TIGHT SECURITY AND CHANGING FASHION SQUEEZE OUT DRUGS

In the city which spawned the Hacienda, a temple to clubbing and
ecstasy, there is widespread evidence that drug use is tailing off.

Manchester was at the centre of the late 1980s ecstasy and house music
boom. The two were synonymous with each other but now, 15 years on,
the music scene is moving on.

John Collins, of the British Entertainment and Dance Association, said
there were a number of reasons for the 20% drop in ecstasy use: "The
clubs have clearly become more savvy in terms of security and reducing
the opportunities to deal drugs on their premises."

He said opportunities for drug dealers had reduced and alongside that,
the scene has moved on. "Really, the ecstasy boom originated 15 years
ago in the late 80s during the second summer of love. We have now
moved on from the mega dance venues and there is more of a bar culture
across the UK."

Marc Rowlands, clubbing editor for City Life magazine in Manchester,
who is a DJ and the Guardian Guide's northern club correspondent,
said: "I think the safer club initiatives have really helped in
informing a lot of venues and promoters about what they need to do.
They have all taken action, whether it be making free water available,
providing more ventilation so people don't overheat.

"I do not think that the sharp drop in ecstasy use can be just pinned
on informing people about safety. I think it has a lot more to do with
that it is now 2003 and ecstasy has been around since 1988.

"In Manchester alone, ecstasy and house music were around at the same
time and they are synonymous with each other. But it used to cost UKP25
per ecstasy tablet; now the prices have dropped to as little as UKP3 or
UKP4. The drug and the music are no longer seen as being vibrant and
exciting as they were in the late 80s."

A worker at a safer clubbing project in another city said the whole
scene had moved on. "Fashions change and people are taking less
ecstasy than a few years ago," he said. "Clubbers are certainly more
aware about drugs and the effects of drugs.

"Clubs and their clients are certainly more aware of the dangers.
While ecstasy use is falling, there is definitely more cocaine being
used and new drugs such as 2CB and 2CI which are more hallucinogenic
than ecstasy."

But Anna Fielding, of the clubbers' magazine Mixmag, says statistics
from St George's Hospital's medical school appear to show that there
are more deaths from ecstasy.

"Deaths from ecstasy have gone up by 35% in the last year," she said.
"There were 62 deaths in 2002, which was a 35% increase on the 2001
figures. Our view is that the general masses are basically getting
back into rock music.

"Although there are fewer people taking ecstasy, they are using more
of the drug. In some places it is cheaper than a pint and it just has
lost all its mystique."