TOWN HALL MEETING EXPOSES ECSTASY

National and local law enforcement cooperated to put together a town hall
meeting focusing on the dangers of ecstasy and other predatory drugs last
Tuesday night.

Such drugs are widely available at parties frequented by University
students, said Linnie Cunningham, a member of the Drug Enforcement Unit of
the KCPD.

"They had a party at the Red Barn off of 71, and the undercovers went in
and had to weed the kids out that were on the X. We had to take them out so
we could send them home safely," said Cunningham.

Drugs such as ecstasy are usually referred to as "club" drugs, a
distinction that was quickly disputed by John Brown III, deputy
administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). "These are not
club drugs; they are predatory substances used to cause an assault that can
be violent and sexual."

Brown is representing the DEA on a five-city tour titled "Operation X-Out."
The programs consist of a press conference with youth media outlets and a
town hall meeting with a panel of experts that include law enforcement,
rape counselors and victims as well as health professionals.

Members of the audience raised concerns that the program and others like it
persecute members of the "rave scene," a subculture of dance parties and
club music that the drug is associated with.

The presentation countered by focusing on the dangers of ecstasy, including
many pictures and videos of ravers. Dennis A. Wichern, section chief of the
DEA, pointed out that pacifiers, which many ravers wear, are used to keep
ecstasy users from grinding their teeth together.

"Ecstasy tightens your muscles, and a lot of the kids end up grinding their
teeth really hard," said Wichern.

Among most youth, ecstasy is largely perceived to be harmless. However,
drugs such as GHB, MDMA and ketamine, in addition to recreational use, can
be used to commit date rape.

Victims at a party or bar may have the drug slipped into their drink
undetected. They soon end up drowsy and susceptible to a sexual attack.

Overall, only about seven percent of rapes are reported, and since many
girls who are sexually assaulted with the use of date rape drugs are
intoxicated, the number of reports are even lower, said Jamie Zuieback of
the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).

A survivor of such a sexual attack told her story to the roomful of
teenagers and parents. She had been drugged at a party and a "friend" had
offered to take her home.

"The next thing I knew I was on the floor of his bathroom, naked and
vomiting," she said.

The next time she woke up she was in bed with her assaulter, who was
talking to her as if she had been awake. She demanded that he take her home
and recalled setting her alarm, because the next morning she woke up and
went to work as if nothing had happened.

It wasn't until that night she told her mother what had happened. She
encouraged girls to come forward to police as soon as possible, so that the
proper evidence can be collected.

She also advised girls to never leave their drinks unattended, and if they
do, never drink them.

"I'm basically here to educate and prevent," she said. "And to prevent, and
prevent, and prevent."