ECSTASY GROWS AS DANGER TO TEENS

As Other Drugs Dip, Club Drug Takes Off

Ecstasy could double in five years and is rising at such an alarming rate
that leading anti-drug advocates will launch a campaign against it Monday.
In a survey of 6,937 teens nationwide last year by the Partnership for a
Drug-Free America, 12% say they have tried Ecstasy at least once.

That's up from 10% in 2000 and 5% in 1995. Despite recent studies
indicating that Ecstasy impairs memory and damages the brain, many kids
continue to see it as a harmless "peace and love" drug.

Partnership research indicates an additional 11% of the teen population is
likely to try it in the next five years.

Drug specialists say Ecstasy's rise in popularity comes as teens' use of
most other drugs is declining or holding steady.

Ecstasy now ranks behind only alcohol and marijuana in use by teens,
analysts say. About 41% of teens say they have tried marijuana, and 53% say
they have consumed alcohol in the past year.

The pattern of use for Ecstasy is similar to that of cocaine in the late
1970s, analysts say. Cocaine users initially thought that drug was
harmless. By the time scientists proved otherwise, cocaine addiction was a
national problem.

Ecstasy "is no longer a blip on the radar screen," says Stephen Pasierb,
president of the non-profit partnership. "We've got 2.8 million kids who
have used Ecstasy and millions more who think they might want to try it. If
we wait another five years to talk about this, the monster could be out of
the box."

Monday, the partnership is unveiling a series of print and TV
advertisements that portray Ecstasy as dangerous and sometimes lethal.

Ecstasy costs from $10 to $25 a pill, and teens generally take three to
five pills for a night of partying. It has hallucinogenic properties that
give users a feeling of energy and well-being. Medically, Ecstasy increases
heart rate and body temperature.

As scientists develop evidence suggesting that the drug causes brain
damage, Ecstasy abusers are burdening treatment centers.

"They are showing psychotic behavior," says David Rosenker, vice president
for adolescent services at the Caron Foundation, a treatment program in
Wernersville, Pa.

John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy, notes that one recent study on Ecstasy use suggested that it could
be leveling off -- an indication, he says, that teens and parents are
starting to conclude that the drug is dangerous. Even so, he says, Ecstasy
is worrisome because the drug is becoming cheaper and easier to get. "It's
reaching younger and younger children," Walters says. "It's viewed as
fashionable. That's an attitude we must try to change."