Pubdate: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO) Copyright: 2001, Denver Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371 Author: Joe Donatelli Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) MANY YOUNG ATHLETES HAVE TRIED ECSTASY Oakland Raider Darrell Russell's one-year suspension for testing positive for Ecstasy is the highest profile case of its kind involving the drug clinically known as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). For pro sports and the popular club drug, it was only a matter of time. A national expert on athlete drug prevention has conducted surveys that find 15 to 20 percent of high school athletes have tried Ecstasy. Those numbers are backed up by government data on regular student use, which generally mirrors use by athletes. "We're really trying to deal with it now," said drug prevention expert Michael Hall. "Kids don't know the harm they're doing." Hall, the principal at Cincinnati's Anderson High School, started a successful national drug prevention program in 1983 and is a consultant with the Drug Enforcement Agency. He said that Ecstasy "really came on" at his Ohio school a year ago. Hall now includes it on the list of drugs that coaches need to teach athletes about. Alcohol and marijuana remain the most popular drugs among teens, but "Ecstasy is being used more than the hard stuff," Hall said. Though links between Ecstasy and professional athletes remain rare, they're no longer unprecedented. July, 1999 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Demetrius DuBose was killed by San Diego police after a scuffle outside his apartment. Traces of alcohol, cocaine and Ecstasy were found in his blood. It is not known if those substances influenced his behavior. December, 2000 - New England Patriots defensive back Ty Law was stopped at the Canadian border with Ecstasy. Law said the drugs weren't his. He was suspended for the season finale and fined $700 by authorities. June, 2001 - Retired Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin was indicted after being found with marijuana and Ecstasy. Charges were dismissed because the search was conducted without a warrant. Irvin says the drugs were not his. December, 2001 - Federal agents search retired Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson's home on Dec. 4 as part of an investigation into an Ecstasy drug ring. Simpson was not arrested. Russell's infraction is the third of his five-year NFL career, which warrants him a one-year suspension. Word of the suspension was made public Sunday and Russell appealed the ruling on Thursday. This is the first year the NFL is testing for Ecstasy. The drug has increased in popularity among teens over the last decade. It's no surprise Ecstasy has become popular with adults too, experts say. "When younger people start using it, everyone starts using it with time. It's simple arithmetic," said Jerry Frankenheim, a pharmacologist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Rockville, Md. For athletes, Ecstasy is a drug that provides almost no competitive edge and only long-term headaches. As many on the club scene know, Ecstasy, or X, is a mood-altering drug taken in pill form that lowers inhibitions, increases sexual arousal, produces positive feelings and suppresses the need to eat, drink or sleep. Users say that enables them to party for two or three days. Short-term effects include nausea, sweating, increased body temperature and, in rare cases, kidney failure, heart failure and death. Long-term effects include the risk of permanent brain damage that can lead to depression, anxiety, memory loss and other psychotic disorders. Experts say it might appeal to some athletes as an appetite suppressant and painkiller, but they say the drug's side effects far outweigh the rewards. Mostly it's a party drug, one that experts are not sure is addictive but led to 4,511 emergency room visits nationwide in the year 2000. "It started as a club drug, but it's finding new populations," Frankenheim said. On the Web: www.nida.nih.gov; www.samhsa.gov; www.nfl.com - --- MAP posted-by: Josh