CALAVERAS COUNTY MAN ARRESTED OVER DRUG PARTIES FEATURED ON HBO

SACRAMENTO- A Calaveras County man featured in an HBO documentary in
which he encouraged his teen-age children to take drugs was arrested
on child abuse charges, Sacramento police said Thursday.

In the film "Small Town Ecstasy," Scott Meyers, 42, is shown using the
drug Ecstasy with his teen-age children and going to drug parties,
including one in Sacramento. The documentary was filmed in 2000 and
aired on HBO in April, said Sgt. Justin Risley.

Sacramento police arrested Meyers on Wednesday night at his Mokelumne
Hill home, based on his activities in the documentary. Calaveras
County authorities cooperated in the arrest.

Meyers faces two charges of felony child endangerment, Risley said,
and was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Sacramento Superior Court.

In the film, Meyers discusses the joys of Ecstasy with his
children.

The documentary ends with Meyers facing charges for possession of the
hallucinogenic drug. In March, Meyers pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor
and was referred to a diversion program, Calaveras County officials
said.

Risley said some scenes feature Meyers at a Sacramento apartment
reveling with three of his children.

"The footage is pretty explicit," Risley said.

During the party, Meyers' youngest son and his daughter, then believed
to be 13 and 15, take Ecstasy on camera. He also has an older son,
believed to be about 20 now.

In another scene, Meyers asks the filmmakers, "I'm not going to get in
trouble for this, am I?"

Calls to an HBO publicist were not immediately returned
Thursday.

Earlier this year, the Modesto Bee reported that Meyers, the son of a
well-known retired minister in Calaveras County, once was known as a
law-abiding resident and responsible father until hitting a mid-life
crisis two years ago, around the time he and his wife were divorced.
The mother now has custody of the underage children.

Ecstasy is the nickname for MDMA, an illegal hallucinogenic drug.
Studies show it can cause depression and paranoia and possibly can
lead to brain damage, prompting increased concern among health and law
enforcement officials about its use.