ECSTASY CLAWING BACK INTO CITY

Social Drug Re-Emerging After Lull In Use, Drug Agent Says

After a confidential informant equipped with an electronic hearing
device bought several pills of the drug Ecstasy, agents with the
Clarksville Police Major Crimes Unit and Tactical Unit executed a
search warrant at 111 Azalea Court.

Police found 150 multicolored Ecstasy pills and several pounds of
marijuana, according to court documents.

Ben Thomas Dowlen Jr., 31, was arrested in the August 2007 sting and
charged with manufacturing, selling or possessing a controlled
substance. In June, Dowlen pleaded guilty to the charges and was
sentenced to 10 years.

Dowlen's case is just one example of the presence Ecstasy has in the
city and how law enforcement is fighting to keep it off the street.

Since last year, there have been several major Ecstasy stings,
including one in March that turned up 1,500 pills, Clarksville Police
Department Agent David O'Dell told the Citizen Police Academy in April.

Local law enforcement and those in the judicial system have seen an
increase in the use of Ecstasy, a drug O'Dell said has come back to
Clarksville "with a vengeance."

Six years ago, Clarksville saw a similar increase in Ecstasy use and
dealing.

"It kind of lost a little bit of favor for a while," O'Dell said. "It
got a lot of bad press, but then for whatever reason it kind of got
reglamourized in the media and movies and got a new generation to
start with."

O'Dell said with this comeback, Ecstasy users and sellers are more
diverse.

"There is no particular age group," he said. "When we first had
problems, it was 18- to 25-year-olds, but it's starting to spread out
in all age groups."

Getting Here

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Tennessee has
a growing problem with "club drugs," Ecstasy being one of the more
common. These drugs are predominantly seen in Nashville and Knoxville.

O'Dell said most of the shipments of Ecstasy come to Clarksville
through Nashville, having come there from Texas and Atlanta. The
pills usually originate overseas or in Mexico.

The dealers usually receive the drug in lots of 500 to 1,500 pills,
he said.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Drug Agent Earl Crockarell said
his agency has tackled Ecstasy abuse by stopping it before it hits
the streets.

"It's a medium (level) problem, and even a medium problem is
life-threatening with this drug," Crockarell said. "It can elevate
the temperature in your body to a point where your body just shuts
down."

Using informants who provide Ecstasy dealers' names, the Sheriff's
Office has made controlled buys and executed stings.

On one occasion, Crockarell said, they set up a buy of 500 pills.
When the dealer was counting his pills, they arrested him and found
1,300 pills in the bag.

Tough To Track

Crockarell said one shipment of Ecstasy presents more of a problem to
law enforcement than greater quantities of marijuana because Ecstasy
is dealt within small social groups.

"They have their own way of talking and got their own slang," he
said. "It's hard to keep up with it."

Ecstasy is commonly known for its use at raves -- late night dance
parties that often last into the early morning hours. O'Dell said
Clarksville doesn't have a problem with large raves, which are
usually confined to bigger cities like Nashville, but the drug is
sold in social groups, he said.

"A lot of the groups that sell in the circles will often communicate
over MySpace," he said. "The whole thing revolves, kind of like
marijuana. The sellers and buyers tend to gravitate toward each
other. They know who each other are."

Crockarell said MySpace has been used to promote parties where the
drug will be present.

"It won't say anything about Ecstasy," Crockarell said, about party
invitations on MySpace. "But it will have a big X in the
background."

Crockarell said the invitations are parent-conscious.

"It'll have no alcohol and plenty of student-friendly liquids like
water and energy drinks," Crockarell said. "When the parents read
this, they don't see this big X in the background. The X will be
hidden somewhere, and the (kids) know what it means."

Crockarell said Ecstasy's users are typically younger than
40.

"This stuff revolves around age groups -- people grow out of it,"
Crockarell said. "The names change as different age groups go through
it."

At the county level, Crockarell said Ecstasy is not as big as when it
was in the mid-1990s.

"People were jumping into it, trying and liking it," Crockarell said.
"Then it faded away because they were going to the hospital for it."

In The Courtroom

John Finklea, assistant district attorney, said he and his co-workers
have noticed more Ecstasy-related cases coming through the judicial
system.

Finklea said many of the accused dealers have been less than 30 years
old.

"It seems like it's more younger people dealing it," he
said.

"Ecstasy is a Schedule I controlled substance, unlike cocaine, which
is Schedule II," Finklea added. "That shows if the government is
rating it as Schedule I, it's bad stuff. Schedule I and II are both
very addictive and dangerous drugs."

According to the Tennessee Criminal Justice Handbook, Schedule I
drugs have a high potential for abuse and do not have any accepted
medical use in the United States, and the abuse might lead to severe
psychic or physical dependence.

Schedule I drugs include Ecstasy and methadone.

Schedule II drugs have a high potential for abuse, but have been
accepted for medical use in the U.S. and might lead to moderate or
low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.

Cocaine is a Schedule II substance.

Marijuana is a Schedule VI drug.

Selling and possessing Ecstasy is a Class B felony, depending on the
amount. Like cocaine and meth, possessing more than 0.5 grams carries
a sentence between eight and 30 years of incarceration, depending on
criminal history, and a fine of up to $100,000.