TEENS WARNED OF DANGERS OF RAVES, DRUGS

RCMP testing of 'ecstasy pill' in Canada found 78% contained anything but
ecstasy

A few hands went up when Louise Logue asked her young audience how many had
been to a rave or, as she called them, an all-night dance party.

And several of the 100 teenagers were also able to answer when Ms. Logue --
co-ordinator of the Ottawa police's youth intervention and diversion unit --
asked them why raves pose such a problem for parents and police. Drugs.

Techno music and light shows may be a big part of dance parties, Ms. Logue
said, but so are drugs -- including ecstasy and LSD. She estimated that at
raves she'd been to in the Ottawa area, about 85 per cent of people were
high on something. By contrast, she added, only five to 10 per cent of
youths and young adults overall abuse drugs or alcohol.

Ms. Logue was speaking to teens from across Canada, taking part in a
one-week Encounters with Canada program.

In an interview, she stressed that while raves attract drug users, the
chemicals they use are available throughout the city.

While ecstasy users tell researchers the drug can make them feel mildly
intoxicated, relaxed and energetic, and loving and warm toward others, it
can also cause anxiety or panic attacks, blurred vision, vomiting and
increased sweating, blood pressure and heart rate.

There have been several drug-related deaths in the Ottawa area, Ms. Logue
said, as well as reports from hospital emergency wards that were dealing
with overdosed young patients.

Many cities, including Ottawa, have attempted to regulate raves by requiring
promoters to pay for permits, medical services and security for their
events. While Ms. Logue said regulations have made raves safer and drug use
has declined, she said drugs are still a problem.

The trouble, she told the teens, is they don't know what they're getting.
RCMP testing of "ecstasy pills" from across the country has found about 78
per cent of pills seized and tested contained "anything but ecstasy," she
warned. Ingredients included angel dust, LSD or ketamine, an animal
tranquillizer, among other chemicals.

As well, paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA) -- a hallucinogenic stimulant that is
one of the most dangerous and toxic hallucinogens known -- is often sold as
ecstasy, she said.

The combination of drugs and dancing can make dancers overheated and lead to
dehydration, seizures, convulsions, coma and even death, she said.

Encounters with Canada is a program of the Canada Unity Council, a
non-profit organization that offers 24 week-long programs a year.