ADS SHOWING DANGERS OF ECSTASY SEEK TO CURB USE IN UTAH

The drug with the fastest-growing use by American teens has done a good job
of hiding behind its sunny, happy name, law enforcement and anti-drug
advocates complain.

Now, with researchers predicting Ecstasy use could double over the next two
years, Partnership for A Drug-Free America is funding national television
and radio ads designed to reveal Ecstasy's ugly side.

"There's widespread social acceptance, so kids don't perceive a great risk
in trying it," said Leslie Bloom, the partnership's vice president. "But
this is a really dangerous drug. . . . It's neurotoxic. It means Ecstasy
poisons your brain."

The ads, which will begin airing in Utah this month, were announced
Thursday at a Utah Council for Crime Prevention news conference.

"We see the potential for [Ecstasy use] to explode in Utah," said Barry
Jamison, a special agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

It already has skyrocketed virtually everywhere else, according to
partnership researchers. After surveying nearly 7,000 U.S. teens ages 12 to
18, researchers concluded that almost 3 million have tried Ecstasy, which
surpasses the combined number of teens who have experimented with cocaine,
heroin, crack cocaine, LSD and methamphetamines.

Ecstasy's soaring popularity is especially alarming given that the number
of drug users nationwide has plummeted by 9 million since 1985, Bloom said.

Authorities trace Ecstasy's success to marketing by its dealers, who they
say have convinced legions of teen-agers that the drug is a benign,
feel-good tablet with no harmful or lasting effects. Ecstasy users often
describe their high as euphoric feelings of acceptance and peace, a
reputation that has helped coin nicknames such as "The Hug Drug" and "The
Love Drug."

No Ecstasy use statistics are available for Utah, but nationally at least
27 deaths have been blamed on the drug. Emergency-room visits nationwide
due to Ecstasy use have tripled since 1997, researchers say.

Officials hope the new ad campaign educates parents about Ecstasy, saying
many of them trust that their children are drug-free simply because they
never come home smelling of smoke or booze.

West Valley City Police Chief Alan Kerstein urged parents to learn more
about the drug and its consequences, then to discuss it with their
children. Kerstein indicated that parents are ultimately accountable for
their kids' behavior and said his department will make parents foot the
bill whenever their children are arrested or prosecuted for possessing,
using or selling Ecstasy.

Said Kerstein: "The parents ought to have enough control over their kids to
help them resist."