Pubdate: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 Source: Bergen Record (NJ) Copyright: 2001 Bergen Record Corp. Contact: http://www.bergen.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/44 Author: Leslie Koren Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) N.J. CAMPAIGNS AGAINST ECSTASY USE AT SEASIDE CLUBS SEASIDE HEIGHTS -- In a cloudless blue sky where planes usually pull banners advertising $3 margaritas and dollar drafts, beachgoers on Thursday got a different pitch. "Doing club drugs tonight?" the banner read. "Warning! Narcs can dance." On the steamy boardwalk below, prosecutors and police officers reiterated the admonition to members of the media, who they hoped would spread the word to anyone who might use Ecstasy or other designer drugs at the shore this summer. "The message must be simple and clear: It's illegal in New Jersey, and we impose some of the stiffest penalties in the country," said First Assistant Attorney General Paul Zoubek. Authorities say the use of Ecstasy has been increasing exponentially since 1998. This summer, they expect record numbers of users to flock to the shore. On Thursday, state officials announced that they are expanding education and enforcement efforts to counteract the rise. The aerial banner will be flown over the sea on weekends throughout the summer. There will also be billboards, statewide public service radio announcements, and posters. But it doesn't stop there. Undercover officers will be in the clubs in large numbers, searching for links to major dealers through even the smallest drug arrests, authorities said. "We're going to be every place we think people are using the stuff and selling the stuff," said Ocean County First Assistant Prosecutor Terrence Farley. The educators are fighting an uphill battle, in large part because many kids don't believe that Ecstasy can really cause any harm, said Christine Dwyer, a 16-year-old former Ecstasy user who spoke at the conference. New Jersey lawmakers have helped crime fighters by enacting stricter penalties in 1999. Possession and sale of Ecstasy now mandates as much jail time as having heroin and cocaine -- something one of the state's top law enforcement officials emphasized for parents. "If your kids have a certain quantity of Ecstasy on them, they're going to jail and they're going to jail for a long time," said Division of Criminal Justice Director Kathryn Flicker. "Their lives will be ruined." The problem, authorities said, is that some parents don't realize how serious the extent of the use has become. Kids as young as 12 and 13 years old are now using the drugs, often at under-21 nightclubs and dance parties where parents are promised alcohol-free nights, Farley said. Ecstasy, also known as the "love drug" and the "hug drug," intensifies feelings and sensations. It's often referred to as a club drug because that's where most people begin using it. An entire culture has now evolved around Ecstasy: Users suck on pacifiers to keep from grinding their teeth, drink bottles of water to keep from dehydrating, and play with glow sticks. Ecstasy dates back to the early 1900s but became a popular underground drug in Europe in the 1990s. It first showed up in New Jersey, in large scale, in 1998 at the Jersey shore, where the elements are ripe for use and abuse: young people seeking fun and freedom. However, its use is now documented in all 21 counties, said Jeff Greczyn, commander of the Middlesex County Narcotics Task Force and chairman of the Narcotics Commanders Association of New Jersey. "It's not just a shore problem," said Ocean County Prosecutor David Millard. "It's in every high school. It's in every college. It's all over the place." Last fall, Dwyer said, she was using the drug daily, taking several pills over the course of the day. Now she has no short-term memory and needs surgery to repair her jaw, which has suffered from the grinding caused by taking Ecstasy, she said. Dwyer said she first tried it at a party when she was 13. "It felt great," she said. But over the years, she needed more and more to get high, and wanted to feel the experience all the time, she said. To support the habit, she sold drugs. "I'd wake up in the morning and have to take a pill," she said. "I just thought I was having a good time." Dwyer provided a cautionary tale, authorities said. "Parents need to know the signs," Zoubek said. "They need to talk to their children," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe