NOT A HARMLESS HIGH

Ecstasy's growing popularity among young users has been closely followed by
drug-enforcement officials and medical experts. They have warned of dire
consequences from continual use but lacked the research to back up their
assertions. Until now.

A Stanford University researcher has found that frequent use of Ecstasy may
damage key neurons in the brain and could possibly lead to Parkinson's
disease. The disorder is marked by the permanent loss of dopamine-producing
nerve cells.

No all scientists concur with the research and question whether the results
on test monkeys can be applied to humans. But Dr. Alan I. Leshner, former
head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, says the study clearly
suggests that "even an occasional use of Ecstasy can lead to significant
damage to brain systems."

Ecstasy use also has been linked to sudden death.

More research is needed. But what young users need to know - now - is that
Ecstasy is not the harmless high that its users believe it to be.

This should be of particular concern in Greater Pittsburgh, which according
to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is one of the major
distribution points for the drug. For years now, traditional dealers of
cocaine and marijuana have shifted to selling Ecstasy, which in some areas
is knocking out cocaine as the drug of choice. Ecstasy is cheap to produce
and profitable to sell.

Lessons on the risks to young users should begin posthaste - in the home.
What we don't need to endure, once again, is the ravages and the burdens to
society from yet another "recreational" drug.