Pubdate: Fri, 04 Mar 2005
Source: Courier-Journal, The (KY)
Copyright: 2005 The Courier-Journal
Contact:  http://www.courier-journal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/97
Author: Kay Stewart
Note: Only publishes local LTEs
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

TEENS DISCUSS THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH DRUG

Oldham Students Say Use Widespread

When you're high on Ecstasy "everything is pretty. You're relaxed, all
happy and nothing bothers you."

But, "You get real hot. You have to drink water. You get cotton mouth
bad, and you have to chew on something. I've about chewed right
through my cheek."

Plus, "Coming off it is bad. You think everyone hates you. You're real
depressed."

The attractive 17-year-old describing her experience was among 13
Oldham County high school students who voluntarily met with a reporter
recently to discuss teenage drug use with the understanding that their
names would not be published.

Dan Orman, the Oldham school district's assistant superintendent for
student services, arranged the meeting, saying it's important for
adults to hear the voices of kids and the experiences they've had.

Most of the students in the group acknowledged having used drugs; some
said they had been in rehab. And while their experiences may not be
typical, they agreed that the availability and use of a variety of
illicit drugs, including Ecstasy, extends far beyond their circle.

Nationally, illicit drug use slightly declined in the past two years
among 8th-, 10th- and 12th-grade students, according to a survey,
"Monitoring the Future," funded by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse. And use of Ecstasy declined significantly over the past two
years as perceptions of its risk have risen, the survey reported.

Still, in 2004, 7.5 percent of high school seniors had tried the drug,
the survey found.

The 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 1,613 students in 66 public
high schools in Kentucky showed that 7 percent had tried Ecstasy at
least once, said Jeff Jones of the University of Kentucky's Center for
Prevention Research. He said that compared with 11.1 percent of high
school students in the nation who took that survey.

In Indiana, 3.5 percent of 6th-through 12th-graders had tried Ecstasy
at least once, according to the 2004 Indiana Prevention Resource
Center Survey, said spokeswoman JoBeth McCarthy-Jean.

The Oldham County teen quoted above said she would buy Ecstasy at Club
X, a nightclub at 306 W. Main St. in Louisville that closed about a
year ago, after police started arresting patrons on drug charges and
the Louisville Office of Inspections, Permits and Licensing ordered it
shut down as a public nuisance.

The club also was cited as a major distribution spot for Ecstasy
dealers indicted in recent months in federal court, according to
law-enforcement officials.

Frank Mascagni, a lawyer for the club's owner -- Henley Inc. -- said
the city's order was appealed, but the club's owners eventually closed
it because they "weren't making any money. It was economics."

The Oldham student said dealers inside the club were willing to sell a
variety of drugs, and scores of young people were there "rolling on
Ecstasy." She said the club played loud music and had lights that
enhanced the drug's hallucinogenic effects.

Ecstasy also is circulated at parties, held at friends' homes when
parents are away, and outdoors in warm weather, according to the
students interviewed.

Along with liquor and other drugs, "somebody will bring a bag with
maybe 20, 30" Ecstasy pills, one of the teens said. "Big, gallon
zip-locks full of em," another added.

"If parents knew what went on at the parties, they would be seriously
hurt," one girl said.

Asked what the pills look like, several voices called out a variety of
names based on the pills' color and insignia or logo -- Blue Dolphins,
M&Ms, Four Leaf Clovers, Playboy Bunnies, Shamrocks, Cadillacs and
Mercedes Benz.

Asked if they were concerned about the contents of the pills, which
can be laced with other drugs, one girl said: "When you want it, you
want it. You don't care what's in it."

Ecstasy dealers still can be found in clubs throughout the city, said
Kaischa Miller, 22, who is enrolled in Jefferson Drug Court as a
result of a cocaine-possession conviction. She said she has tried
Ecstasy twice, both times taking Blue Dolphins provided by a friend.

"I didn't like it. It scared me," Miller said. "I was seeing things
that weren't there, hallucinating. I wouldn't do it again."

Arquilla Booker, 48, who also is attending Drug Court for cocaine use,
said she has taken Ecstasy a few times, once at a nightclub in western
Louisville and another time in a park.

"Coming off it is bad. You've got to chew something. I chewed about 20
packs of gum," she said. Booker also didn't like the experience
because she was "hearing and seeing all kinds of things that weren't
there."

Henry Spiller, director of the Kentucky Regional Poison Control Center
at Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, said Ecstasy can be
dangerous, triggering heatstroke, dehydration and heart failure.

Studies also have shown that Ecstasy, even in small doses, can impair
long-term memory and mood functioning.

Drug counselors say that while teens and young adults they treat
report having taken Ecstasy, they're typically driven into treatment
by other drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, alcohol and prescription
pain pills.

"Ecstasy is rarely a drug of choice," said Jennifer Stern, a nurse and
program director for outpatient services at Caritas Peace Center.
"It's not a gateway drug like alcohol or marijuana. Ecstasy is up
there. You have to work your way to that. Usually something is going
on before they've tried Ecstasy."

Its effects can be damaging, she said.

"The scariest thing to me is the way it alters brain chemistry. I
can't stress that enough. We barely understand brain chemistry. I know
that can fall on deaf ears when you're talking to adolescents, but it
could affect the way they think, act and behave for the rest of their
lives," Stern said. "It brings on moderate to severe depression in
people who use it regularly. It's not something you want to put your
body through."

Bob Werner, clinical coordinator for adolescent services at The Morton
Center, said when Ecstasy came on the scene in the 1980s, it was
marketed as a "safe drug."

But it's not, he said, especially when taken in combination with other
drugs. "I don't see that drug being different from any other drug as
far as an individual's ability to use it, abuse it or be dependent on
it."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin