A CLUB WITH NO BEER, BUT PILLS ARE EVERYWHERE

Tens of thousands of young Sydneysiders will take ecstasy as part of their
New Year's Eve celebrations tonight, knowing there is virtually no chance
they will be caught.

An investigation by The Sun-Herald has found ecstasy has now so infiltrated
the culture of clubs and organised dance parties that some experts believe
as many as 100,000 teenagers could be taking it tonight.

Senior police officers have told The Sun-Herald ecstasy is so widely
available they have neither the powers nor resources to halt its meteoric
rise to number one position as the recreational drug of choice.

While they deny turning a blind eye, they admit they can only try to shut
off supplies by targeting smugglers and manufacturers.

Despite a string of recent successes - 271,000 tablets hidden in a shipment
of French wine and another 50,000 haul at Brisbane airport this month - the
impact has been negligible.

Chris Webster, manager of Sydney's most popular dance club, Home, is
running two major parties tonight and maintains the "vast majority" of the
20,000 revellers will be taking ecstasy.

"It's part of that ritual and I'd be lying if I said otherwise," he said.

A Sun-Herald reporter who visited an under-18s Christmas party at a club in
Oxford Street last Thursday was accosted within an hour and openly offered
the drug.

A National Drug and Alcohol Research (NDAR) study found "most users are now
reporting having used ecstasy in situations other than dance events".

NDAR spokesman Paul Dillon confirmed it was "certainly not unreasonable" to
arrive at a figure more than double the number expected to be taking the
drug at dance clubs.

"Some people will simply not comprehend this, but ecstasy is being taken at
RSLs and pubs. It is being taken out on the streets," Mr Dillon said.
"There are people who choose to only ever take it at home.

"During the course of our research, we found that of those people polled,
the average age of first-time use was 17.

"Indeed, we met one girl who takes it in the bedroom while her parents are
sitting in the living room next door.

"We came across another woman who even takes it just to go shopping.

"There is a popular belief in society that this is a relatively harmless
drug which is no worse than alcohol.

"This is not true.

"But for that reason alone, it is turning into the drug of choice."

Despite wide agreement that ecstasy is now the most readily available
illicit drug, just 279 NSW users were arrested for possession in 1998-99,
with a similar figure soon to be released for the present year.

In comparison, more than 3,597 heroin users were arrested, as were 1,550
amphetamine consumers.

NSW Police Crime Agencies Detective Superintendent Ken McKay said: "Our job
is combating organised crime and the suppliers of drugs like ecstasy,
heroin and amphetamines.

"When you look at the number of users, it is a matter of economics - there
is only a certain number of us and so many of them.

"Of 81 ecstasy-related arrests we [Crime Agencies] made this year, a
quarter were for possession and the rest were for supply-related matters.

"By concentrating our efforts on suppliers, money is being better spent
because it is eliminating distribution from the top."

A spokesman for Britain's National Criminal Intelligence Service said the
rise in club and dance culture had made Australia a favoured smugglers'
destination.

NSW Health confirmed there have been nine ecstasy-related deaths in Australia.

THE HIGH LIFE

Ecstasy is the popular name for the chemical MDMA.

Common street names include ecky, disco biscuits and the love drug.

It was patented in 1914 by a German pharmaceutical company and first used
as an appetite suppressant.

When it was later found to calm feelings of anger, marriage guidance
counsellors used it to bring couples closer.

In the late 80s, the rave scene took off in north-west England and ecstasy
was unleashed on the world, quickly becoming the party drug of the 90s.

Ecstasy has traditionally cost between $40 and $50 a tablet in Australia
but with increased availability the price has dropped to as little as $25.

Its effects on people are mixed. As it wears off, users feel lifeless and
their mood sinks, a state commonly referred to as a comedown.

Ecstasy is particularly dangerous for anyone with raised blood pressure or
a heart condition.

Nine deaths have been attributed to ecstasy in Australia.