ECSTASY USE AMONG US YOUTH CLIMBS

Ignorance Blamed

Former Ecstasy junkies, part of the rising trend of pill-popping US
teenagers, told the US Congress Wednesday that ignorance was one of the
contributing factors to their addiction.

"We all just wanted to have a good time, until it was over and people
were't waking up," said Vinnie, a teenage boy whose last name was
undisclosed, at a Senate hearing.

"Ecstasy ... was my quick way into a world where I wouldn't feel pain," he
explained, adding that he first tried the so-called 'hug-drug' when he was
15. "(But) it led me to lose everyting: my family, my friends."

Vinnie is just one of the growing numbers of US youth using the synthetic
stimulant and hallucinogen, known as chemically as MDMA but popularly
referred to as a 'club drug' because it is normally taken at all-night
dance parties.

Under its influence, users usually experience mood and behaviour changes,
becoming more outgoing, friendly and affectionate.

"Ecstasy was introduced to me from a former boyfriend," said Michelle,
another recovering drug user. "Ecstasy made me feel as though I did not
have a problem in the world.

"What my boyfriend did not tell me was that I would want to take Ecstasy
all the time. After a while, I felt as though I would not be able to live
without it," she said, detailing how she stole to support her usage.

This misconception that the drug is relatively harmless, the teenagers
said, contributes to its widespread usage.

But the drug has led to a number of teenage deaths, with victims suffering
increased heart rate, dehydration, kidney failure, and overheating.

Last year, the US Customs Service seized 9.3 million Ecstasy pills entering
the United States, up from 400,000 in 1997, while the Drug Enforcement
Agency confiscated more than three million doses in the country, up from
80,000.

According to the DEA, most of the Ecstasy coming into the United States is
produced in Europe, mostly in the Netherlands and Belgium, although
domestic production is growing, thanks to recipes freely available on the
Internet.

"Ecstasy is not just something that happens on a Friday or Saturday night
- -- it is becoming an underground lifestyle for some kids, especially high
school students," said Senator Joseph Biden.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that eight percent of all US
12th graders have used Ecstasy.

The pill, which is sometimes mixed with heroin and other drugs, is commonly
sold in dance clubs, hidden in small bags of chocolates or candy, by
dealers that identify themselves by wearing a butterfly logo, according to
a Biden.

Law enforcement officers trying to deal with the drug use also suffer from
a lack of information.

"Like many police agencies, our officers are not trained in what to look
for in the investigation of these crimes," said Delaware police officer
Steven Rust.

"Officers now look at things such as lollipops, spring water, pacifiers and
light toys as drug paraphernalia," he said in a prepared statement, adding
that the pills were being produced in "scenic neighborhoods" and sold in
bars, nightclubs and at the beach.

For Michelle, a Long Island, New York, cheerleader who described herself as
"not the type to do these things," the drug experience was "fun ... but it
didn't do me any good."

But she agreed with Vinnie, who said the best prevention was stricter
penalties and education. Both teenagers were in detoxification and
rehabilitation centers.

"The best way is to get young people who have used the drug and come clean
to go to schools and just talk," he said, adding: "I feel that Ecstasy
needs the same amount of attention as heroin and cocaine get."