AUTHORITIES READY TO BATTLE EXPECTED ECSTASY OUTBREAK

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Authorities are preparing for an appearance of the
hallucinogenic drug Ecstasy expected to rival that seen in larger
metropolitan areas in recent years.

Local investigators seized five tablets of the drug in 1999. So far this
year they' ve captured 1, 418 tablets.

" We' re very concerned, and we think we are getting only a fraction of
what is out there, " Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann said.

Authorities at first believed the Ecstasy found in Milwaukee was brought
into the state, but a probe into 40, 000 tablets seized in New York
implicated manufacturers in Wisconsin, said Michael Troster of the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration in Milwaukee.

Court records show one suspect arrested this summer had more than 1, 100
tablets in his bedroom and admitted distributing 3, 000 doses in the
previous two months.

Distributor Mark E. Kraemer, 21, told investigators in April 1999 that "
half of the club scene likes ' E' , " according to a criminal complaint.

Ecstasy, a type of methamphetamine commonly found at raves and clubs, gives
users bursts of energy and makes any touch feel sexual, Troster said. Some
call it the " hug drug."

The drug, which sells for about $15 to $25 per tablet, can induce wild
bouts of dancing and physical activity that are so intense that users often
chew pacifiers to prevent teeth-grinding, Troster said.

" They get so manic, they' re bouncing all around, they' re literally
dancing themselves to death, " he said.

Users often don' t realize how much energy they' re expending and can
suffer from heat stroke or dehydration, Troster said.

The drug' s effects on users have been greatly underestimated or
downplayed, health officials warn.

Recreational users risk depression, anxiety, memory loss and learning
difficulties, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Ecstasy can cause severe brain damage in its victims and that is why
prosecutors recommend terms prison for dealers, Troster said.

U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee,
has said he will discuss the growing drug problem in Wisconsin with Drug
Enforcement Administration chief Donnie Marshall. Kohl wants more DEA
agents in Wisconsin.

" I suspect that as awareness of it grows and police become concerned about
it, we will see a substantial increase in the number of cases brought to
our office, " McCann said.