Pubdate: Tue, 10 Dec 2002
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2002 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Amanda Vogt

NEW PROGRAM TARGETS CLUB DRUG ABUSE

In response to an alarming increase in the use of club drugs such as 
Ecstasy among young suburbanites, one of the Chicago area's largest 
substance-abuse treatment agencies is launching a new education program, 
officials said.

Haymarket Center West in Schaumburg, an outpatient center that treats drug 
and alcohol abuse, plans to launch its Club and Other Drug Awareness 
program Jan. 7. The three-week program, which has received a one-year, 
$100,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, will have about 100 clients from the courts in northwest Cook, 
Lake, DuPage and McHenry Counties.

The program is designed to provide alternatives to jail or prison for teens 
and young adults on parole or probation who abuse club drugs, said Bettie 
Foley, Haymarket West's director. There's a need for such programs, she 
said, because most drug abuse intervention and treatment programs are 
tailored to users of drugs such as cocaine, alcohol and heroin.

"There's no system in the courts that sets up program protocol for club 
drug users," Foley said.

"Club drug users in treatment think, `Hey, Why am I here? All these other 
people have a problem, but I don't.'"

Club drug is a generic phrase used to describe a variety of synthetic 
substances, among them Ecstasy, GHB, Rohypnol, ketamine, methamphetamine 
and LSD. Initially linked to all-night dance parties, the drugs have spread 
outside the so-called rave scene, according to a report by the National 
Institute on Drug Abuse. Ecstasy use--and emergency room visits resulting 
from abuse of the drug--has risen in recent years, with deaths associated 
with the drug increasing every year since 1999, according to the institute.

Because the drugs are manufactured, usually illegally for profit, users 
don't know what chemicals they're ingesting, officials said. Recent studies 
have linked Ecstasy use and memory problems.

Haymarket West's new program aims to educate young users about the dangers 
of club drugs and to screen for more serious substance abuse problems that 
require more intensive outpatient treatment. The Schaumburg center is the 
suburban branch of Haymarket Center, a substance abuse center since 1975 
with seven locations in Chicago.

"Through referral from the courts and probation system, we will educate 
these clients about substance use and abuse, what it does to them and to 
society and how they can avoid the dangers and tragedies continued abuse 
almost certainly will bring," she said.

Foley also hopes the program will alleviate the strain club drug abuse 
places on emergency rooms and the criminal justice system.

"We need more intervention programs like this that specifically target club 
drug users," said Cmdr. Terry Lemming, director of the Lake County 
Metropolitan Enforcement Group, a multi-jurisdictional drug task force. "We 
in law enforcement are not so naive as to think we can fight this growing 
problem alone."

Steve Harvath, an adult probation officer in Cook County, said many club 
drug users in treatment don't identify with the program's anti-drug message 
because it's not targeted to their drug of choice. "In such a case the 
substance abuse treatment may not be as intense as it needs to be, and the 
patient doesn't get much out of it," he said.

Harvath said the new Haymarket program will help reach those most at risk 
of abusing club drugs.

"A lot of teens and 20-somethings are experimenting with these drugs," 
Harvath said. "Most of the population has been educated on the dangers of 
traditional illegal drugs, but with these new club drugs, the information 
isn't hitting home."

Lemming said part of Ecstasy's danger is its unreliable manufacturing.

"When I was working undercover in 1997, we'd never heard of it," he said.

"Now, it's almost as popular as mainstream illegal drugs like cocaine, 
marijuana and heroin. Yet this drug isn't grown or produced by a 
pharmaceutical company. It's an unknown quantity, a random concoction of 
chemicals produced by criminals. You never know what you're getting."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens