PELHAM POLICE WARN OF 'DESIGNER' DRUG CRAZE

PELHAM, N.H. -- Pelham High School principal Barry Connell says he's seen a
lot in his 30 years as an educator and very little shocks him anymore.

But when he first learned of the sharp rise in the use of designer drugs
such as Ecstasy among Pelham teens and his students, he was frightened.

"This scares me," said Connell last night before a group of parents at the
high school. "Very little scares me,"

Police officers spoke last week to more than a dozen parents who came to
learn of relatively new designer drugs such as Ecstasy that has become
popular in Pelham as it has in suburban communities throughout the country.

"It's a problem that's facing our department," said acting Police Chief Evan
Haglund, citing that 40 percent of drug arrests this year involved
possession and distribution of designer drugs. "Many years ago it used to be
marijuana ... then Ecstasy. (Users) think there's nothing wrong with it."

Not so, according to community policing Officer Joe McDowell, who works out
of the high school part time.

Ecstasy, chemically known as MDMA, can produce stimulant effects like
methamphetamine and hallucinogenic effects like mescaline. About 20 minutes
after ingesting it -- it usually comes in a pill that looks very much like
aspirin -- Ecstasy produces a euphoric high, giving the user an almost
out-of-body experience. The six-hour high is followed by deep depression
that can last for several days and even psychotic episodes in some cases.

Speaking on the social and criminal ramifications, McDowell noted that an
arrest for possession of Ecstasy is a Class B Felony.

"It's going to haunt them when they go to college," McDowell said, citing
the inability to qualify for financial aid and many scholarships for student
with a felony criminal record.

McDowell added that there is no profile for a typical Ecstasy user.

"You'd be surprised who's involved with this, from athletes to run of the
mill students to those in the honor society," he said.

Key signs that someone has taken Ecstasy include fully dilated pupils,
fidgeting and constant licking of one's lips because of dehydration.

Other physical effects include an increased heart rate and blood pressure,
teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision and chills or sweating.

When manufacturing Ecstasy -- which can be learned from recipes available on
the Internet -- it is often mixed with other drugs such as cocaine and
heroin, McDowell said.

For many parents the seminar was an eye-opener and it generated several
questions about the drug, which started gaining popularity in the late
1980s.

"I thought it was pretty informative," Ellen Grant said after the meeting.
"I basically just want to know what to look for."

"Some of us may not have run into to this yet, but we hear of it from our
kids," she said.