ECSTASY USE SOARS IN MILITARY
ARMED FORCES AIM FOR TOUGHER TESTING

WASHINGTON -- The military is worried about the skyrocketing use
of Ecstasy among its troops and is looking at more stringent drug
testing to prevent the popular youth drug from invading the ranks.

Drug testing by the Air Force, Army and Navy indicates that usage is
as much as 12 times what it was two years ago.

"The availability of club drugs is absolutely a major source of
concern," says Col. Peter Durand, a drug and alcohol-abuse program
manager for the Air Force.

Steps the services are taking to counter Ecstasy use:

* The Air Force, which tests 70% of its personnel each year, is
increasing random tests and weekend screenings.

* The Navy has formed a task force to examine sailors' use of "club
drugs."

* Next year, the military expects to unveil a test that can better
detect Ecstasy.

Less than 1% of military personnel have tested positive for illegal
drug use in recent years, but screening through random urine testing
might be failing to detect the extent of Ecstasy usage.

Ecstasy, unlike other substances, can pass from the body within 48
hours. Tests are conducted at least once a year by most of the services.

Last year, nearly 500 of the Air Force's 370,000 members either tested
positive or admitted to investigators that they used the drug. That
compares with 50 who were found to have used Ecstasy in 1998.

Last fall, five cadets at the Air Force Academy were charged with
possession or use of Ecstasy. Two of them were sent to federal prison.

Army statistics show the number of positive tests increased from 36 in
1998 to 440 last year.

The Navy had 238 positive tests in 2000, up from 34 in 1998. In most
cases, those who test positive are discharged from the military.

Ecstasy is the nickname for the synthetic amphetamine MDMA. The drug,
which is the size of an aspirin tablet, has hallucinogenic effects on
users.