2 NABBED IN SCHOOL ECSTASY DRUG SALE

Police Say Student Took 8 Pills in Suicide Attempt

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO -- Students leaving South San Francisco High
School Friday afternoon seemed to be in good spirits, despite the
drizzle from overcast skies. But their enthusiasm for the weekend
belied a more somber situation: Ecstasy use is alive and well among
some teens at the school.

It wasn't for fun, however, that a 16-year-old student there recently
took an overdose of the drug. It was a suicide attempt involving
eight pills -- the usual dose is one -- and it was sold to the girl
by another student on campus, authorities said.

A synthetic and hallucinogenic stimulant, Ecstasy is common at
weekend parties, students said Friday. One student, who requested
anonymity, said it is even taken at school.

"It's getting popular, actually, around South San Francisco," a South
City High tenth-grader said.

"A lot of people do it at parties. At people's houses, maybe a friend
wants to spend the night and pop it. They get all together, and
maybe they want to do a half or a whole pill or whatever. Certain
people supply it at the school."

Another 15-year-old student said it was common knowledge among the
students whom to go to in order to buy Ecstasy.

A friend of the overdose victim told The Times that the girl wasn't
out for kicks when she downed eight pills.

"She explained to me that she was going through a lot," she said.

South San Francisco police arrested [name redacted] and a 17-year-old
South City High girl on Tuesday for allegedly selling the Ecstasy at
the school to the 16-year-old student, who authorities said was
hospitalized after the overdose.

Superintendent Barbara Olds said the sale and use of illegal drugs
has been a serious problem in the school district this year.

"We've had more expulsions this year for drugs than past years," she said.

A few months ago, she said, a group of El Camino High School students
were caught sellingand using Ecstasy. Olds said the students selling
the drug were expelled, but she wasn't sure what happened to the ones
caught using it at a school dance.

Olds said this week's case is the first Ecstasy-related incident
involving South City High students, and that the girl who allegedly
sold the drug likely will be recommended for expulsion.

Olds and Principal Michael Coyne said the district has many measures
in place to deter students from taking or selling drugs.

At the beginning of the school year, all parents receive a list of
rules regarding drugs, and principals go to each class to talk with
students about the punishment for drug possession.

In addition to having academic counselors, each high school has
counselors who deal with "at-risk" behavior, and students are told of
the dangers of drugs in their health curriculum.

Coyne said the school also has three campus control supervisors who
run security, and a probation officer.

"My hope is this is a one-time occurrence and it won't happen again," he said.

An overdose of Ecstasy can interfere with the body's ability to
regulate temperature, according to the National Institute on Drug
Abuse. That can lead to damage to the liver and kidneys and
cardiovascular failure, causing death.

The agency estimated in a 2005 survey that 4 percent of 10th-graders
have tried the drug, down from 4.3 percent in 2004 and 5.4 percent in 2003.

After the overdose, police set up surveillance of [name redacted]
home and arrested him and his alleged accomplice as they drove
nearby. A probation search of [name redacted] car yielded seven
baggies of marijuana, a scale, packing material and cash, according to police.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe called the overdose a
suicide attempt and said the drug sale occurred on campus for $80, or
$10 a pill.

He identified the 17-year-old suspected of making the sale as a South
City High student and Soto's girlfriend, and he said the pair have
sold Ecstasy to other students at the school.

[name redacted] is in custody at the San Mateo County Jail in Redwood
City in lieu of $50,000 bail and faces up to 15 years in prison.

He was charged Thursday with two counts of using a minor to sell
drugs, which carries up to a nine-year sentence, as well as
possession and sale of Ecstasy and marijuana, selling drugs near a
school and driving with a suspended license.

The 17-year-old suspect was found with metal knuckles, a deadly
weapon under state law, and booked at the San Mateo County Juvenile
Correction Facility, according to police.

Wagstaffe declined to give further details about the girl's identity
or the consequences she faces.

[name redacted], who Wagstaffe said is unemployed and lives with his
mother, was convicted in March 2005 on a petty theft charge. He is
scheduled for a preliminary hearing June 1 on this week's charges.