E EPIDEMIC

The hydraulic rams containing 240,000 ecstasy tablets with nine kilograms
of ecstasy powder intercepted by Federal police (Herald, January 12) should
cause concern. If this seized shipment from Amsterdam represents a fraction
of the psychostimulant trade into Australia, then we have entered an
ecstasy epidemic.

This drug is now seen as a fashion accessory by young people and is de
rigueur at dance parties all over the country. Many kids will take more
than one tablet a night and at $50 a dose, there is a handy profit for
traffickers. Consumers are able to test for purity in their purchase with a
widely available ecstasy test kit, which looks for the active ingredient,
MDMA.

Regrettably, the Federal police bust will do little to dampen demand.
Backyard producers will ply ecstasy look-alikes, often full of impurities,
until the next large shipment arrives.

Dr Raymond Seidler, Kings Cross.