ECSTASY NO LONGER THE RICH MAN'S 'HUG DRUG'

AFTER "shabu," the so-called poor man's cocaine, now the latest illegal-drug
craze to descend on the Philippines is Ecstasy, the rich man's "hug drug."
Ecstasy was previously the "designer drug" of choice among rich kids, but it
has now caught on even among the middle class.

Our law enforcers, especially the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)
are closely moni-toring the production, use and trafficking of Ecstasy pills
and have had some success at arresting those responsible. The recently
enacted Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 carries a penalty of life imprison-ment
to death for people caught with more than 10 grams of Ecstasy.

A few days ago, PDEA agents caught a Chinese national selling Ecstasy pills
along with marijuana in a buy-bust operation in Malate. Last April, police
caught two Ecstasy pushers redhanded in Pasay Road, Makati. Between them
they had over P40,000 worth of Ecstasy pills. The pushers were brazenly
peddling Ecstasy just a few days after the National Bureau of Investigation
arrested a big-time Chinese trafficker during a buy-bust operation in SM
Manila, which bagged about 600 Ecstasy pills worth P720,000, the single
biggest Ecstasy bust thus far.

Yes, Ecstasy has hit the streets and malls, whereas before it was only
peddled in the popular bars and dance clubs in Metro Manila. Not only that,
but it is also being peddled in schools and universities by peer or student
pushers. One student at a prestigious university here in Manila told me it
is not really difficult to get Ecstasy pills when you want them. You can
even go to an Internet chat room and you'd most likely get an offer from
some pusher. When somebody in the chat room asks if you want to "partee"
then that's the code for Ecstasy pills.

Young people's experimentation with Ecstasy seems to be increasing yet it is
unlikely that the government would find conclusive proof of this. The
govern-ment bases its assumptions on drug use and drug trafficking on the
kind of drug addicts enrolled in rehabilitation centers and the volume and
kind of drugs it is able to seize from pushers and traffickers. Based on
these data, shabu is still the choice drug among addicts.

But talking with the younger generation gives me a sense that Ecstasy use is
more popular than what we care to admit. Ecstasy is not just a niche drug or
a fad that will eventually go away.

The problem is it is quite difficult for law enforcers, anti-drug
govern-ment agencies and everybody concerned to keep track of Ecstasy pills
because they are very easy to conceal and distribute and also easy to
camouflage as ordinary pills.

Ecstasy has become the choice drug among pushers and users because it looks
just like an ordinary pill and is thus easier to pass around. It is also
easy to use. There's no need for tooters and other cumbersome paraphernalia
such as in shabu in order to take the drug. All you have to do is pop the
pill into your mouth and take it like any ordinary medicine. And you leave
no incriminating evidence afterwards. It looks so much like vitamin tablets
for kids that even parents would not suspect anything wrong even if their
children take it at the family dinner table.

Although Ecstasy used to be sold for P750 to P1,200 per pill, prohi-bi-ting
its use by lower income groups, because of its popularity, it is now
beginning to be sold at cheaper prices to gain access to the middle-class
market. Most of the Ecstasy marke-ted in East Asia used to come from Europe,
particularly the Netherlands, but this is no longer the case.

There are cheap Ecstasy pills now being produced locally or within the
region, some selling for as low as P200 per pill. These are either pure
Ecstasy pills diluted and mixed with some other illegal drug or purely
homemade Ecstasy pills.

It is not really difficult and expensive to produce Ecstasy. Any decent
chemist can do it. I myself was surprised to find out so many Web sites in
the Internet give step-by-step instructions on how to make Ecstasy pills in
your own kitchen.

Ecstasy, known to chemists as methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA, is
called the "hug drug" because it induces heightened expressions of empathy
from users. Ecstasy users in clubs always end up hugging and massaging each
other on the dance floor.

Ecstasy users may encounter problems similar to those experienced by
amphetamine and cocaine users, including addiction. Its psychological
effects include confusion, depression, sleep problems, anxiety and paranoia
during and sometimes weeks after taking the drug.

Physical effects can include muscle tension, involuntary teeth-clenching,
nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating. Increases in
heart rate and blood pressure are a special risk for people with circulatory
or heart disease, and there have been cases where people who've taken
several Ecstasy pills in one night have died because of complications.

Ecstasy may not be the No. 1 drug menace at this time, but its fast gaining
popularity gives it the potential to become the next generation's shabu. We
all should help make sure this doesn't happen.