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. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath