Pubdate: Sun, 31 Dec 2000
Source: Sun Herald (Australia)
Copyright: 2000 John Fairfax Holdings Ltd
Contact:  http://www.sunherald.com.au/
Author: Eamonn Duff And Adrian Scardilli

A CLUB WITH NO BEER, BUT PILLS ARE EVERYWHERE

Tens of thousands of young Sydneysiders will take ecstasy as part of their 
New Year's Eve celebrations tonight, knowing there is virtually no chance 
they will be caught.

An investigation by The Sun-Herald has found ecstasy has now so infiltrated 
the culture of clubs and organised dance parties that some experts believe 
as many as 100,000 teenagers could be taking it tonight.

Senior police officers have told The Sun-Herald ecstasy is so widely 
available they have neither the powers nor resources to halt its meteoric 
rise to number one position as the recreational drug of choice.

While they deny turning a blind eye, they admit they can only try to shut 
off supplies by targeting smugglers and manufacturers.

Despite a string of recent successes - 271,000 tablets hidden in a shipment 
of French wine and another 50,000 haul at Brisbane airport this month - the 
impact has been negligible.

Chris Webster, manager of Sydney's most popular dance club, Home, is 
running two major parties tonight and maintains the "vast majority" of the 
20,000 revellers will be taking ecstasy.

"It's part of that ritual and I'd be lying if I said otherwise," he said.

A Sun-Herald reporter who visited an under-18s Christmas party at a club in 
Oxford Street last Thursday was accosted within an hour and openly offered 
the drug.

A National Drug and Alcohol Research (NDAR) study found "most users are now 
reporting having used ecstasy in situations other than dance events".

NDAR spokesman Paul Dillon confirmed it was "certainly not unreasonable" to 
arrive at a figure more than double the number expected to be taking the 
drug at dance clubs.

"Some people will simply not comprehend this, but ecstasy is being taken at 
RSLs and pubs. It is being taken out on the streets," Mr Dillon said. 
"There are people who choose to only ever take it at home.

"During the course of our research, we found that of those people polled, 
the average age of first-time use was 17.

"Indeed, we met one girl who takes it in the bedroom while her parents are 
sitting in the living room next door.

"We came across another woman who even takes it just to go shopping.

"There is a popular belief in society that this is a relatively harmless 
drug which is no worse than alcohol.

"This is not true.

"But for that reason alone, it is turning into the drug of choice."

Despite wide agreement that ecstasy is now the most readily available 
illicit drug, just 279 NSW users were arrested for possession in 1998-99, 
with a similar figure soon to be released for the present year.

In comparison, more than 3,597 heroin users were arrested, as were 1,550 
amphetamine consumers.

NSW Police Crime Agencies Detective Superintendent Ken McKay said: "Our job 
is combating organised crime and the suppliers of drugs like ecstasy, 
heroin and amphetamines.

"When you look at the number of users, it is a matter of economics - there 
is only a certain number of us and so many of them.

"Of 81 ecstasy-related arrests we [Crime Agencies] made this year, a 
quarter were for possession and the rest were for supply-related matters.

"By concentrating our efforts on suppliers, money is being better spent 
because it is eliminating distribution from the top."

A spokesman for Britain's National Criminal Intelligence Service said the 
rise in club and dance culture had made Australia a favoured smugglers' 
destination.

NSW Health confirmed there have been nine ecstasy-related deaths in Australia.

THE HIGH LIFE

Ecstasy is the popular name for the chemical MDMA.

Common street names include ecky, disco biscuits and the love drug.

It was patented in 1914 by a German pharmaceutical company and first used 
as an appetite suppressant.

When it was later found to calm feelings of anger, marriage guidance 
counsellors used it to bring couples closer.

In the late 80s, the rave scene took off in north-west England and ecstasy 
was unleashed on the world, quickly becoming the party drug of the 90s.

Ecstasy has traditionally cost between $40 and $50 a tablet in Australia 
but with increased availability the price has dropped to as little as $25.

Its effects on people are mixed. As it wears off, users feel lifeless and 
their mood sinks, a state commonly referred to as a comedown.

Ecstasy is particularly dangerous for anyone with raised blood pressure or 
a heart condition.

Nine deaths have been attributed to ecstasy in Australia.
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