PRAGMATIC DUTCH TOLERATE ECSTASY USE

Despite U.S. Alarm, Party Drug Is Widely Used In The Netherlands

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 that's 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.

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

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

Drug enforcement officials, lawmakers and health care experts in the United
States are sounding a new nationwide alarm about Ecstasy, also known as "x"
or "happy pills," calling it the newest and fastest-growing drug in the
illegal marketplace. There were congressional hearings last year, new
federal legislation to stiffen penalties and reports of huge Ecstasy busts
by the U.S. Customs Service -- 2.1 million tablets were seized in Los
Angeles last summer.

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."

For years, Holland has pursued what may be the industrial world's most
tolerant approach to drug use. Amsterdam is dotted with "smoking 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 clinic technicians cannot immediately determine
the content of a pill, they offer to send it to a laboratory for further
tests. That's not a problem for most users, because they tend to buy their
pills in batches of five or six.

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
underground parties, or "raves," where Ecstasy use is prevalent. For
example, party sites must be well ventilated and there must be plenty of
free water available, to prevent e-users from becoming dehydrated through
all-night dancing. There must also be a "chill-out" room, a cool and quiet
place where "ravers" can sit peacefully to calm down.

Officials also say their strategy of tolerating use should not be
interpreted by their American counterparts as tolerating trafficking and
manufacturing. Ecstasy remains illegal in Holland and is classified as a
hard drug, like heroin and cocaine.

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 that includes customs agents, police,
tax enforcers and public prosecutors.

"The Netherlands is a main producer of Ecstasy," 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. . . . 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.

The small size of Ecstasy tablets also makes them easy to smuggle across
borders. Sometimes they're disguised; the Dutch police have found them
being shipped out in vitamin bottles. The pills come in different colors --
blue, green, brown, orange -- and sometimes with small emblems stamped on
them that give them their nicknames. One popular brand, for example, is the
"blue butterfly," which shows the butterfly stamped on its front.

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 who suffered severe dehydration 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,
the "love drug" may not be so benign. The brain can produce only a finite
amount of serotonin over a lifetime, so heavy "e" use -- 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're health and legal experts or casual
weekend users, consider the official American reaction alarmist. "I think .
. . the Americans are overreacting," said Tim Boekhout van Solinge, a
researcher and lecturer in criminology who has studied Ecstasy use extensively.

"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."

Boekhout van Solinge 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, officials here say: As more reports come in of
the potential dangers of Ecstasy, some party-goers may be switching back to
another old favorite drug, cocaine.