Pubdate: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 Source: Northwest Florida Daily News (FL) Copyright: 2001 Northwest Florida Daily News Contact: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/ Author: Jeff Ayres DRUG USE ON THE RISE Law enforcement officials say ecstasy and the 'date-rape drug' GHB are the favorite choices. Colorless and odor free, it's hard to detect when slipped into a mixed drink. But the effects of GHB on the men and women who take it - knowingly or unwittingly - are becoming quite clear to local law enforcement personnel and emergency medical workers. Gamma hydroxybutyrate has caused hundreds of deaths and an untold number of overdoses nationally and been linked increasingly to sexual assaults. Locally, recreational usage of the "date-rape drug" and other designer drugs are on the rise. "We're seeing more cases involving GHB and ecstasy," said Larry Donaldson, a lieutenant with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office and head of the county's Multi-Agency Drug Task Force. "They're becoming the drug of choice for young people." Statistics on the number of people who use these drugs are difficult to gather. Law enforcement agencies do not keep statistics on designer drug arrests. But at least 19 people have died in Florida from designer-drug overdoses in the last three years. The final annual report from National Drug Control Policy Chief Barry McCaffrey cited an "explosive increase" in the use of designer drugs among young people. Other national studies have indicated use among high school students has doubled during the past two years. Designer drugs provide an energy boost and make their users less inhibited, but those effects come at a high cost, said Bob Munson, assistant director for addictions and substance abuse at the Bridgeway Center. "They are dangerous, addictive drugs," Munson explained. "Both ecstasy and GHB are considered 'Schedule 1' drugs, in that they have no accepted medical use and have a high abusive potential." A local high school student has seen what such drugs can do. The student, who wished to remain anonymous, recalled how a friend of his collapsed at a party and "wound up in a pool of blood" after ingesting a drink believed to have been spiked with GHB. Medics were able to revive the boy, and the fluid was pumped from his system. But the student said the experience was an eye-opener. "It made me realize you're too young to screw up your life." Nightclubs and bars are a common site for designer drugs like GHB and methelynedioxymethamphetamine, also known as MDMA or ecstasy. They can easily be slipped into a drink or otherwise passed from one person to the next. "That stuff has reared its ugly head," said James "J.J." Johnson, director of operations at three of Okaloosa County's most prominent nightspots. "I just don't understand why people do it." Dr. Carl Glidden, who specializes in emergency medicine at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, said the hospital has admitted its share of GHB users over the years; cases involving ecstasy are also prevalent. "Most people know what amount of ecstasy to take, but with the number of strains of GHB out there," it's hard for many GHB users to know just how much of the drug they're taking, he said. GHB was legal until 1991, and was popular with bodybuilders as a muscle stimulant found in health drinks. But the unpredictable side effects of the drug, from nausea to amnesia, caused it to be banned by the Food and Drug Administration. GHB's is commonly called the date rape drug because women are often sexually assaulted while under the drug's influence. Just a few drops of GHB can render a user unconscious, and could even leave that person in a coma, or dead. Glidden said there have been a couple GHB-related deaths in the last few years at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, including one man who drowned in his own vomit after being overcome by the drug. Other people, he said, have had close calls. "They come in here almost clinically dead, and in some cases they just abruptly wake up like nothing happened," Glidden said. Ecstasy has been a fixture on the club/party scene worldwide for well over a decade. It's commonly taken by clubgoers at all-night "rave" dances to boost stamina. Local authorities say ecstasy isn't as pervasive as it once was, but that doesn't mean the narcotic has lost any luster among drug users. Tom Matz, who leads the Fort Walton Beach Police Department's street crimes unit, said a tablet of ecstasy, commonly called "E" or "XTC" on the street, sells for $25 to $30 these days. Some ecstasy has been found on students in Okaloosa County, but designer drugs in general have not found a way into the county's schools, said Lt. Don Fountain, who oversees the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office school resource officer program. He said drug-related investigations at county schools are down by two-thirds from last school year. Santa Rosa County's school system wasn't as fortunate. In early 2000, two teens were arrested in unrelated cases for allegedly possessing or selling GHB at Milton High School. Two female MHS students had to be hospitalized after taking the drug. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom