THE DARK SIDE OF ECSTASY

DEA Scientist Outlines Deadly Effects Of Popular 'Designer
Drug'

It is impossible to become physically addicted to the party drug ecstasy.
It will kill you first.

"It's such a toxic drug, you can't produce dependance," said David V.
Gauvin, drug science specialist with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"Dead people are not addicted."

This was one of the many unsettling facts Gauvin shared about ecstasy and
other "designer drugs," which are altered versions of other drugs. The
information was presented at a public awareness information forum "Designer
Drugs 2000: The effects on your body" held Tuesday at Neuqua Valley High
School as a prelude to the activities of Red Ribbon Week -- which promotes
drug awareness. The forum was sponsored by the U.S. DEA Chicago Field
Division and school districts 203 and 204.

Approximately 100 people, many area law enforcement personnel, attended the
two-hour presentation, which detailed the effects of these drugs and the
dangers they pose. While several designer drugs were referenced throughout
the evening, the main emphasis was placed on ecstasy, or MDMA
(methylenedioxymethamphetamine).

"It was very informative," said Vicki Greiff, community prevention
coordinator with Breaking Free, a nonprofit counseling and prevention
agency in Naperville and Aurora. "We get a lot of requests -- especially
from high schools -- to provide information about ecstasy and club drugs."

Linked to three Chicago-area deaths since May, the use of ecstasy was
likened to playing "a modern version of Russian Roulette" by Don Sturn,
special agent in the charge of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA.

"This drug has been around a long time, but it took to the year 2000 to get
to Naperville," Gauvin said.

Through the use of ecstasy, everything is enhanced. It's "like a chemical
amplifier," he said.

Also known as "the hug drug" because those who use or "roll" on ecstasy
need to be touched constantly, it produces an increase in physical
activity. Often the drug is taken at raves, which Gauvin calls "nothing
more than a crack house with music." Because of the need for constant
physical contact, users often dance with each other for extended periods of
time.

Activities considered painful under normal circumstances will take place
because of the exaggerated sensations, such as blowing Vicks inhalers into
each other's eyes. Users may take turns pulling each other's hair.
Sometimes they will pull their own hair. In instances where a user is being
taken to the hospital, there have been reports of the people scratching
themselves until they bleed because they need to be touched so badly.

While designer drugs may be prevalent in the rave scene, they are also
available elsewhere. Gauvin said there are no more than six degrees of
separation between a person looking for a drug and the person providing it.

Ecstasy, which is used primarily by those in late high school and early
college years, has also been sampled by younger users. According to
national statistics, students in middle school have reported using the drug.

"It should scare the hell out of everyone in this room to think that 4
percent of all eighth-graders in the United States have tried ecstasy,"
Gauvin said.

Long-term consumption of the drug can cause permanent brain damage. A
single tablet at the doses being found now in the United States will
produce brain damage.

The most common form of ecstasy is the tablet, followed by capsules. About
98 percent of all ecstasy is taken orally, although some individuals take
it by snorting or as a suppository, which lengthens the effects of the drug.

Ninety-five percent of all ecstasy in the world is produced in the
Netherlands in unsanitary "labs." The pills are produced for about 25 cents
each and then sell for between $25 and $30 in the United States. Often
ecstasy is mixed with other drugs and users might not know what they are
really taking.

"Ecstasy is all about making money," Gauvin said.

Money continues to be made at raves when the effects of the drug kick in.
Overheating occurs with body temperatures soaring to 106 degrees. The need
for cold liquid forces those rolling on ecstasy to purchase bottles of
water for prices between $2 and $8. The high temperatures break down the
membranes of blood vessels and nerve cells in the brain, causing the brain
to die. Those who have died from the drug had body temperatures of 108 to
117 degrees.

Acute complications include the thickening of the blood vessels, which
prevents blood from pumping to organs, cardiovascular collapse, stroke,
respiratory failure and the rupturing of proteins from cells, leading to
the immediate need for a heart transplant and kidney failure.

The day after the use of ecstasy, a person will feel drowsy, muscle aches,
fatigue, difficulty in concentration, paranoia, anxiety, irritability,
frequent headaches, stomach cramps, acne/skin rash and a depression to such
a level that it is referred to as "Tuesday morning suicide," Gauvin said.

"I came out really scared, but informed," said Melissa Sobelman, a senior
at Naperville North High School, after the lecture.

Sobelman said she recently heard a rumor that a friend of hers in
California is using the drug. While she does not know for certain, she is
still fearful of the possibility.

There is also fear in not knowing where ecstasy and other drugs can turn
up, she said.

"People could put it in your drink and you don't even know," Sobelman said.

In addition to detailing the effects of the drug on the body, Gauvin also
outlined the use of paraphernalia and candy to camouflage the drugs. After
reviewing the information, he left those in the audience with one thought.

"Do everything you possibly can do to get between your kids and drugs," he
said.