IN CAPITAL OF ECSTASY, THE DUTCH PRACTICE TOLERANCE

AMSTERDAM At a jam-packed private party at the edge of this city's
red-light district, the theme one recent night was 1980s retro, the
music was blaring and much of the crowd was in an Ecstasy-energized
frenzy.

"Is this a great party or what?" said a sweaty young American,
pushing his way to the bar for three glasses of tap water for himself
and two friends. When people are on the drug, often called just "e,"
they feel elated and packed with pep. Often they dance so hard that
consuming lots of water is essential to prevent serious dehydration.

Drug enforcement officials, lawmakers and health care experts in the
United States are sounding a nationwide alarm about Ecstasy, also
known as "x" or "happy pills," calling it the fastest-growing drug in
the illegal marketplace.

But here in the Netherlands, where an estimated 80 percent of the
world's Ecstasy is manufactured, people and government alike treat
its use as a fact of the cultural landscape.

"It's everywhere," said Monique, a 30-year-old waitress who began
using it a decade ago.

"I come from a really small village, and it was there," she said,
asking that her full name not be used. "At house parties it's still
around, definitely," she added.

The young American, a newcomer to the Amsterdam scene, said he knew
all about the potentially dangerous side effects of "e": the next-day
comedown, the slight depression, and the repetitive, involuntary
teeth-grinding that often leaves users with day-after sore gums.

But there are ways to counteract these effects, he said. Chewing gum
stops the teeth-gnashing. Eating an orange the morning after helps
balance out the mood swings.

For years, the Netherlands has pursued what may be the industrial
world's most tolerant approach to drug use. Amsterdam is dotted with
coffee shops, establishments where people can buy small amounts of
marijuana and hashish without fear of prosecution. Officials have
extended this tolerance to Ecstasy, and take what they call a
pragmatic view that, whether society likes it or not, a certain
number of people are going to use the drug, so the risks should be
minimized.

Here, party-goers can take their Ecstasy pills to a branch of a drug
treatment center to have them tested and the contents analyzed. The
pill is then handed back. If the technicians cannot determine the
content of a pill, they offer to send it to a laboratory for further
tests.

Upon completion of the test, "we give them a card telling them what
they can expect if they take this pill," said Harold Wychgel, a
Health Ministry spokesman.

The pill-testing program serves another purpose, he said; it gives
the government accurate and up-to-date data on what pills are on the
market and how prevalent the use is, as well as a profile of the
users. The government has also issued a white paper laying out rules
for the parties, or "raves," where Ecstasy use is prevalent. Party
sites must be well ventilated and there must be plenty of water
available, to prevent e-users from becoming dehydrated by all-night
dancing. There must also be a "chill-out" room, a cool, quiet place
where "ravers" can sit to calm down. The attitude contrasts sharply
with the approach in the United States, where there were
congressional hearings on Ecstasy last year and new federal
legislation to stiffen penalties. There also were reports of huge
Ecstasy busts by the U.S. Customs Service - 2.1 million tablets were
seized in Los Angeles last summer.

Dutch officials say their strategy of tolerating use should not be
interpreted as tolerating trafficking and manufacturing. Ecstasy
remains illegal in the Netherlands and is classified as a hard drug.
The authorities make war on production sites. In the past year they
have dismantled 35, said Peter Reijnders, who heads the Synthetic
Drugs Unit, a multi-agency group created in 1997 including customs
agents, police, tax agents and prosecutors. "The Netherlands is a
main producer of Ecstasy," Mr. Reijnders said. "But the Netherlands
is not the only producing country. We see more and more production
coming up in other Western countries, Belgium and Greece, and also in
Eastern Europe." He added: "That is why it is important to put
emphasis on international cooperation."

The typical Ecstasy laboratory is a fairly complex affair, somewhat
larger than the "kitchenettes" used to manufacture methamphetamine in
the United States. Two chemical precursors are required, which come
from Eastern Europe and, in smaller amounts, Southeast Asia,
officials said. As always with illegal drugs, the profits are huge,
so organized crime has a stake in keeping the trade and manufacturing
alive. One tablet can be made for about $1 maximum, and usually a bit
less. In the house-party scene in New York, one tablet can fetch as
much as $20. Invented by German psychiatrists in 1912, and used to
combat depression and to help couples having trouble in their sexual
relationships, the aptly named Ecstasy, known as the "love drug"
because it engenders feelings of warmth and a heightened sexuality,
was not even illegal until the 1980s, when it was discovered that it
was being used on the rave party scene, which originated in Britain.

There have been a handful of deaths attributed to Ecstasy, mostly in
Britain and mostly young people dehydrated from all-night dancing.
But for years, "e," which has the chemical name MDMA for
methylenedioxymethamphetamine, has been seen here as a relatively
benign drug, not addictive and with relatively minor side effects.

The drug works by stimulating the brain to produce serotonin, a
neurotransmitter that affects feelings of happiness. There may also
be mild, pleasant hallucinations and an increase in energy.

New scientific research now suggests that over time, and with heavy
use, Ecstasy may not be so benign. The brain can produce only a
finite amount of serotonin over a lifetime, so several pills every
weekend for years may cause the serotonin to be used up, perhaps
making depression more likely later in life. The National Institute
on Drug Abuse also has reported that Ecstasy use increases heart rate
and blood pressure and may lead to liver damage. And heavy use may
cause problems with memory. Still, many people here, whether they are
health and legal experts or casual weekend users, consider the
official American reaction alarmist. Tim Boekhout van Solinge, a
researcher and lecturer in criminology who has studied Ecstasy use
extensively, said he thought the Americans were overreacting.

"I've gone to raves with researchers and I've spoken to dozens of
rave-goers," he said. "One thing I've found is that rave-goers are so
responsible."

"This is a trend," he said. "It's not going to stay. It's so much
linked to a specific youth culture, the rave scene. And no one thinks
the rave scene is going to last 20 years." He and other experts also
dispute American suggestions that tolerance of soft drugs such as
marijuana leads young people to try harder drugs later on. There is
one worrying trend, say Dutch officials: As more reports come in of
the potential dangers of Ecstasy, some party-goers may be switching
back to another old favorite, cocaine.