ECSTASY USE SOARS IN US MILITARY

THE United States Armed Forces have introduced emergency anti-drug
measures after random testing revealed that use of the hallucinogenic
drug Ecstasy by military personnel has rocketed.

Drug-testing by the US Air Force, Army and Navy indicated that use of
the so-called "designer" drug is 12 times what it was two years ago.
"We have seen an increase in the use of Ecstasy," Lieutenant-Colonel
George Rhynedance, a Pentagon spokesman, said. "It is a drug that is
popular in our culture and our Service members are also members of
that culture."

The Pentagon plans to take a hard line with users, who will be
automatically discharged on testing positive, he added. "The message
is if you use this we will catch you and you will be asked to leave
the Service. Use of illegal drugs is not in keeping with the military
ethic."

In an effort to stamp out use of the drug, the Air Force, which tests
70 per cent of its personnel each year, is increasing random tests and
weekend screenings. The Navy has formed a task force to examine the
use of the drug among sailors. Next year the military expects to
unveil a test that can better detect Ecstasy.

Education is the military's other primary weapon against the drug. "We
want people to know and understand what Ecstasy is and what it can do
to them," the spokesman said.

The rate of increase among military personnel was slower than the
increase among civilians, he added. The military first began testing
for Ecstasy in 1998. Last year almost 500 of the Air Force's 370,000
members either tested positive or admitted to investigators that they
used the drug.