MEETING TO TARGET 'PREDATORY DRUGS'

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will hold a public meeting in
Cincinnati tonight to warn against the growing threat of club and "predatory
drugs" that are popular with some teenagers and college students.

The meeting is part of a nationwide campaign, dubbed Operation X-Out, that
targets drugs such as ecstasy, "Special K" and GHB.

Those drugs have grown in popularity in recent years, primarily among young
people who use them at dance clubs, bars and parties.

Some of the drugs are described as predatory because they have been linked
to date rape and sexual assaults. Others have caused serious injury and
death.

DEA officials estimate that emergency room cases linked to the use of
ecstasy nationwide have risen from 637 in 1997 to 5,542 in 2001.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. tonight at the Event Pavilion at the University
of Cincinnati.

Law enforcement officers and experts on drug abuse will be on hand to answer
questions.