ECSTASY: A DEADLY DRUG DESTROYING LIVES

Last week I shared with readers my concerns over the new "club drug"
Ecstasy. I told you about the number of young people who are addicted to the
drug because of its euphoric feeling and how this drug has led to overdose
and depression.

Interesting enough, I ran across some additional information in the past
week and thought it appropriate to share this information with my readers as
well. Teen trial use of the drug has doubled in the last five years. With a
reputation as a "safe drug", one that is not addictive and can't get you
into trouble, our young people are thinking they're having harmful fun and
everything is all right.

The fact is that just one month after the U.S. Sentencing Commission raised
the penalties for selling the so-called "safe club drug", two 17-year-old
died in Memphis from taking the drug. The Sentencing Commission received a
mandate from Congress to stiffen sentences for dealing in Ecstasy and recent
research studies reveal that the drug is far from the "safe, happy, party
drug" it is promoted to be. The drug in fact, has some very serious
long-term effects.

Once only sold in clubs and at raves, reports now show the drug is in fact
available at schools, on the streets and even in some coffee shops. A survey
by the Department of Health and Human Services revealed that use of the drug
by high school sophomores and seniors is up 55%.

The 2000 Monitoring the Future Study found that use of the drug Ecstasy in
the past year by eighth grades increased by 82% and use in the past month by
10th graders increased 44%. We have a problem here and we need to be aware
that this drug is destroying a lot of young lives one by one.

The origins of the drug make interesting reading. According to information I
received, it was developed in 1914 as an appetite suppressant and was later
used by psychiatrists to help patients get in touch with their feelings. The
FDA disallowed further use of the drug in 1986 after animal testing provided
it caused brain damage.

Lo and behold it surfaced in the clubs and raves as the "feel good" drug of
the 90's. One of the immediate dangers of taking the drug is dehydration and
exhaustion while more serious dangers include memory loss. A study published
in "Neurology" shows the drug leads to difficulties retaining what is seen
and heard and researchers at John Hopkins University found that the memory
impairment increases with the amount of drug taken and not only does the
drug case problems while someone is taking it, but it can interfere with
normal learning and memory long after one stops taking it.

The book Clear Body, Clear Mind by international best-selling author L. Ron
Hubbard explains how this occurs and offers a solution to those who have
taken the drug. Hubbard explains how drugs get lodged in the fatty tissue of
the body and can even be released later when one is not taking the drug.
People who took LSD in the 60's have experienced this "flash back"
phenomenon 20 years later. These drug residues will continue to affect the
body and the mind as long they are there.

The body outlines a purification program that will rid the body of these
drug residues and their harmful effects.

I've shared all of this frankly to say that the problem is there and it's
affecting children at a younger and younger age. We have to find a way to
help our children now before it's too late. Children are dying everyday
because they want to "feel good". It's time we find something else the can
"feel good" about and as soon as we can.