USE OF ECSTASY MAY BE GROWING

Recent bust in Butler shows inroads hallucinogen is making, county agents
say

In a small, black film canister found during a traffic stop in Butler,
officers discovered Ecstasy, the latest so-called illegal designer drug that
is making inroads in Waukesha County.

"There's not an overabundance of it, but we're seeing the tip of the
iceberg," said Capt. Terry Martorano, who heads the Waukesha County Metro
Enforcement Drug Unit. "Every couple of months we pick up someone. I think
it's a drug of its time. Its time is now."

During the latest bust in Butler, police stopped a 23-year-old Menomonee
Falls man and his 22-year-old female passenger, of Sussex, for speeding
about 12:20 a.m. July 18 at N. 132nd St. and W. Silver Spring Drive. During
the stop, officers confiscated nearly a pound of marijuana, worth $700, and
20 Ecstasy pills, worth $300.

"We haven't (before) busted anyone for Ecstasy," said Butler Police Chief
Ernie Rosenthal. "It's become a drug of choice. For our area, it's a
good-size bust."

Ecstasy, a hallucinogenic drug, provides its user with a feeling of euphoria
and allows for "uninhibited behavior," Martorano said. However, overuse of
the drug can put a person in an incapacitated state, he said.

"Kids have said they use it when they're going to a party when they 'want to
get mellow,' " Martorano said.

In Waukesha County, while rising in popularity, Ecstasy still falls behind
marijuana, crack cocaine, powder cocaine and powder heroine, drug agents
say.

Butler police are seeking charges against the man of intent to deliver a
controlled substance and charges against the woman of possession of drug
paraphernalia.

The arrests came a month after two Madison men pleaded not guilty to drug
charges alleging they sold Ecstasy and gamma-hydroxy butyric acid, or GHB,
to undercover officers on Feb. 25.

Ryan W. Schweitzer, 25, and Michael L. Haight, 27, allegedly met an
undercover county drug agent at a Delafield restaurant near I-94 and state
Highway 83. Schweitzer, who allegedly also sold drugs Dec. 17 to agents, is
accused of giving a detective 40 ounces of GHB and 200 hits of Ecstasy on
Feb. 25, according to a criminal complaint.

Waukesha County drug agents said there have been at least two other cases
involving arrests for possession of Ecstasy since late 1998.

Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Bill Roach said Ecstasy arrests
were unheard of when he took over prosecuting drug cases three years ago.

"It's not epidemic, but we're seeing more of these cases," he said. "A lot
of these pills come in from Amsterdam and areas like that, get to the coasts
and get down to Madison and ultimately Milwaukee."

Martorano, who also works security at Alpine Valley, said during a recent
concert that while chatting with young people from Wisconsin, Illinois,
Minnesota and New York, they thought nothing of talking about how either
they or their friends have used Ecstasy.

"I don't think this is a flash in the pan," Martorano said of Ecstasy. "I
think it's the start of things to come."