RALEIGH -- If you had any doubt about the presence of the Ecstasy drug problem in North Carolina, take a look at what's happening down the road in Charlotte. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says it's implementing the licensing of dance halls to protect kids from activities associated with "raves," specifically, the sale, possession and use of illegal drugs.

Generally, if you're talking about drugs at a rave, you're talking about Ecstasy. Unfortunately, licensing clubs won't make the problem go away, not in North Carolina or anywhere else. A report from the Office of National Drug Control Policy says that Ecstasy has moved beyond the clubs into our schools and onto our streets. Combine that with the fact that the number of teenagers who have tried the drug has doubled in the past five years and there's no doubt that Ecstasy is a drug we need to be concerned about.

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