DRUGS CRISIS: The Northern Scene

THE DRUG THAT DOES JUST WHAT IT SAYS

(In an interview with NUALA HAUGHEY)

To this user, ecstasy means a sense of well being and euphoria, but the
possible long-term health effects are a cause for concern

'Do you know when you've had two or three pints of beer and you're just
feeling a bit tipsy and jolly? That's what E is like, only you stay that
way for about eight hours.

A friend of mine introduced me to ecstasy last July. It basically does what
it says: it gives you a tremendous feeling of well-being but you are in
control of your speech and movements and you're lucid. That's what I like
about it.

When you take E your body and mind are hyper-alert to touch and sound and
sight and smell. You are always considerate and tremendously good-humoured.
I've never seen anyone on E fighting or arguing.

I take E at the weekends only, usually just on one night. I go round to a
friend's house and we sit around listening to dance music and take it. Most
of my friends don't drink alcohol with it. It takes half-an-hour to feel
it, then throughout the rest of the time you get a rush every so often,
like a heightened feeling of euphoria. The music is an intrinsic part of it.

Ecstasy's widely available through friends. Nearly everybody who does E
smokes dope at the end of the night to help calm down and sleep. Ecstasy
suppresses your appetite. You have no interest whatsoever in food. I'm not
worried about the health side. My understanding is that people die from
dehydration, or because they've had an allergic reaction or have mixed it
with other drugs.

The main downside for me is that it is a Class A drug. I would lose my job
if my employers knew about it. The worst thing you are likely to do on E is
to hug somebody to death.

There must be about one million people in the British Isles taking E every
weekend, and how many deaths have there been? I wouldn't touch cocaine or
heroin, but E isn't clinically addictive. I would be worried about the
long-term health effects. We all know people who have been drinking alcohol
for 30 to 40 years heavily and they all have their jobs, but because E has
only been around for 10 years, you don't know that the health effects will
be."

Certain details have been changed to protect the identity of the
Interviewee.