ECSTASY WAR FAR FROM OVER, WARNS FATHER

First impressions, as we should all know by now, can be very deceptive.

Yes, the silver-haired, bespectacled man with the rich Irish brogue, who had
just returned from his morning run along the rim of Fish Creek Park, fits
very comfortably the picture of a man who makes his living talking to
corporations and their employees about leadership.

That is, indeed, what he does.

But on the other hand, no, there's no way on Earth the unknowing would
immediately think of him as a published authority of the ravages of ecstasy,
with a very personal insight and perspective on the way the "rave drug"
poisons society and our kids while pouring billions of dollars into the
coffers of organized crime around the globe.

An authority on the subject, however, Gerry Madigan most certainly is --
through his son's pain, torment, near death and eventual triumph over the
drug and his own parental agonies and experiences gained through years of
watching his son's life spiralling into an abyss all too familiar to too
many parents.

When Julian finally recovered from his ecstasy nightmare in Dublin, Ireland,
back in the mid-1990s, the son who survived and the father who stuck with
him co-authored a best-selling book, The Agony of Ecstasy, as a warning and
an education to as many parents worldwide as possible.

They came to Canada to finally cut very dangerous ties with the Irish drugs
scene, launched their book here, and spent years travelling the talk
circuit, primarily in schools, colleges and universities, warning youngsters
how to avoid being sucked into the deadly world of ecstasy.

Gerry Madigan has heard the big news -- and make no mistake at all, he's
delighted.

"That's one big bust," he says in his home's sunroom as joggers and walkers
float by outside on the fringe of Fish Creek Park.

What he's talking about is the Alberta Integrated Response to Organized
Crime unit's history-making seizure of $4.2 million worth -- around 200,000
tablets in all -- of ecstasy, plus a haul of weapons and marijuana, in a
swoop on a northeast Calgary home.

It's the biggest ever capture of the illicit tablets in the province and
came at the end of an admirable eight-month investigation.

"It's great news. The bust is hugely significant," says Madigan, though
immediately a listener can sense the "but" coming.

And, yes, here it is.

"But when you think about it, if there's that amount to be found in one
place at one time, can you imagine the size of the distribution network
involved here? What we are dealing with on a huge scale is organized crime
of an extraordinary level and sophistication."

Not wanting to decry anyone's efforts at all, he almost hesitates to use the
words "tip of the iceberg" but, hesitantly, he does anyway.

And, just as the investigators have done, he particularly emphasizes the
fact that the pills grabbed in the raid appear to have been combined with a
lacing of highly addictive methamphetamine to ensure that the so-called
"love drug" customers keep coming back in their droves.

"The kids still think that popping one pill, a pill that for a few hours
raises their low self-esteem, is harmless. The combination involved here
means that a child can be addicted from the very first pill he or she
takes," says Madigan.

In 1994, his son Julian was an addict in Dublin, a city where raves and
their omnipresent companion drug, ecstasy, had soared to epidemic
proportions.

He hit rock bottom when his dealer threatened to kill him in a week if he
didn't come up with the $1,200 he owed.

After a blazing row with his father, the outstanding former athlete
courageously went cold turkey, and with counselling and the support and love
of his family, he emerged a survivor at the end of it all.

The father and son then wrote The Agony of Ecstasy, a book that, in graphic
detail, describes the horrors of the drug from each of their points of view.

Julian has continued to thrive, is married with two children and is working
in the oilpatch in Alberta's far north.

The father and son duo still fulfil occasional dates on the seminar circuit
together, although Gerry, boss of MMI Personal Leadership Training, is
getting back to what he was doing before ecstasy detoured his life.

But he can't resist another word of advice for parents who wonder and worry
about their children's weekend activities.

"The weekend, if you see them at all, is not the time to be extra vigilant
for signs that they are doing ecstasy," he says. "Mondays, they are still
coming down a bit from the drug, but there is a start to the signs. But
usually Tuesday, for some reason, is the bad day. They don't call them
'Terrible Tuesday' for nothing. That's the day when they're hitting bottom
again, showing lack of focus and concentration . . . that's one indication
to parents that their child may well be doing ecstasy."