HAPPINESS FOR SOME COMES IN A FANCY PILL

Ecstasy once again hit the headlines when the MCA launched an all-out war
against it. However, as RUBIN KHOO discovers, battling the drug requires an
understanding of the psychological needs of the users.

AFTER a hard and stressful week at work, Darren who is in his mid-20s looks
forward to the weekend when he can have more than just a good time.

The young professional just wants to let himself go, forget the week and
focus on himself. Unfortunately, the only way he feels he can achieve that
ecstatic state is by popping the Ecstasy pill.

"I don't consider myself a regular user. I just use Ecstasy whenever I go
out to have a good time. If I were to drink, it would cost me a couple of
hundred bucks. I only take half a pill which is cheaper. I basically want
to make sure that when I go out, I do have a good time.''

Darren is just one of a large number of young executives who indulge in
Ecstasy on a regular basis.

According to consultant psychiatrist Dr Rose Peng, the profile of drug
users has changed significantly since Ecstasy made its way into the local
club scene in the mid-1990s.

The image of a drug addict now is no longer just confined to that of an
emaciated figure lurking in dark alleys in the hope of scoring a hit. On
the contrary, it should also be of smartly dressed young urban
professionals hanging out in all the right places.

"The danger of the designer drug lies in the fact that Ecstasy is
associated with a particular lifestyle that these individuals are
struggling to attain,'' says Dr Peng.

"When Ecstasy first started being used here, it was by executives who
belonged to an elite group. Young and vibrant with good jobs but not quite
established yet, many of them had not quite made it in the world.

"As most of them were perhaps struggling, taking Ecstasy allowed them to
escape from their daily troubles and create the illusion of success.

"Happiness beyond reality, energy without limits, illusions of having
achieved these make these people feel like they are in.''

Once word of its stimulating effects spread, the drug soon ceased to belong
to just the elite group. Individuals suffering from mental and emotional
disorders also began to use Ecstasy.

"This second group of users do not belong to an elite group. They are those
who are unable to deal with their emotional needs or perhaps suffer from
depression or anxiety disorders. They may also be going through some
personal problems and are unable to cope. These are people with nothing to
look forward to and therefore feel the need to escape from painful
reality,'' says Dr Peng.

Indeed, most Ecstasy users describe the drug as a stimulant that allows
them to shed their inhibitions and become more at ease with themselves.

"I noticed that conversations with my friends became much more personal and
intimate without us even realising it. I would best describe it by saying
that ideas were flowing like 'liquid.'

"The moment I took it, I felt an increased ability to interact and be open
with others. I felt less defensive and became more attuned with other people.''

Others describe it as a kind of spiritual journey which allows for
self-realisation.

"What really amazed me was that the best things to look at were really the
everyday things that you normally would not notice.''

Dr Peng says such accounts clearly indicate that Ecstasy users, who are
primarily young people, suffer from problems related to self-esteem.

"They are unable to see their own worth. Happiness, satisfaction; for them
all this can only be achieved from the external and not from within.''

In today's material world where one's stature is often determined by one's
material possessions, those who have not achieved that level of status may
find themselves in an increasingly vulnerable position. Such individuals
then become easy prey to Ecstasy dealers.

On Aug 7, the MCA launched a month-long campaign against Ecstasy, labelling
the drug "self destructive'' and "dangerous.''

The move has been described as apt, particularly now as the pushers have
become extremely aggressive. Usage of Ecstasy is no longer confined to
particular age groups or races and has instead crossed boundaries to
include all segments of the population.

Ivan, 22, who used to work as a waiter in a local nightclub says the pill
was sold openly to all customers. The owner, he says, was not a pusher but
he allowed the drug to be sold in his premises simply because users became
willing spenders once they reached a high.

"You could get it from the bouncers; or sometimes the pusher would be
seated in a corner and anybody who wanted Ecstasy would go to him to get
it. Those who patronised the club were mainly older people. For every 10
persons, I would say six came to 'shake heads','' says Ivan.

Obtaining the pill, I was told by several people, is not difficult. In
fact, it is extremely easy.

"Have a look around the club, note what kind of music it is playing. If
it's rave or techno, chances are it will have Ecstasy. Just ask the waiter
or the bouncer, it could cost anything from between RM30 and RM100.''

The fact that Ecstasy is now widely available has appalled many people. The
drug, after all, has been in circulation since the mid-1990s. The main
question that is being asked is how has it managed to become so widely
available.

James Nayagam, chairman of Shelter, an NGO that looks after the welfare of
young people, says it all boils down to the question of enforcement.

"The authorities have to make sure that the law is enforced properly.
Perhaps shutting down and withdrawing the licences of all those
establishments where Ecstasy is found may help. Owners who claim they did
not know about it cannot be excused.''

Having already successfully penetrated so many groups, pushers are now
eagerly hunting for new prey. Dr Peng says the pushers are so aggressive
that they are now prepared to target school students.

"College students have already been attacked so they are prepared to go
down to schoolchildren. This is exactly the culture through which heroin
started a long time ago. Now it is the Ecstasy,'' says Dr Peng.

Authorities will have to act fast to ensure that this group does not
succumb to the temptation. In the short-term, proper enforcement may be the
answer. Battling it over the long-term, however, requires an
acknowledgement of the various factors that has led to such a widespread
desire to consume a drug like Ecstasy.