NN POLICE SAY RAVES NOW AN AREA PROBLEM

Concern Grows Over Use Of Drugs, Ecstasy

NEWPORT NEWS - The arrival of the rave scene was formally announced on the
Peninsula last weekend when police raided a Newport News club and arrested
22 people -- most for the possession and use of the drug ecstasy.

While raves and their companion drugs have been popular in this country for
most of the past decade, police say both the rave subculture and the drug
ecstasy are relatively new here.

Police officials said they hoped to inform parents and send an early
message with last weekend's crackdown.

"If you hold rave parties in Newport News, this is what's going to happen,"
said a Newport News vice detective, who asked that his name not be used.

Police raided The Mirage Restaurant and Lounge on Warwick Boulevard shortly
after 3 a.m. Saturday. Nearly 400 people were inside at the time. Police
did not close down the party, but word of their presence spread quickly and
many dancers started to leave. Police stopped people inside the club and
outside in the parking lot, the vice detective said.

Raves, which are typically all night dance parties, are not illegal. But
drugs, especially ecstasy, are common at raves.

No alcohol was served at this weekend's rave, police said. The Mirage had
its liquor license revoked last year, but alcohol is rarely available at raves.

The Mirage was cited for fire code violations, and may be facing more legal
trouble because juveniles were in the club after a city enforced curfew,
said Janet Cox, a Newport News police spokeswoman. But the club owners are
not facing any charges in connection with the drug arrests.

In addition to ecstasy, police also confiscated marijuana and LSD. Lab
tests are confirming the identity of each drug seized.

Police would not say how they learned of the rave, and the club's owner
would not comment.

Of the 22 people arrested, two were juveniles, ages 16 and 17, and the rest
were between 18 and 27. Several of those arrested were soldiers at Fort
Eustis -- one was a sailor stationed on the USS Mahan and two were members
of the Coast Guard.

Fort Eustis officials said they are considering making The Mirage off
limits to their soldiers.

Fearing that the rave subculture and the drug ecstasy are still largely an
enigma to parents, police officials held a press conference Monday to
display photos of the confiscated drugs and discuss these new players on
the local drug and party scene.

Ecstasy, commonly known as "E" or "X," contains speed and also acts as a
mild hallucinogenic. It creates a bodily bliss and a sense of euphoria.
Ecstasy is also called the "happy pill" or a "hug drug," police said.

The drug is popular at raves because it intensifies the perception of music
and lights, police said.

Raves sprang up in England in the 1980s and later spread to the United
States. The parties usually include extensive light shows with DJs playing
instrumental techno music.

Deaths have been attributed to ecstasy use, but have been mainly due to
dehydration and high body temperature from dancing. Many ecstasy users will
drink several bottles of water in a night.

Ecstasy is commonly swallowed in a pill form. Ecstasy users have been known
to hide the pills in bags of candy and reseal the bags, particularly in
bags of the candy Skittles. Ravers also hide the pills in Tootsie Roll
wrappers or embed them in the Tootsie Roll, itself, police said. Officers
confiscated ecstasy pills Saturday concealed in a Jolly Rancher wrapper.

The most outward sign of ecstasy use is dilated or "blown" pupils, police said.

People who frequent raves also have their own dress code that include baggy
clothes and cheap plastic jewelry known as "candy." Many ravers, also
called "candy kids," like to wear and suck on pacifiers. Ecstasy causes the
jaw muscles to clench and the pacifiers keep the ravers from grinding their
teeth, police said.

In December, Hampton police raided a man's house and found 204 hits of
ecstasy, along with other drugs. Twenty-six airmen at Langley Air Force
Base were also arrested last year and charged with dealing and using
ecstasy and other drugs. Eight of the airmen have been court martialed and
four more are facing hearings.