Nightclubs in alphabet soup with ABC cracking down on X

There's trouble right here in River City. That's trouble with a capital T,
that rhymes with E, and that stands for Ecstasy.

The popular designer drug that multiplies colors, sensations and
emotions for lollipop-licking, pacifier-sucking, water-swilling
nightclub dancers has become so popular that state Alcoholic Beverage
Control agents and police investigators are doing some high-stepping
of their own with "Operation Ex-Clubs."

Cafine's, an East Grace Street nightspot popular among gays and
straights, was the first to be gutted by the investigation.

Now Casablanca, an East Grace Street gay club, and Fahrenheit
Restaurant and Club, a popular dance spot in Shockoe Bottom, stand
accused of being meeting places for those proliferating club drugs.

Their alcohol licenses - and, therefore, their businesses - might be
on the line during two mid-May hearings.

In Richmond's fickle nightclub scene, just the mention of an
investigation can harm or doom a business, club managers and owners
say.

That's why more than a few of them are sweating rumors that at least
four more establishments are on the ABC hit list.

"It's so real it's not funny," said one club manager who did not want
to be identified. He said that just about every club or restaurant
catering to young adults has customers sharing or selling Ecstasy and
other drugs in bathrooms or parking lots. "This is no fairy tale."

ABC spokeswoman Rebecca V. Gettings said yesterday that no other
establishments are scheduled for club-drug hearings. But, she added,
"it's an ongoing investigation."

Several club managers say it's not fair for their industry to be
targeted for not being able to keep young people from using and
sharing drugs such as Ecstasy when area high schools have the same
problem.

Members of the gay community say they feel singled out, because all
three clubs under fire catered to gays to some degree. (Fahrenheit has
held weekly drag shows.)

Longtime Richmond club crawlers are wondering "why now?" Ecstasy has
been on the scene for years, and drugs such as pot and cocaine have
long been available in some area restaurants and clubs.

Meanwhile, some club-drug users says it's rather hypocritical that the
state agency controlling and profiting from beer and liquor sales is
cracking down on a drug that makes most users shun alcohol.

"They're trying to kill the competition," said one "raver" in Shockoe
Bottom late Friday night.

Another young "E" user outside a nightclub yesterday at 3 a.m. said
the media and politicians have demonized the drug and the rave scene,
which is the modern version of the disco movement of the'80s, complete
with repetitive dance beats and flashing lights.

"Dude, it's all about PLUR," said the young man as he sucked on an
Altoid mint. "Peace, love, unity and respect. We're the hippies of
2000."

Deaths from true Ecstasy, which elevates the heart rate, heightens
sensations and causes hallucinations, overheating, dehydration,
tongue-biting and jaw-clenching (hence the lollipops and pacifiers),
are rare considering the vast popularity of the drug.

Users say it's like a happier, milder, four-hour version of LSD. The
drug's chemical title is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA,
which is a kissing cousin to MDA, a popular designer drug in the
late'70s and early'80s. Ecstasy wasn't outlawed in the United States
until 1988.

But an Ecstasy pill, which sells for $20 to $40, often isn't pure. It
can be cut with cocaine or heroin, or could be something different
altogether, such as ketamine, a harsh tranquilizer similar to PCP.

A young woman with telltale dilated pupils in Shockoe Bottom early
yesterday said she had done Ecstasy "more times than I would like to
admit." She said she believes repeated use of the drug has scrambled
her brain - permanently, she fears.

And so continues to the same old story: Young people getting into
trouble - getting high and taking risks - and grown-ups trying to stop
them.

Yes, there's trouble right here in River City.