DEA CHIEF DISCUSSES DRUG WAR

WASHINGTON - The Drug Enforcement Administration is expanding its operations
in the Netherlands to curb that country's exports of the fashionable but
illegal drug Ecstasy, DEA Director Asa Hutchinson said Friday.

At the same time, the DEA is reducing its presence in Thailand, whose role
in world heroin traffic is declining, Hutchinson said. Both moves are part
of the DEA chief's efforts to do more with less as Washington focuses its
attention on the war on terrorism and away from its longstanding war on
drugs.

By shifting resources wisely, Hutchinson believes he can offset losses such
as the reassignment to counterterrorism duties last month of 400 FBI agents
who had been investigating drug dealers.

"More responsibility falls on our shoulders," he said.

Eighty percent of all Ecstasy used in the United States comes from the
Netherlands and arrives in mail packages and false-bottomed suitcases in
cities like New York, Los Angeles and Miami.

Often it arrives disguised as vitamins. The small size of Ecstasy tablets
makes them easier to smuggle than marijuana. DEA Ecstasy seizures have gone
up from 750,000 tablets in 1998 to more than 9 million in 2000.

"We know about what is going on," said Harry de Wit, a spokesman for the
Dutch Embassy in Washington. But the Netherlands is often criticized for its
soft approach to drug use.

Its light jail sentences and strategic geographic location have made it a
safe haven for Ecstasy producers.

Hutchinson will fly to Holland next week to confer with Dutch justice and
health officials. Until recently, his agency had only three personnel in the
country. He declined to say how many will be added, but noted that Thailand
had 34.

"Threats change," Hutchinson said.

The growing use of Ecstasy is cause for alarm, experts in drug use say.

"It's definitely becoming a major issue of health concern. If it continues
its rate of increase, it will definitely become a health crisis," said
Steven Martin, a senior scientist with the Center for Drug and Alcohol
Studies at the University of Delaware. "We went from virtually nothing to a
relatively noticeable percentage of youth experimenting with the drug."

Within 20 minutes of taking Ecstasy, users feel a "rush" and a fluttery
sensation in the stomach, followed by euphoria that lasts from four to six
hours. After that, users usually become depressed, forgetful and extremely
tired. One tablet can be made for about $1 and sells from $20 to $40 in the
U.S. market. Ecstasy is a synthetic, psychoactive drug with both stimulant
and hallucinogenic properties.

Dessa Bergen-Cico, director of Syracuse University's Substance Abuse
Prevention and Health Enhancement Office, said studies show 5 percent to 10
percent of Americans under 23 have tried Ecstasy, a distant third behind
alcohol and marijuana use.

"There's room for growth," Bergen-Cico said. "But there's also room for
prevention."

Tests on animals have found that Ecstasy permanently reduces levels of
serotonin, the chemical in the brain partly responsible for mood changes. It
also damages the brain and memory, but the major short-term risk is that its
stimulant effects can lead to dehydration, seizures and kidney and heart
failure.