CLUB DRUGS MAKE INROADS ACROSS REGION, POLICE SAY

Christy Maxwell said she doesn't take club drugs, but she's heard a lot
about them.

The University of Toledo sophomore said she has heard classmates talk about
how easily they can get club drugs, such as Ecstasy and GHB (gamma
hydroxybutyrate), Ketamine, and Rohypnol, which also are known as date rape
drugs.

"It's not a big topic," the 20-year-old pharmacy major said. When students
do talk about drugs, however, "it's a lot of Ecstasy."

That's no surprise to area law enforcement officers and drug prevention
agencies, who are recording an increase either in the use of club drugs -
particularly Ecstasy - or in reports about the drugs in their communities.

"Kids are told that cocaine and other drugs are dangerous. But they're told
by their peers that [club drugs] are OK and that they make you feel good
and safe and give a feeling of euphoria," said Sgt. Bob Marzec of the
Toledo police vice narcotics section.

"There are more and more people trying to make it in their clandestine
labs. They don't have to get them from Colombia. You can put them together
in your basement. They're also easy to ship in a small package," he said.

Club drugs primarily are used by teens and young adults who are part of the
nightclub, bar, rave, or trance scene. Raves and trances are night-long
dances with loud music and lights that often are held in warehouses,
sometimes without permission. While many attendees don't use the drugs,
those who do are attracted to the cost, increased stamina, and intoxicating
highs that are said to deepen the experience.

But science is showing change to critical parts of the brain from the use
of club drugs. In high doses, most of them can cause an increase in body
temperature, leading to muscle breakdown and kidney and cardiovascular
system failure, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is
part of the National Institutes of Health.

Club drugs have been more popular among middle and upper-class whites, but
Toledo narcotics detectives said they're hearing that Ecstasy and similar
drugs are surfacing in central-city drug houses and are being given to
young black girls at parties. The drugs also are being offered at
after-hours and dance club-type bars.

Area authorities said they believe club drugs are arriving in northwest
Ohio and southeast Michigan from Detroit, New York, and Canada.

Ecstasy is one of the more popular club drugs. The tablets are available in
various colors and often are stamped with a picture or image. It sells for
$20 to $30 a pill.

"It's not readily recognizable. It could be pink today, yellow tomorrow,
and blue next week," said Michigan State Police Lt. Lorenzo Veal of the
Office of Monroe Narcotics Investigations, which is made up of law
enforcement officers from various agencies in Monroe County.

But users may be getting more than they bargained for in some of the pills,
authorities warned. Sometimes they may contain amounts of other dangerous
drugs, such as methamphetamine.

"What also makes them so dangerous is you don't know the dose you're
taking," said Capt. Don Kenney, of the Toledo police special enforcement
bureau.

His detectives arrested 21 people and seized $1,500 worth of Ecstasy Jan.
20 when they raided a rave party at a warehouse on Adams Street. A month
earlier, they arrested four people and seized $30,000 worth of Ecstasy in
East Toledo.

Last month, a Toledo man who was part of a major distribution ring for
Ecstasy in northwest Ohio was sentenced to two years in prison. The Drug
Enforcement Agency said the operation that led to his arrest and others was
the largest Ecstasy investigation ever for the area. More than 4,000
Ecstasy pills were seized.

GHB often is used as a clear liquid. A dose can be from a few drops to a
glassful. It's often mixed with a colored drink. Ketamine, a white powder
similar to cocaine, and Rohypnol, a small white tablet, haven't surfaced
much in the city, Toledo drug investigators said.

However, psilocybin or so-called "magic mushrooms" are becoming popular. On
Jan. 3, the Ohio Highway Patrol seized 23 pounds of them on the Ohio
Turnpike near Maumee. It is the largest amount of the hallucinogen ever
confiscated in Ohio.

Jay Salvage, executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services
Board of Lucas County, said club drugs haven't been identified as a main
issue with people in the agency's treatment programs.

"Research shows substance abuse is not a central-city issue, it's just more
visible [there]," he said. "The use is spreading to rural and suburban areas."

Lucas County Sheriff James Telb said his deputies and other area law
enforcement officers are educating themselves about club drugs because they
expect to see more of them in their communities.

"We saw it happen with heroin, cocaine, crack, and marijuana. The situation
started in the city, a lot of time in the central city. It wasn't too long
to follow that the suburban areas had been impacted. That's been the trend
or pattern of drug use," he said.

Sylvania Township police Chief Gary Copeland and Perrysburg Township police
Chief Dennis Dauer said their departments haven't made any big club drug
busts or arrests, nor have they found rave parties in their jurisdictions.
Although their officers have heard about a slight increase in club drug
use, the chiefs said they have had no firm evidence and believe that more
people are using marijuana and cocaine.

"You hear about [club drugs] but your hands are tied," Chief Dauer said.
"You're not sure where to go or to investigate until someone lands in the
hospital or a parent reports something out of the ordinary."

Jason House, 20, a UT sophomore studying computer science and engineering,
said he doesn't think club drug use is "really that big" in this area.

He said he goes to clubs and never has been offered the drugs. But he said
he's heard about a handful of people who have tried Ecstasy.

"It made them feel good," he said. "They liked it."

A survey conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Social
Research found that the use of Ecstasy continued to increase among
teenagers last year, although at a slower rate than in previous years.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the
Monitoring the Future survey did indicate an increase in the drug's
availability, with many 12th graders saying they could get Ecstasy "fairly"
or "very" easily.

"We're hearing from our kids that [club drugs] are more prevalent and more
widespread," said Deacon Dzierzawski, executive director of The Community
Partnership, a nonprofit coalition dedicated to substance abuse prevention
and intervention.

Traci Jadlos, the group's community youth coordinator, said she spoke with
about a dozen public and private school students in November. All of them
said they knew someone in their schools who could get them Ecstasy within a
short period of time.

"That's scary," she said.