DANGEROUS LIES

Warnings About The Dangers Of Illegal Drugs Must Be Frequently Repeated To
Register With Teen-agers

"I didn't know that it was as strong or as dangerous as crack or meth, . .
. " one teen-ager wrote of ecstasy in a letter to the editor last month.
"It always seemed to be a little drug -- a fun enhancer."

A young woman died early Saturday morning after a rave party. Her friends
say she had taken the drug ecstasy.

Some of Melissa Flaherty's friends also speculated that she may have taken
another illicit drug that some kids believe counter ecstasy's effects.

Whatever the exact cause of the 19-year-old's death, the attitude to drug
taking is alarmingly casual. Far too many youngsters fail to see the
dangers inherent in drug abuse: that they never know with certainty what
they're buying; and testing that tells them otherwise can't advise them of
safe dosages because there are no such guidelines.

In 1986, when Melissa was still in pre-school, another better-known
youngster suffered a fatal lapse of judgment. University of Maryland star
basketball player Len Bias died when a cocaine overdose caused his heart to
stop in what was widely reported to be his first experimentation with the drug.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s cocaine had become the party drug of
choice for affluent yuppies. Many in the boomer generation saw little risk
in cocaine. Its use conferred a kind of sophisticated status, and by 1985,
13 percent of high school seniors were trying coke, too.

Bias's death helped change that. With the growing perception that cocaine
wasn't as benign as some hipsters once thought, usage declined. By 1992,
cocaine use by high school seniors had dropped to just 3 percent.

But those teens are grown now. And while still fewer may try cocaine today,
they are blithely unaware of other dangers -- alcohol poisoning, for example.

Ecstasy is just the latest in Americans' continued search for feel-good
drugs. Like cocaine, ecstasy is reported to enhance feelings of well-being.
As a stimulant, it contributes to a chatty self-confidence and increases
energy, making it a seem like the perfect party drug.

Not all teen-agers, or adults for that matter, will pay attention to the
dangers of the latest drug fads, or the simple fact that nearly all drugs,
legal ones, too, can be dangerous.

But they must be informed, repeatedly.

When Sydney Drinkwater wrote his letter last month, it was in response to
the ecstasy overdose death of a Jefferson High School student.

"If ecstasy is really bad, then more teens should be aware of this fact. If
I didn't know, then who is to say that many other teens don't know it is
dangerous also?"

Good question.