KIDS' USE OF ECSTASY 'IS BRUTAL...IT JUST SCARES US,' SAYS COP

This is the third and final article in a series exploring the Peterborough
presence, and use, of the mind-altering drug Ecstasy, related through the
experiences of users, abusers, drug counselors and police.

With breathing apparatus strapped to their backs and no human flesh exposed
thanks to white, bio-contained suits, health officials and chemists enter
homes police dare not enter.

Whenever cops discover an Ecstasy lab, usually in a filthy basement, they
call in the experts to tear it down. The harmful chemicals used to create
the mind-altering and often deadly pills are so unstable that the slightest
mistake can be explosive.

The chemicals used -- sassafras oil, automotive solvents, drain-cleaner
crystals and paint thinners among them -- are extremely flammable and,
combined with the unventilated air in the makeshift labs, make for a very
hazardous situation for those trying to get Ecstasy off the streets.

Last year, OPP officers busted seven Ecstasy labs in Ontario -- three near
Toronto and the others in North Bay, Parry Sound, Newmarket and Barrie. A
portion of the drugs produced in those labs likely made their way to
Peterborough. When that happens, Rick Barnum and Debby Gillis get involved.

Officers with the OPP and Peterborough police respectively, their job is to
crack down on local drug dealers and users. They both agree Ecstasy isn't a
major problem in the city but, as Detective Staff Sergeant Barnum with the
OPP's Drug Enforcement Section based out of Orillia points out, "If there's
one pill on the street, it's a problem."

On March 13, Peterborough police seized five Ecstasy pills, along with a
fair amount of other illicit drugs from an Atkin Court apartment.

Detective Constable Gillis says police usually find Ecstasy when searching
for other drugs like marijuana or cocaine.

"During one search last year, we seized 52 pills," recalls Det. Const. Gillis.

"It's usually just luck finding it. It's hard to enforce (its illegal use)
because it's used in bars with a lot of people."

Even though police believe most of the Ecstasy found locally is produced in
the Toronto area, Det. Staff Sgt. Barnum says a lot is being shipped to
Canada from overseas from countries like Holland, Denmark and Sweden. In
such countries, he adds Ecstasy is controlled by organized crime. When that
happens, things tend to get vicious.

One organized crime group, in particular, had a monopoly on Ecstasy
production and distribution in Europe, explains Det. Staff Sgt. Barnum.
Another group got wind of how much money was being made and decided to
mimic the drug. But instead of using the same recipe in the manufacturing
of Ecstasy, they substituted a poison ingredient in the pill which killed
its user instantly.

They felt by killing off the users of their competitors' Ecstasy they could
get ahead in the illegal drug market, notes Det. Staff Sgt. Barnum.

Some of those deadly pills ended up on the streets of Toronto but police
were able to seize them before they were sold to unsuspecting users looking
for a high.

"Ecstasy is causing great problems," says Det. Staff Sgt. Barnum.

In Peterborough, three teenaged girls landed themselves in hospital after
ingesting some "bad Ecstasy" around Christmas, adds Det. Const. Gillis.
Police are unsure where the drugs came from. Fortunately, the girls
survived that experience but, across Ontario last year, 12 others didn't.

These are the scary stories Det. Const. Gillis wants young people to hear.

"Kids don't realize what it (Ecstasy) does," he says.

"It alters the level of serotonin in the brain and can cause long-term
damage to brain cells and could affect your memory."

Det. Staff Sgt. Barnum says an American doctor conducted a study on the
effects of Ecstasy on chimpanzees. The doctor, he adds, discovered the drug
literally wiped away the chimps' brain cells.

"It looked like a clear-cut chunk of forest," he says.

In a bid to prevent serious injury and death, police are keeping a wary eye
out for Ecstasy locally. Det. Const. Gillis says the Peterborough force
isn't "focusing" its efforts on the drug but it definitely isn't ignoring
it either.

"It's not something we are forgetting. We're after heavy drugs like cocaine
but we are hearing more and more about Ecstasy in town. It's something we
will have to look at."

Regular presentations in area schools by community services officers is one
technique police use to educate teens about the dangers of drugs. However,
Det. Staff Sgt. Barnum says officers just don't have the time to go to
every area school on a regular basis.

"Educating the public is as important as it is to enforce Ecstasy," he says.

The punishment for conviction of possessing Ecstasy should be deterrent enough.

For a first possession offence, a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail
is a possibility. For a second offence, the fine doubles and you could be
sitting in jail for a year. Any offence after you could stay in jail for up
to three years.

Police may never eradicate Ecstasy completely but they can control its
spread and use. In order for them to be successful, the work that needs to
be done must start at home through open conversation. It's the front line
in an ongoing war.

"It just scares us to think kids are using Ecstasy," says Det. Staff Sgt.
Barnum.

"It's brutal."