Drug alert for 'Ecstasy'

Pat Roxborough, Staff Reporter

WESTERN BUREAU -

The National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) is on the alert for a synthetic mind-altering drug known as "Ecstasy".

The synthetic drug, whose scientific name is Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), is manufactured in illegal laboratories, and is heavily used among European and American youth at all-night parties.

The drug gives a "high" which can last up to eight hours. The dehydration that results from the prolonged dancing, facilitated by the high, can lead to spasms and in some cases, death, depending on how high the person's body temperature rises.

Local authorities, although not sure of the extent to what "Ecstasy" is used here, have advised caution.

"We are on the alert," said Ellen Grizzle, director of information at the NCDA. "We don't want to create panic, but the reports are coming in about the increased use of this drug and the base drug from which it is manufactured - "crank" - we need as a country to be very careful, considering the penetration level of their culture on ours."

No concrete evidence

Notwithstanding, the drug is at the bottom of the list of abused substances that worry the Addiction Alert Organisation (AAO), a non-governmental organisation responsible for helping substance abusers.

"We have anecdotal data that it is here, that is, people are telling us that it is being used here. Outside of that we have no concrete evidence, there have been no reports of abuse of this substance coming in on our telephone life-lines," said Sonita Abrahams, AAO's executive director."However, it could escalate here given the penetration of the North-American culture on ours."

Last year's edition of the annual epidemiological report put out by the United States National Drug Abuse Council said that although Ecstasy-related deaths were still relatively few - 51 were reported in 1998 and 36 for the first half of 1999 - the manufacture and use of the drug was spreading rapidly.

However, neither the AAO nor the NCDA has statistical data on the use of the drug here. Mrs. Grizzle said it would not be acting in haste to issue a word of warning about the dangers of "Ecstasy".

"Knowledge is power, the fact is that you don't need to be an expert at chemistry to make this drug, it's easily done and we just want people to be aware of the dangers when they go to these parties and to be careful what they swallow," she said.

Added Mrs. Abrahams: "I'll say that because it is a stimulant manufactured in a lab you can never know what is actually in it. Sometimes the manufacturers mix this drug with other substances and to swallow one of these tablets is to put yourself at risk. Its long-term use can cause addiction and so it makes sense to stay away from them."

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