U.S. DRUG CZAR SOUNDS THE ALARM ON ECSTASY

Teens Using `Club Drugs,' He Says

WASHINGTON -- Drug use among teens is down 21 percent during the last two
years, but steroids and club drugs such as Ecstasy are increasingly popular
with young Americans, according to drug czar Barry McCaffrey's final annual
report issued Thursday.

McCaffrey, leaving office today after five years as director of national
drug policy, gave a largely positive appraisal of national trends and
attitudes toward drug use, and said he's optimistic that the Bush
administration will continue prevention and treatment initiatives he has
pushed.

``Drug-related murders are down by half, and adolescent drug use is in
decline,'' said McCaffrey at a White House briefing. ``I can't imagine that
there isn't widespread unanimity that we need to continue prevention,
education and treatment. I'm very upbeat about the new team.''

But McCaffrey warned about the ``explosive increase'' in designer or club
drugs such as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly called
Ecstasy. Several surveys showed almost a doubling in use by high school
students in the last two years.

``They think it's a dance-all-night, feel-good drug,'' said McCaffrey, but
users don't realize that it can permanently impair brain functions. And his
report cited another danger that has been seen in the Florida club scene:

``Growing numbers of users -- primarily in the Miami and Orlando areas --
combine MDMA with heroin, a practice known as `rolling.' If this trend
continues, MDMA may become a `gateway' drug that leads to the consumption
of other substances.''

McCaffrey also said that steroid use has increased in recent years among
youths who want to excel at high school sports or ``even Little League
baseball.''

By contrast, a collection of surveys of household use and emergency room
reports shows a 21 percent decline in overall drug use by kids 12 to 17
since 1997. The surveys show overall rates of use for cocaine and heroin
have stabilized since 1992, while young adults' use of marijuana has increased.

McCaffrey credited more effective education campaigns and community-based
programs.

Dr. Donald Vereen, McCaffrey's deputy director, said that better surveys
and studies of the real impact of drug use have helped focus resources.

``Data, not dogma, is keeping us ahead of the curve,'' Vereen said. ``We're
able to respond much more quickly than we did, for example, to crack
[cocaine] when it hit the country, when it invaded Miami and headed up the
East Coast and across the United States.''

McCaffrey said the ``great unfinished business'' facing the new
administration is helping remove the stigma of drug treatment and providing
insurance coverage and heath care for addicts.

In assessing enforcement problems in the hemisphere, McCaffrey said he was
pleased with efforts by the new Vicente Fox administration in Mexico but
warned that Colombia continued to face ``enormous problems'' from
narco-traffickers. He called for continued U.S. aid to Colombia.

``These are 40 million people a three hours' flight from Miami who have a
huge importance politically, culturally, economically, to the United
States, and we intend to stand with them,'' he said.