ECSTASY SECOND MOST POPULAR ILLEGAL DRUG by Niall Murray

Ecstasy has overtaken heroin as the second most common illegal drug being
abused in Ireland.

Figures to be released by the Department of Justice shortly are expected to
show the rising popularity of amphetamine based leisure narcotics over so
called "downers", which include heroin.

The number of drug seizures made by gardai has increased by around 10% to
more than 8,000 in the last two years, according to department sources. The
total street value of all the drugs being seized each year now runs into
millions of pounds.

Cannabis resin remains the most popular street drug, accounting for almost
two thirds of seizures again last year. In 1998, 2,157 kilograms of the
substance were seized in 4,700 hauls.

More than 1,000 heroin seizures yielded 38kg of the drug in the same year.
But the most significant figures will show that ecstasy is now the second
most common drug in use in Ireland.

"While cannabis resin is still the most common illicit drug, ecstasy has
moved into second place for the first time above heroin. These uppers,
including speed and ecstasy, are becoming more popular, while downers like
heroin seem to be fading," said a Department of Justice source.

Ecstasy tablets seized last year were mostly MMDA, the most popular
chemical form of the drug, which is mainly associated with young people and
dance music culture.

The falling street price of ecstasy in recent years is a possible reason
for the increase in its abuse.

The different types of ecstasy, all manufactured around an amphetamine
base, are often branded by the logos engraved on the tablet.

Car logos have been growing in popularity, with the three diamond
Mitsubishi most common.

However, a number of new brand logos, including Opel, Peugeot and even the
more upmarket Mercedes, are also being imprinted on the tablets. Seizures
of amphetamines, most commonly used in a powder form called speed, are also
on the rise. Their use is becoming more widespread outside the south of the
country, which was the area most associated with the use of speed for a
number of years.

Another worrying trend emerging in the last few years is the sharp rise in
cocaine use in Ireland. Gardai seized more than 330kg of cocaine in 1998,
compared to just 11kg the previous year.

"Cocaine has come to the fore recently, although not as much as was being
suggested by experts in the United States a few years ago. It is certainly
an indication of the wealth of the country and the Celtic Tiger," the
Department source said.

"It has always been a yuppie drug, as opposed to crack cocaine which is
smoked and is the poor man's drug."