsa Heird will spend this day quietly, their tears of grief mixed
with the anger that remains three years after their daughter, Danielle, died
of an Ecstasy overdose and what her parents call cruel neglect.

For them, today marks the most awful anniversary in a parent's life, the
date their child died.

Danielle was 21 and beautiful. Like so many young adults, she was drawn to
the Las Vegas club scene, where the dance parties never stop and Ecstasy use
proliferates. She overdosed the third time she tried the drug. After
partying at Club C2K inside The Venetian, she became ill and died a few
hours after being left alone at a private residence.

Since then, the Heirds have sued and confidentially settled lawsuits against
The Venetian, Club C2K and related companies Silver Hammer of Nevada and H&H
of Nevada.

They've also embarked on a two-person crusade to raise awareness of the
dangers of the drug, and to increase the penalty for those who distribute
drugs that result in serious injury or death and the distributor does
nothing to aid the victim. It is an aspect of the good Samaritan laws that
are going on the books throughout the nation. The passage of AB443 was a
brief bright spot in an otherwise forgettable 2003 Legislature.

The Heirds believe that Danielle would have lived if her boyfriend, Daniel
Beall, or his friend, David Hornsby, had taken her to an emergency room or
just called 911. Instead, their depositions show they dropped her off at
Hornsby's residence and returned into the night. No criminal charges have
been filed in her death, but police investigators have received documents
created during the civil suit.

"I am not holding her blameless, but I think with a little compassion she
would be here today," Jim Heird says. "We had statements that said that if
she had received reasonable medical attention she would be alive today. We
believe it was gross neglect. They took her back to their place and they
abandoned her."

In an effort to send a message about the dangers of the drug, the Heirds
have made public service announcements through an association with the
Partnership for a Drug Free America. They've also made appearances on the
700 Club and Court TV to get the word out.

Their dedication, which has bordered on obsession, has exacted a toll on
them. But they show no signs of letting up. Elsa has been unable to keep a
job since her daughter's death.

"I promised Danielle I would do it," Jim Heird says. "I promised her spirit
I would do it. I won't let her down."

Heird says it's important to realize that his daughter was not a troubled
person. She had no criminal history, had never been in trouble in school.
She was a healthy young woman with a natural curiosity.

"The police had never come to my house," he says. "She had never done any
drugs or anything, or had any problems that we were ever, ever aware of. She
just met some people who were in the nightclub business and she found it
exciting. The third time she used it, it killed her, and it's been
devastating on us.

"Losing a child is a horrible thing."

Nationally, Ecstasy use is said to be down slightly after an enormous surge
in use among teenagers. Although it trails by a wide margin the most popular
substances, alcohol and marijuana, according to the Partnership for a Drug
Free America, its use has risen 71 percent since 1999. About 12 percent of
teenagers surveyed admitted using Ecstasy, compared to 53 percent for
alcohol and 41 percent for marijuana. A segment of the academic community
studying Ecstasy's effects takes its potentially deadly side less seriously,
saying it's "not a very fatal" drug.

Some Web sites claim recreational use of Ecstasy is basically harmless, but
increasingly research physicians are finding extended use of the drug
appears to create long-term brain dysfunction.

No one has to tell the Heirds that Ecstasy is deadly. They have the awful
proof and are reminded of the fact every day.