Pubdate: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright: 2003 Guardian Newspapers Limited Contact: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175 Author: Helen Carter, The Guardian TIGHT SECURITY AND CHANGING FASHION SQUEEZE OUT DRUGS In the city which spawned the Hacienda, a temple to clubbing and ecstasy, there is widespread evidence that drug use is tailing off. Manchester was at the centre of the late 1980s ecstasy and house music boom. The two were synonymous with each other but now, 15 years on, the music scene is moving on. John Collins, of the British Entertainment and Dance Association, said there were a number of reasons for the 20% drop in ecstasy use: "The clubs have clearly become more savvy in terms of security and reducing the opportunities to deal drugs on their premises." He said opportunities for drug dealers had reduced and alongside that, the scene has moved on. "Really, the ecstasy boom originated 15 years ago in the late 80s during the second summer of love. We have now moved on from the mega dance venues and there is more of a bar culture across the UK." Marc Rowlands, clubbing editor for City Life magazine in Manchester, who is a DJ and the Guardian Guide's northern club correspondent, said: "I think the safer club initiatives have really helped in informing a lot of venues and promoters about what they need to do. They have all taken action, whether it be making free water available, providing more ventilation so people don't overheat. "I do not think that the sharp drop in ecstasy use can be just pinned on informing people about safety. I think it has a lot more to do with that it is now 2003 and ecstasy has been around since 1988. "In Manchester alone, ecstasy and house music were around at the same time and they are synonymous with each other. But it used to cost UKP25 per ecstasy tablet; now the prices have dropped to as little as UKP3 or UKP4. The drug and the music are no longer seen as being vibrant and exciting as they were in the late 80s." A worker at a safer clubbing project in another city said the whole scene had moved on. "Fashions change and people are taking less ecstasy than a few years ago," he said. "Clubbers are certainly more aware about drugs and the effects of drugs. "Clubs and their clients are certainly more aware of the dangers. While ecstasy use is falling, there is definitely more cocaine being used and new drugs such as 2CB and 2CI which are more hallucinogenic than ecstasy." But Anna Fielding, of the clubbers' magazine Mixmag, says statistics from St George's Hospital's medical school appear to show that there are more deaths from ecstasy. "Deaths from ecstasy have gone up by 35% in the last year," she said. "There were 62 deaths in 2002, which was a 35% increase on the 2001 figures. Our view is that the general masses are basically getting back into rock music. "Although there are fewer people taking ecstasy, they are using more of the drug. In some places it is cheaper than a pint and it just has lost all its mystique." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake