BUSTS TARGET NEWER DRUGS

Officials this week detail the eight-month crackdown on Ecstasy and
other 'designer drugs.' Defendants face charges under a new state law.

RALEIGH -- Police have seized more than $1 million in Ecstasy and
other drugs and made arrests from downtown Raleigh to the West Coast
in shutting down several groups suspected of supplying the city's
growing market for designer drugs.

Close to three dozen people, some working in groups and others
individually, face charges from the eight-month investigation, which
police made public Tuesday. Almost a third face trafficking charges
under a new state law that took effect this year.

Investigators began focusing on so-called designer drugs -- a
negligible presence in the Triangle just a couple of years ago --
after they started turning up in increasing amounts across the city,
Raleigh police Capt. Mike Longmire said. As the investigation
continued, police worked with agents from the FBI, the Drug
Enforcement Agency and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation in
making arrests and seizing drugs and the Wake County District
Attorney's Office in bringing charges.

The Raleigh crackdown comes as demand for Ecstasy has been surging
nationally, with U.S. Customs agents seizing record amounts of the
drug this year.

Often associated with all-night dance parties known as raves, Ecstasy
is in demand among relatively affluent, typically white teens, young
adults and young professionals, authorities said.

The growing use of Ecstasy has alarmed public health officials, who
warn that the hallucinogenic can cause brain damage with long-term use
and can kill even first-time users.

In tracing suspected sources of drugs seized here to California and
the Southwest, the local investigation may have played a role in one
of the country's most prominent Ecstasy busts this year -- of former
Mafia hitman Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, charged with running a large
designer-drug operation in Arizona. Police have declined to comment on
the possible connection.

"The source of a portion of the Ecstasy distributed locally was from
the West Coast area and was part of a significant organized criminal
enterprise," Longmire said.

So far, police have seized 15,000 doses of Ecstasy in pill, powder and
liquid form, with a value of $535,000 on the street, where a tablet
sells for up to $35. Other designer drugs seized include ketamine,
known as Special K; GHB, known as a "date-rape" drug; and crystal
methamphetamine.

Police also have made a big haul of traditional drugs, including
$500,000 of LSD, enough for about 100,000 hits, as well as cocaine,
morphine, heroin and marijuana. Raleigh investigators and SBI agents
this week seized a large amount of LSD in making several arrests in
Western North Carolina, Longmire said.

The crackdown, targeting large-scale suppliers instead of street-level
dealers, has made at least a dent in the local supply of Ecstasy and
other drugs, police said.

"We believe in several cases that we identified those people
responsible for the distribution of a significant amount of these
drugs in our community," Longmire said. "We feel confident that we
have had an effect on a portion of that activity."

Arrests of out-of-state residents include a Las Vegas man facing a
trafficking charge and a North Hollywood, Calif., man charged with
conspiracy, reports state.

Local arrests include a Broughton High School student charged with
possessing and selling five tablets and a Wake Technical Community
College student charged with trafficking 18,910 tablets. Other
defendants include employees of several bars and restaurants, a couple
of construction workers and a soldier from Fort Bragg.

Police used several techniques to infiltrate the illegal trade,
including having undercover officers buy drugs from suspects, Longmire
said. As the months passed, investigators kept surveillance on
suspected dealers, searched several houses and apartments, pursued
tips from confidential informants and had arranged for monitored
delivery of packages of drugs that had been intercepted.

Possessing any amount of Ecstasy is a felony under state law. Since
Jan. 1, those arrested with more than 100 tablets are charged with
trafficking and face at least 35 months in prison. The General
Assembly adopted a bill creating the offense last year. Sen. Fountain
Odom said he sponsored it after several Charlotte-Mecklenburg police
officers expressed concerns.

"They thought it was as bad as if not worse than some other [drugs]
covered" under existing trafficking laws, Odom said. "They thought
folks were beginning to use it because it was not covered."

Raleigh's growing trade in Ecstasy has mirrored a trend that has seen
the hallucinogenic turn up in record amounts across the country. U.S.
Customs agents have seized 4 million tablets of Ecstasy this year,
topping in four months the total of 3.5 million tablets seized in all
of fiscal year 1999.

Known as the "hug drug" because of the heightened feeling of euphoria
users experience, Ecstasy tablets often are embossed with symbols such
as smiley faces and corporate logos.

But the drug can be deadly, said Dr. Wilkie Wilson, a professor and
neuropharmacologist at Duke University and co-author of a book about
the most commonly abused drugs.

People who use too much Ecstasy in a hot place such as a crowded dance
floor can suffer injuries to their brains and other organs if their
body temperatures rise out of control, Wilson said. Repeated use can
cause brain injuries that can leave users chronically depressed.
Studies suggest that longtime users also suffer memory loss.

"People repeatedly tell me, 'How can a drug that makes you feel so
good be bad?' " Wilson said. "Many people believe it's not bad for you
because of how peaceful and loving it makes them feel. They think it's
the authorities that want to deny them their fun."

Approaching the drug with caution, however, is not simply a matter of
law-enforcement paranoia, Wilson said. Unlike alcohol or other drugs,
Ecstasy use can be difficult to detect, with dilated pupils and
extreme thirst from dehydration among the few indications.

"Parents need to understand that it produces the thing kids need most,
which is love and acceptance," Wilson said. "One answer is to offer
your kids lots of love and acceptance. Another thing is to know where
they are. This stuff is penetrating into every level of society
because people like being loved."