Pubdate: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 Source: CNN (US Web) Show: CNN Live This Morning Section: News, Domestic Copyright: 2001 Cable News Network, Inc Contact: http://www.cnn.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/65 Anchor: Donna Kelley Correspondent: Eileen O'Connor Note: Transcript # 073008CN.V74 CONGRESS INVESTIGATES ECSTASY As scientists warn about the dangers of ecstasy, Congress is trying to do something about the drug's rising use among young people. DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: As we were telling you, the story about ecstasy. There are warnings from scientists about the danger of that drug and Congress trying to do something about the drug's rising use among young people. Here's a live picture and there's the chairman, in fact, Senator Joe Lieberman of the Governmental Affairs Committee. And hearings are under way right now on Capitol Hill. We want to get the latest for you on today's hearings from our Eileen O'Connor. She is in Washington -- Eileen. EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Donna, Senator Lieberman says he called these hearings in order to find out more about the growing use of the drug ecstasy, the so-called "hug drug," ecstasy, among teenagers and young professionals. He says he wants to see what government possibly could do to stem this increase. He's going to be hearing from a variety of experts, from local law enforcement agency experts, from the Drug Enforcement Administration and also from a scientist from the National Institute On Drug Abuse. But first and foremost, he's going to be hearing from some teens themselves, and one teen in particular about her firsthand experience. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DANA MOORE, ECSTASY USER: I didn't care about anything but doing ecstasy. I didn't want to wake up in the morning unless I knew I had a pill waiting there next to me to take. O'CONNOR (voice-over): That's what Dana Moore is going to tell Congress about the increasingly popular drug ecstasy. This 16-year- old is currently in a year long residential treatment program. DR. ALAN LESHNER, NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE: This is your brain on ecstasy. O'CONNOR (on camera): So I see a lot less yellow down here. What's that mean? LESHNER: This is telling you that three weeks after the, this individual's last use of ecstasy, they have a significant decrease in the brain's ability to use this important chemical called serotonin that's involved in mood, in cognitive function, in pain and sleep. O'CONNOR (voice-over): Dr. Alan Leshner says new government sponsored studies show long lasting effects on memory and mood. DR. CHARLES GROB, HARBOR-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER: Clearly the case is not closed on to what degree MDMA affects the brain. O'CONNOR: Dr. Charles Grob says safety tests that he's done on MDMA, or ecstasy, show it isn't necessarily harmful. Still, Grob says children should not take it. TIM SANTAMOUR, DANCESAFE: One of the most compelling arguments you can make to young people is to alert them to the rampant and rising degree of drug substitution. O'CONNOR: That, says a group called DanceSafe, is why they test ecstasy pills teens have bought at raves to see if they are pure, here, training on an over the counter cold remedy. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It's less harmful than a lot of legal substances that are out there, especially if it's used in therapeutic settings or in recreational settings where people know what they have taken. O'CONNOR: But Leshner says the notion that the drug is safe is driving up use. LESHNER: The myth is that even pure ecstasy is fine and the truth is even pure ecstasy is not fine. We've known for over a decade that this is a neurotoxic substance. It destroys brain cells. (END VIDEOTAPE) O'CONNOR: Now, there are some scientists who say that that doesn't necessarily still mean that there's long term lasting effects on the brain. Still, Congress wants to determine what to do about its growing use among teenagers, perhaps looking into some kind of educational programs for children and for parents -- Donna. KELLEY: Eileen O'Connor, thanks very much. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth