N.J. CAMPAIGNS AGAINST ECSTASY USE AT SEASIDE CLUBS

SEASIDE HEIGHTS -- In a cloudless blue sky where planes usually pull
banners advertising $3 margaritas and dollar drafts, beachgoers on
Thursday got a different pitch.

"Doing club drugs tonight?" the banner read. "Warning! Narcs can dance."

On the steamy boardwalk below, prosecutors and police officers
reiterated the admonition to members of the media, who they hoped
would spread the word to anyone who might use Ecstasy or other
designer drugs at the shore this summer.

"The message must be simple and clear: It's illegal in New Jersey,
and we impose some of the stiffest penalties in the country," said
First Assistant Attorney General Paul Zoubek.

Authorities say the use of Ecstasy has been increasing exponentially
since 1998. This summer, they expect record numbers of users to flock
to the shore.

On Thursday, state officials announced that they are expanding
education and enforcement efforts to counteract the rise.

The aerial banner will be flown over the sea on weekends throughout
the summer. There will also be billboards, statewide public service
radio announcements, and posters.

But it doesn't stop there. Undercover officers will be in the clubs
in large numbers, searching for links to major dealers through even
the smallest drug arrests, authorities said.

"We're going to be every place we think people are using the stuff
and selling the stuff," said Ocean County First Assistant Prosecutor
Terrence Farley.

The educators are fighting an uphill battle, in large part because
many kids don't believe that Ecstasy can really cause any harm, said
Christine Dwyer, a 16-year-old former Ecstasy user who spoke at the
conference.

New Jersey lawmakers have helped crime fighters by enacting stricter
penalties in 1999. Possession and sale of Ecstasy now mandates as
much jail time as having heroin and cocaine -- something one of the
state's top law enforcement officials emphasized for parents.

"If your kids have a certain quantity of Ecstasy on them, they're
going to jail and they're going to jail for a long time," said
Division of Criminal Justice Director Kathryn Flicker. "Their lives
will be ruined."

The problem, authorities said, is that some parents don't realize how
serious the extent of the use has become.

Kids as young as 12 and 13 years old are now using the drugs, often
at under-21 nightclubs and dance parties where parents are promised
alcohol-free nights, Farley said.

Ecstasy, also known as the "love drug" and the "hug drug,"
intensifies feelings and sensations. It's often referred to as a club
drug because that's where most people begin using it.

An entire culture has now evolved around Ecstasy: Users suck on
pacifiers to keep from grinding their teeth, drink bottles of water
to keep from dehydrating, and play with glow sticks.

Ecstasy dates back to the early 1900s but became a popular
underground drug in Europe in the 1990s. It first showed up in New
Jersey, in large scale, in 1998 at the Jersey shore, where the
elements are ripe for use and abuse: young people seeking fun and
freedom.

However, its use is now documented in all 21 counties, said Jeff
Greczyn, commander of the Middlesex County Narcotics Task Force and
chairman of the Narcotics Commanders Association of New Jersey.

"It's not just a shore problem," said Ocean County Prosecutor David
Millard. "It's in every high school. It's in every college. It's all
over the place."

Last fall, Dwyer said, she was using the drug daily, taking several
pills over the course of the day. Now she has no short-term memory
and needs surgery to repair her jaw, which has suffered from the
grinding caused by taking Ecstasy, she said.

Dwyer said she first tried it at a party when she was 13.

"It felt great," she said.

But over the years, she needed more and more to get high, and wanted
to feel the experience all the time, she said. To support the habit,
she sold drugs.

"I'd wake up in the morning and have to take a pill," she said. "I
just thought I was having a good time."

Dwyer provided a cautionary tale, authorities said.

"Parents need to know the signs," Zoubek said. "They need to talk to
their children," he said.