RAVE GOERS WARNED ABOUT DANGERS OF IMPURE ECSTASY

A common complaint among ravers these days is the loss of the vibe.
The openness isn't there much anymore, and the original spirit of the
scene is hard to come by.

It may have something to do with the drugs.

They're changing, and it's not only got parents worried-it's got the
people using the drugs a little uneasy.

"You don't really know what you're getting now," says Michelle (name
changed), a 19-year-old who has participated in the scene-and the
often associated drug use-for three years.

"When I started, everything was pure (Ecstasy)."

Now, she says, it's often mixed with methamphetamine and speed, and
some people are getting heroin mixed in. Although she never can really
be sure what she's taken, she judges by the effect it has on her.

Police and health officials warn that drug users don't really know
what they're getting and that can impact not only their mood, but also
endanger their health.

Judging by the latest tests done on chemical drugs seized at raves,
Ecstasy is no longer the main drug used. Most of the samples tested
recently at UBC were seized at Richmond raves, according to Scott
Rintoul of the RCMP drug awareness team.

Of the 115 samples seized between Jan. 1 and Apr. 1 this year, only 18
per cent contained pure ecstasy. About 32 per cent had either pure
ecstasy or ecstasy as the main ingredient.

But MDA was found in 36 per cent of the samples, in either pure form
or mixed with something else. MDA is an ecstasy-like substance that is
considered stronger and longer-lasting.

The concern with MDA, Rintoul said, is that the drug produces a
greater down as it wears off, tempting the user to seek other drugs to
fend off the low.

Recently, a New Westminster teen was believed to have died from
alternating ecstasy and methamphetamine all through the night to
maintain a high, Rintoul said.

Since his team began analyzing samples seized two years ago, Rintoul
says there has been a drop in the amount of ecstasy, accompanied by an
increase in the amount of MDA. In tests following seizures last year,
the percentage of pure ecstasy was five per cent higher.

He's also observed an increase in the presence of PCP (angel dust) as
an added ingredient in samples.

Mark McLean, associate medical health officer for the
Vancouver-Richmond Health Board, attended a rave recently and has
begun gathering information on drug use at these events.

McLean said the mixing, or adulteration, of drugs is perhaps more of a
concern than when people are taking "pure" drugs. It's not possible to
gauge their effects, he says.

MDA has a "speedier edge" and lasts longer, and does not foster the
openness sought after by many ravers, McLean says.

"It's really a change in the culture," he says.

Ravers may be worried about the loss of a distinct feel that raves
have, but the mix of drugs seen at raves is growing.

Rintoul reels off a list of other substances found mixed with ecstasy
at raves: ephedrine, pseudo-ephedrine, methamphetamine, ketamine, PCP,
heroin, caffeine, amphetamine, and dextramethorphin.

To parents and the people involved in the rave scene, it's something
to think about, McLean says.