CLUB DRUG THREAT DRAWS WARNING

The number of kids getting high on club drugs is skyrocketing, warns the
co-author of a report on drug use in Toronto.

The use of such drugs as MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB, Rohypnol, ketamine,
methamphetamine and LSD associated with the club or rave scene has shot
up in the past six years, says Ed Adlaf, of the Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health.

"It's been increasing since 1995, availability being the major factor,"
said Adlaf, co-author of Drug Use in Toronto 2000.

Adlaf said the 1999 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey -- a study of 4,800
students from Grade 7 to OAC at 111 schools -- showed use of MDMA, or
Ecstasy, at an all-time high since the drug became widely known in 1991.

And the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that in 2000, 11% of
13,286 Grade 12 students surveyed used MDMA -- a 3% increase from the
year before.