DRUG-CULTURE PANEL URGES 'LESS HYSTERIA' OVER ECSTASY

BOULDER - The dangers of Ecstasy have been largely overblown by police and
the media, observers of the drug culture told a high school crowd Tuesday.

The panel told nearly 1,000 Boulder High students that education about the
substance is needed more than blaring headlines and harsh "Just Say No"
messages.

"What we need is a little more wisdom and a little less hysteria," said
Emmanuel Sferios, founder and executive director of DanceSafe.

DanceSafe provides information about Ecstasy and other drugs on the Web and
tests Ecstasy at clubs and parties for harmful additives.

Sferios was part of a discussion sponsored by the University of Colorado's
Conference on World Affairs. Other panelists included Brian Hollywood, who
studied the club culture in Northern Ireland, and David McKirnan, a social
psychologist.

The group touched upon the death of 16-year-old Brittney Chambers. The
former Monarch High student was removed from life support Feb. 2 after a
six-day coma brought on by the pill, which she took at a party in her
mother's home in Superior.

The Boulder County coroner ruled she died from drinking too much water to
prevent dehydration, a condition triggered by ingesting Ecstasy.

The panelists said publicity about Brittney's death added to the hysteria
surrounding the drug but provided little real information for the public.

News reports about Ecstasy also fuel curiosity about the drug's effects.
"The drug war can work paradoxically," McKirnan said.

More study is needed on Ecstasy's long-term effects, he said, but it does
appear to dull short-term memory.

Most problems with Ecstasy are caused by heat stroke at unregulated dance
parties where there is little ventilation or water, he said.

Some Ecstasy tablets also are tainted with more dangerous drugs. "It's
safer to buy at a home or apartment rather than at an event," Sferios said.

Ecstasy was used in psychotherapy until about 1985, when it was classified
as an illegal drug by the federal government. Then, deaths began occurring
because tainted pills arrived on the market, Sferios said.

A cease-fire between Northern Ireland's Catholics and Protestants left the
military and law enforcement with big unused budgets, so they turned their
attention to drugs like Ecstasy, Hollywood said.

Extreme measures followed, such as the shuttering of local dance clubs.

Education is now used more in Europe, a trend the panelists hope will
spread to America.

Most of the students appreciated the talk. "Everyone thought it would be a
negative message, but it was good information about the risks involved,"
said 11th-grader Kalen Kaminski.

Local law officers warned against downplaying the dangers of Ecstasy.

Boulder police Cmdr. Joe Pelle said users have suffered physical problems
because of Ecstasy, not just as a result of tainted byproducts.

Ecstasy is also unpredictable, Boulder County Sheriff George Epp said.
"That's the reason it was outlawed as a prescription drug."

He's also wary of DanceSafe's "harm reduction" approach toward Ecstasy.

"I'm a little skeptical about their helpfulness," Epp said. "What I've
heard about them is they are there to show how to have a good time, and
perhaps it's a chemically induced good time."