HARDER DRUGS ARE PART OF SCHOOL SCENE

Vince Amador has talked to kids who have taken Ecstasy, the designer drug,
and he has warned them it's dangerous.

"It doesn't matter," he shrugged. "The kids know it's dangerous, but that
just makes it more exciting."

Over his 15 years as a school psychologist for Thornton High School
District 205, Amador has talked to plenty of students who smoke, drink and
take drugs.

"Club drugs like Ecstasy appeal to risk-takers, not to everyone. When it
comes to drinking alcohol, kids may do it because their friends do it, or
because it's socially acceptable," he said.

Amador was one of about 100 health and social workers who heard the latest
on the school drug scene at a conference hosted by the South Suburban Youth
Service Alliance. The workshop at South Suburban College covered everything
from the drugs themselves to the Internet's role in distributing them.

Dave Hurley, who works in behavioral medicine at Christ Hospital in Oak
Lawn, said statistics indicate drug use among teens is going down.

"But clinicians say it's getting worse," Hurley added. "There are tougher
cases. We're seeing earlier use, with the average at 11, 12 or 13 years.
We're seeing the rebirth of marijuana, which kids think is healthy, or not
that bad. We're seeing acid and designer drugs like Ecstasy, GHB, MDMA,
LSD. Kids are taking them at parties they call 'raves' or 'trances.' You
can guess what's going to happen at a 'trance.' "

Teen-agers can get any drug they want once they're inside, but then the
focus is on music, Hurley said.

"They have live bands, and they dance all night," he said. "Kids say
there's a real mixture of people, and it's all about peace, love and
tranquillity. It sounds like the 1960s. Kids just want peace of mind and
acceptance."

They don't realize the danger of ingesting some chemical designed to get
them high, and while Ecstasy has been around for 70 years, scientists
haven't studied it much, Hurley said. Sometimes teen-agers take lookalike
substances by accident.

"They truly don't know what they're taking," he said.

Keeping children from smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol remains the
best way to keep them off other drugs, but it's hard to battle national
advertising campaigns, according to Hurley.

"We're trying to change social norms," he said. "That's the problem. It's
become a way of life."