Pubdate: Fri, 06 Apr 2001 Source: Ann Arbor News (MI) Copyright: 2001 The Ann Arbor News Contact: http://aa.mlive.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/20 Author: Amalie Nash Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) NEW DRUG HITS HOME 'Ecstasy' Is More And More Popular Among Local High School Teenagers Although marijuana remains the illicit drug of choice among teen-agers, a breed of designer drug is quickly creeping into weekend parties and local high school hallways. They call it "e" or "x" for short, and most teen-agers will tell you that it isn't hard to get. And while drug use among teen-agers is stagnant or declining in many areas, one drug - known as "ecstasy" - is showing a sharp rise that's expected to peak in the next few years. Pioneer High sophomore Aaron Savit figures teens enjoy the "empathetic feeling" caused by ecstasy. His friend, senior Pat Ford, says perhaps it's popular since it's fairly new. After all, marijuana - although still the biggest sell - isn't the freshest thing on the market, they say. "It's pretty easy to get, but it isn't always pure," Savit said. "I know a fair amount of people who do it. There're always a few people who do drugs to excess, but most have it under control." "E" has been talked about at Pioneer High for the last few years, students say. But at neighboring Saline High, it appears to have hit the student population just within the last year, said Mark Schuby, student assistance coordinator for the district. "Mainly we're still seeing the alcohol and marijuana, but there's more use of the designer drugs," Schuby said. "Ecstasy is on the rise, but about nine out of every 10 kids don't even know what it is that they're taking or buying. There's so much misinformation out there that most people don't know the real deal." Ecstasy, a central nervous system stimulant, became a popular drug at raves in the early 1980s and is becoming more mainstream among teen-agers and college students, police say. It's most common in an aspirin-sized pill form, ranging in cost from $10 to $30. The drug can create a feeling of euphoria. But it can also cause nervousness, hyperexcitability, rapid heartbeat, teeth grinding, scratching or rubbing skin, dizziness, loss of consciousness, eye twitching, panic attacks, muscle cramping and seizures. The long-term effects of ecstasy are now being tested and could include damage to the parts of the brain critical to thought and memory, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In monkeys, exposure to ecstasy for four days caused brain damage that was evident six to seven years later, a NIDA study says. Pioneer High senior Dan Leonard said he believes ecstasy is a social drug. "It's the trendy drug," he said. "Some kids think a party just isn't a party without 'e.' Last year I heard about kids doing it before school because the high lasts so long." The drug is being closely tracked now by police, researchers, school officials and substance-abuse professionals. In the annual Monitoring the Future drug-use study conducted by University of Michigan researchers, ecstasy use rose among all the grade levels studied. At the high end, 11 percent of high school seniors have tried ecstasy, the study says. More than half of the 45,000 high school seniors surveyed last year said getting ecstasy would be easy. And unlike the previous study, ecstasy is now being used by eighth-graders, said Lloyd Johnston, the lead investigator on the study. "We've seen no evidence yet of a turnaround," Johnston said. "As we predicted, it's diffused out from the urban areas and is going down in age. It's the most rapidly-changing drug that we've seen moving in an upward direction in the last few years. Inevitably, when there's a new drug or one is rediscovered, it enjoys a honeymoon period when people aren't yet aware of the consequences." "I wouldn't be surprised if the bad news catches up soon and it starts to decline in the next few years." Undercover officers with the Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team are seeing more of it these days. Less than three months ago, police confiscated 1,800 ecstasy pills valued at $45,000 from a 29-year-old who was walking in Ypsilanti Township. Possession of a controlled substance like ecstasy is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. Ron Harrison, a social worker with a private practice in Ann Arbor specializing in treating teens with substance-abuse problems, said he has watched many drug trends over the last 19 years - including the newest designer drugs. He said talk of ecstasy surfaced among patients in his office more than a year ago. Now, he's seeing more and more teens who have tried it. "What I'm seeing in my office is consistent with what's happening in the nation. Ecstasy is now part of the package of drugs that are available, and any teen-agers who are prone to drugs would wonder about the new drug on the scene," Harrison said. Timothy and Jill Kotyuk are the parents of teen-age daughters and believe the key to addressing drug use - be it marijuana, ecstasy or alcohol - is to talk about the problem. They did just that during a recent meeting of the parent-teacher-student organization at Huron High School focusing on teen-agers and drug use. Their talk highlighted a personal incident, when their 16-year-old daughter had friends over when they were out of town last fall and the party turned unruly. When it was all over, police had ticketed their daughter for underage drinking and teens caused more than $8,000 in damage to their home. They're still finding beer cans in the bushes. Jill Kotyuk said they discussed ecstasy with their children after their daughter said girls attending a high school dance showed up with pacifiers around their necks - a sign of ecstasy use, since the drug causes involuntary teeth clenching. Other signs of ecstasy use include an abundance of energy, sweaty and deep breathing, hugging and touching behavior and lip biting, police say. "It's scary for me how accessible alcohol and other drugs seem to be," Timothy Kotyuk said. Jill Kotyuk said she thinks parents need to work together and become educated about all the drugs on the market. She recently attended a forum on designer drugs in Saline and brought her teen-agers along. "I expect that my kids will take risks and won't be perfect, but they need to understand the consequences," she said. "Now that Baby Boomers are parents, kids are saying, 'Well, didn't you do it?' I tell them that I've made mistakes and learned, and that doesn't make it acceptable for them." In addition to the recent forums on teen-age drug use, there's a local push to create a residential treatment program for adolescents and bring more drug education into the schools. The board of directors at Dawn Farm, a residential treatment program that serves anyone age 17 and up, recently discussed adding the first county program for youths, said James Balmer, president of the organization. Ann Arbor resident Bradley Spencer heads the Safe and Drug-Free School Advisory Committee, which is lobbying for prevention programs for all grade levels and substance abuse counselors in the high schools. Spencer, a retired teacher, became involved in 1979 after two of his students died in drug-related auto crashes. "It's troubling now to hear the experiences with ecstasy. I think we need to create a community awareness about the extent of drug use in teen-agers," Spencer said. "It comes down to the fact that I don't think students are getting the message about the dangers of drugs. We need to focus on putting a prevention network that was once in place back in place in the schools." - --- MAP posted-by: GD