ECSTASY-VIAGRA MIX ALARMS DOCTORS COMBO CAN AFFECT HEART, ANATOMY

An increasing number of American youths who use the club drug Ecstasy are
mixing it with the anti-impotence drug Viagra, leading drug-abuse
specialists to warn about the health risks of a combination that users say
fuels all-night dancing and marathon sex.

The combined drugs -- known in the club scene as "sextasy" -- began as a
fad among youths in England and Australia. About a year ago, officials of
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began hearing reports that the
mixture had become popular in this country's gay party culture.

Now, drug-abuse analysts say, anecdotal reports from across the USA
indicate that sextasy has become one of the most recent products of a
dangerous trend: Young clubgoers taking "cocktail pills" that can include
as many as a half-dozen drugs.

Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, is a stimulant with hallucinogenic properties.
A U.S. government study in 2001 indicated that about 12% of high school
seniors had tried it. That was well less than the usage rate for marijuana,
but it represented a huge jump from 1998.

Users in the club and rave scenes say it gives them the energy to dance all
night and enhances their senses. But Ecstasy also hinders sexual function.
To compensate, some young men take Viagra, a prescription drug normally
used to treat men who have decreased sexual function or who are recovering
from prostate cancer.

Doctors warn that combining the two drugs can cause heart problems or
erections that don't subside for more than four hours, possibly leading to
anatomical damage. There have been scattered reports of such injuries
across the country, officials say.

In Internet chat rooms that cater to those in the club scene, talk of
multiple-drug combinations -- particularly Ecstasy and Viagra -- is
becoming more common.

This month, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police warned about combination
drugs. Anti-drug police units in Canada analyzed about 1,200 pills seized
at clubs and raves, and found that fewer than one-fifth contained one
illicit drug -- in this case, Ecstasy.

"It's not uncommon to see a capsule, tablet or powder with six different
drugs," Cpl. Scott Rintoul of the RCMP says. The most prevalent combination
has been Ecstasy, methamphetamine, the anesthetic ketamine and caffeine.

"There's a consumer population who wants meth with Ecstasy and other
drugs," Rintoul says. "Now the drug dealers are responding to consumer
demands" for Viagra.

Drug-abuse specialists who work in Washington state say youths there have
told them about the popularity of sextasy pills. "They are stealing
(Viagra) from their next-door neighbors," says Ellen Silverman, a policy
specialist at Washington state's Department of Social and Health Services.