DEA TO TARGET ECSTASY RINGS

Calling Ecstasy "the Y generation's cocaine," the head of the Drug
Enforcement Administration pledged to double the number of club-drug
investigations by federal authorities.

About 5 percent of the DEA's major investigations now involve club drugs.
Asa Hutchinson, head of the agency, said that would double under "Operation
X-Out."

"The explosive use of Ecstasy and predatory drugs among our youth is fast
reaching epidemic levels," Hutchinson said Thursday night as he detailed
the initiative.

He said the agency plans to focus new efforts on Internet trafficking and
in the Netherlands, where some 80 percent of the world's supply originates.
Domestically, the DEA also will step up enforcement in south Florida, the
main entry point for the drug, as well as enhance interdiction efforts at
major U.S. airports.

According to the DEA, 8.1 million Americans 12 and older tried Ecstasy in
2001, up from 6.5 million the year before.

Nationwide, hospital emergency room cases involving Ecstasy rose to 5,542
last year, up from 637 in 1997, according to the Drug Abuse Warning Network.

Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, is a synthetic drug considered part
hallucinogen and part amphetamine that has been linked to brain, heart and
kidney damage. It became popular over the past decade at dance parties
known as raves for the energy and euphoria it gives users.

Hutchinson also said there was a rise in the use of so-called "date-rape"
drugs such as GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, and Rohypnol.