Pubdate: Sun, 06 Jul 2008
Source: Leaf-Chronicle, The (US TN)
Copyright: 2008, The Leaf-Chronicle
Contact:  http://www.theleafchronicle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1601
Author: Tavia D. Green
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

ECSTASY CLAWING BACK INTO CITY

Social Drug Re-Emerging After Lull In Use, Drug Agent Says

After a confidential informant equipped with an  electronic hearing
device bought several pills of the  drug Ecstasy, agents with the
Clarksville Police Major  Crimes Unit and Tactical Unit executed a
search warrant  at 111 Azalea Court.

Police found 150 multicolored Ecstasy pills and several  pounds of
marijuana, according to court documents.

Ben Thomas Dowlen Jr., 31, was arrested in the August  2007 sting and
charged with manufacturing, selling or  possessing a controlled
substance. In June, Dowlen  pleaded guilty to the charges and was
sentenced to 10  years.

Dowlen's case is just one example of the presence  Ecstasy has in the
city and how law enforcement is  fighting to keep it off the street.

Since last year, there have been several major Ecstasy  stings,
including one in March that turned up 1,500  pills, Clarksville Police
Department Agent David O'Dell  told the Citizen Police Academy in April.

Local law enforcement and those in the judicial system  have seen an
increase in the use of Ecstasy, a drug  O'Dell said has come back to
Clarksville "with a  vengeance."

Six years ago, Clarksville saw a similar increase in  Ecstasy use and
dealing.

"It kind of lost a little bit of favor for a while,"  O'Dell said. "It
got a lot of bad press, but then for  whatever reason it kind of got
reglamourized in the  media and movies and got a new generation to
start  with."

O'Dell said with this comeback, Ecstasy users and  sellers are more
diverse.

"There is no particular age group," he said. "When we  first had
problems, it was 18- to 25-year-olds, but  it's starting to spread out
in all age groups."

Getting Here

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration,  Tennessee has
a growing problem with "club drugs,"  Ecstasy being one of the more
common. These drugs are  predominantly seen in Nashville and Knoxville.

O'Dell said most of the shipments of Ecstasy come to  Clarksville
through Nashville, having come there from  Texas and Atlanta. The
pills usually originate overseas  or in Mexico.

The dealers usually receive the drug in lots of 500 to  1,500 pills,
he said.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Drug Agent Earl  Crockarell said
his agency has tackled Ecstasy abuse by  stopping it before it hits
the streets.

"It's a medium (level) problem, and even a medium  problem is
life-threatening with this drug," Crockarell  said. "It can elevate
the temperature in your body to a  point where your body just shuts
down."

Using informants who provide Ecstasy dealers' names,  the Sheriff's
Office has made controlled buys and  executed stings.

On one occasion, Crockarell said, they set up a buy of  500 pills.
When the dealer was counting his pills, they  arrested him and found
1,300 pills in the bag.

Tough To Track

Crockarell said one shipment of Ecstasy presents more  of a problem to
law enforcement than greater quantities  of marijuana because Ecstasy
is dealt within small  social groups.

"They have their own way of talking and got their own  slang," he
said. "It's hard to keep up with it."

Ecstasy is commonly known for its use at raves -- late  night dance
parties that often last into the early  morning hours. O'Dell said
Clarksville doesn't have a  problem with large raves, which are
usually confined to  bigger cities like Nashville, but the drug is
sold in  social groups, he said.

"A lot of the groups that sell in the circles will  often communicate
over MySpace," he said. "The whole  thing revolves, kind of like
marijuana. The sellers and  buyers tend to gravitate toward each
other. They know  who each other are."

Crockarell said MySpace has been used to promote  parties where the
drug will be present.

"It won't say anything about Ecstasy," Crockarell said,  about party
invitations on MySpace. "But it will have a  big X in the
background."

Crockarell said the invitations are parent-conscious.

"It'll have no alcohol and plenty of student-friendly  liquids like
water and energy drinks," Crockarell said.  "When the parents read
this, they don't see this big X  in the background. The X will be
hidden somewhere, and  the (kids) know what it means."

Crockarell said Ecstasy's users are typically younger  than
40.

"This stuff revolves around age groups -- people grow  out of it,"
Crockarell said. "The names change as  different age groups go through
it."

At the county level, Crockarell said Ecstasy is not as  big as when it
was in the mid-1990s.

"People were jumping into it, trying and liking it,"  Crockarell said.
"Then it faded away because they were  going to the hospital for it."

In The Courtroom

John Finklea, assistant district attorney, said he and  his co-workers
have noticed more Ecstasy-related cases  coming through the judicial
system.

Finklea said many of the accused dealers have been less  than 30 years
old.

"It seems like it's more younger people dealing it," he
said.

"Ecstasy is a Schedule I controlled substance, unlike  cocaine, which
is Schedule II," Finklea added. "That  shows if the government is
rating it as Schedule I,  it's bad stuff. Schedule I and II are both
very  addictive and dangerous drugs."

According to the Tennessee Criminal Justice Handbook,  Schedule I
drugs have a high potential for abuse and do  not have any accepted
medical use in the United States,  and the abuse might lead to severe
psychic or physical  dependence.

Schedule I drugs include Ecstasy and methadone.

Schedule II drugs have a high potential for abuse, but  have been
accepted for medical use in the U.S. and  might lead to moderate or
low physical dependence or  high psychological dependence.

Cocaine is a Schedule II substance.

Marijuana is a Schedule VI drug.

Selling and possessing Ecstasy is a Class B felony,  depending on the
amount. Like cocaine and meth,  possessing more than 0.5 grams carries
a sentence  between eight and 30 years of incarceration, depending  on
criminal history, and a fine of up to $100,000.
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