SURVEY: PARENTS UNDERESTIMATE ECSTASY

NEW YORK (AP)--While Ecstasy increasingly becomes a favored drug among
teens, only one percent of U.S. parents believe their child has ever tried
the "club drug," according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America's
annual report.

The nonprofit group's survey of parents, released on Monday, also found
that while 92 percent of parents were aware of the drug, nearly half would
not recognize its effects on their kids.

Symptoms of Ecstasy use include blurred vision, rapid eye movement, chills
or sweating, dehydration, confusion, faintness, severe anxiety, grinding of
teeth and a trance-like state.

The problem with parental perceptions of drug use among their children was
particularly significant, since teens who learn about the risk of drugs at
home are less likely to experiment, said Stephen J. Pasierb, president and
CEO of the partnership.

"Millions of parents sincerely don't believe that their kids are the ones
experimenting with drugs like Ecstasy," Pasierb said. "It's these
assumptions that enable drug use to go undetected."

The survey reported that only one in 100 parents believed their child might
be experimenting with Ecstasy. An earlier Partnership study showed 12 out
of every 100 teens reported trying the drug.

That same partnership study found that teen use of Ecstasy was greater or
equal to their use of cocaine, crack, heroin, LSD and methamphetamine.

The survey also found: --While 41 percent of parents believe Ecstasy would
be very or fairly difficult for their teen to get, only 26 percent of teens
agreed. --Parents who spoke with their teens "a lot" about drugs tended to
focus on alcohol (70 percent), marijuana (60 percent) and cocaine/crack (48
percent) rather than on Ecstasy.

Ecstasy, often handed out at "rave" dance parties, has been linked to
damage to the brain, heart and kidneys.

Last week, lawmakers in Washington said they wanted to go after organizers
and hosts of "raves" in an attempt to halt the fast-rising use of Ecstasy.

According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 8.1 million
Americans aged 12 and up tried Ecstasy in 2001, up from 6.5 million a year
earlier.

Partnership pollsters surveyed 1,219 parents nationwide, with a margin of
error of plus or minus 2.8 percent. Data was collected during in-home
interviews with parents of children 18 and under.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, launched in 1987, is a coalition
of communications industry professionals aimed at reducing the demand for
illegal drugs.

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On the Net:

Partnership for a Drug Free America: http://www.drugfreeamerica.org