ECSTASY USE ON THE RISE

Despite a recent major bust of an alleged Ecstasy trafficking ring
that involved three UW-Madison students and several arrests made at
an organized rave at the Alliant Energy Center last weekend, the
popularity of Ecstasy may still be on the rise, according to local
authorities. "We've noticed an increase, both in the amount that is
available on the streets and what has been taken by the police in the
past years," said Madison Police Lt. Brian Ackeret, director of the
Dane County Narcotics and Gang Task Force. "It's an increase that is
happening both in Dane County and nationally, and because of that we
are making it a top priority, and these recent arrests are examples
of that."

Ecstasy, which goes by a variety of street nicknames, is prized by
users for its almost instantaneous effects and few apparent side
effects.

"It is a drug unto itself, like no other," said Laddie Johnson, a
UW-Madison freshman who said he has taken Ecstasy multiple times
while attending raves around the country. "It's a high-energy,
instant-appeal type of drug with usually no bad trips."

Although he said that he personally had never taken any "bad"
Ecstasy, Johnson added that he has witnessed people who have, some of
them his friends.

"It's fun, but it's dangerous too, you can really get some bad
stuff," Johnson said.

The unpredictability of the drug is something that Jon Hicks, deputy
director of the Center for Prevention and Intervention in Madison,
distinguishes as one of Ecstasy's biggest dangers.

"Unless you are involved in the making of the drug and have a good
idea of the chemical process behind it, then you just can't know what
kind-good or bad-of Ecstasy you're getting," he said.

Although originally designed to be a therapeutic drug to help
patients struggling to interact in public situations, Ecstasy, or
MDMA, "causes injury to the brain, affecting neurons that use the
chemical serotonin to communicate with other neurons," according to
the National Institute on Drug Abuse. NIDA also states that in
addition to brain damage, depression and other psychological
difficulties, as well as various physical side effects, including
increased heart rate and blood pressure, come along with Ecstasy
usage.

"The thing about Ecstasy is that its effect is very immediate," Hicks
said. "An overdose can create serious internal damage to the organs,
or give the user seizures, which can directly cause brain damage."

Hicks said that he, too, has noticed an increase in the use of
Ecstasy, which he said is now on the same level of usage as heroin
around Madison.

"It's simply a lack of education on people's part about the drug," he
said, commenting on the rise of Ecstasy.

That lack of education is something that Ackeret attempts to openly address.

"Besides typical policing and enforcement efforts, we try to use
educational efforts to get across awareness to high school students,
paramedics, emergency room technicians and parents that this is a
very dangerous drug," Ackeret said.

Although Ecstasy use is more prevalent among college students and
young adults, Hicks said reaching younger individuals is the key to
halting the growth of abuse.

"Younger kids begin a progression of alcohol and drugs until they
find something that they like about intoxication, and Ecstasy, like
other club drugs, is something that because of its nature has an
appeal," Hicks said.