Pubdate: Sat, 05 Feb 2000
Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (NY)
Copyright: 2000 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Contact:  55 Exchange Blvd. Rochester, NY 14614
Fax: (716) 258-2356
Website: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/
Author: Dawn Marie Bracely
Related: DanceSafe: http://www.dancesafe.org/
Bookmarks: For raves: http://www.mapinc.org/raves.htm
For Ecstasy: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm

DESIGNER DRUGS LURE YOUNG

Area arrests point to an increasing use at nightclubs of cheap, easy to get 
chemicals

Dan Dangler knows well the lure of so-called designer drugs -- and the 
dangers they bring.

"I watch a lot of kids, man, and they're turning into zombies," said 
Dangler, 27, who experimented with the drug Ecstasy and another called GHB 
before swearing off drugs altogether.

Designer -- or chemically produced -- drugs are gaining popularity in 
Rochester and around the nation. They are cheap and easy to get. And 
authorities are worried that young people -- and their parents -- don't 
know enough about the harm they can cause.

The drugs are especially prevalent among people younger than 25 at local 
nightclubs, where several dozen arrests have been made over the past year 
and a half.

"Our evidence shows that some of them (entertainment establishments) are 
perhaps implicitly, and maybe even explicitly, encouraging this 
phenomenon," said William R. Faucette Jr., head of the city's 20-member 
entertainment task force.

The task force has suggested preventing "over-under" and younger than 21 
mix -- and promoting alternative venues for younger crowds.

If police or city officials have enough proof of drug activity at a venue, 
the city will close it, said city corporation counsel Linda Kingsley.

But it's up to owners to stop people high on drugs from coming into the 
club and to maintain control once people enter, she added.

Nightclub operators object to having designer drugs classified as their 
problem.

"You should go after the drugs, in general, and not after the nightclubs," 
said John Chmiel, general manager of the Water Street Music Hall, which 
includes the Piranha Club.

"Wherever there is a large gathering, you'll find drug use of one sort or 
another."

Both Chmiel and Rob Maher, owner of the Red Social Lounge, said they take 
measures to ensure that there is no drug activity in their clubs. Chmiel 
has hired several security staffers, for example.

And Maher maintains that designer drugs are not as prevalent now as they 
were in 1993 and 1994. "It's just something that has gone on and had its 
time here and moved on," he said.

Rochester police Capt. Lynde Johnston, however, said the problem has been 
on the rise at some of the 52 clubs downtown in the past six months.

Police officers have been finding people passed out in streets and in 
parking lots, said Johnston, who was in charge of Downtown Section from 
April 1997 until November.

Many places remain open late -- until 6 a.m., in some cases -- to encourage 
this type of crowd, he said. Some sell bottled water and give out salt 
tablets to keep users from dehydrating. Because some designer drugs are 
colorless, tasteless and odorless, they are often added to beverages.

Johnston and Chmiel said they are concerned about getting information about 
the danger of drugs to the public.

"I don't think parents have the information, sometimes," said Johnston, now 
in charge of the Central Investigation Section.

The phenomenon of designer drugs -- sometimes called club drugs because of 
their use at all-night dance parties such as "raves" or "trances" -- is not 
unique to this area.

"What's happening in Rochester is reflective of what's happening throughout 
the country," said Rochester police Capt. Robert Wale, who is in charge of 
the Special Investigations Section.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has detected an alarming increase in 
the popularity of designer drugs, according to a report issued in December. 
NIDA, a component of the National Institutes of Health, is based in 
Bethesda, Md.

The drugs can be ingested in liquid or tablet form, and they can be 
obtained at what users consider a moderate price. Ecstasy, for example, 
sells at $2 a pill wholesale and $25 to $30 a pill on the street.

Some chemicals that are used to make the drugs are manufactured in the 
United States, while others are smuggled in from Europe and Mexico.

The Drug Enforcement Agency said in a statement this week that it has seen 
an increase in the use of Ecstasy in New York state. The drug traffickers 
present a significant challenge for law enforcement, according to the DEA, 
because they are multinational, multilingual and extremely mobile.

As part of a national initiative to combat the increasing use of club 
drugs, NIDA recently announced that it will raise its funding for research 
into the drugs by 40 percent, bringing the total commitment to $54 million.

In addition, NIDA and four national organizations have launched a 
multimedia public education strategy to alert teens, young adults, parents, 
educators and others to the dangers of club drugs. That includes a Web 
site, www.clubdrugs.org

In the Rochester area, former users such as Dangler, who works at an area 
club, offer an example with their decision to stop. "I had my share, but I 
need my head on my shoulders now," he 
said.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake