Pubdate: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 Source: The Chronicle (CT) Copyright: 1999 The Chronicle Contact: 1 Chronicle Road Willimantic, CT 06226 Fax: (860) 423-7641 Website: http://www.thechronicle.com/ Author: Harold C. Shayer, Chronicle Staff Writer POLICE: ECSTACY USE ON THE RISE STORRS - The use and sale of the illegal "designer drug" called Ecstasy is on the rise on the campus of the University of Connecticut - and throughout the region - campus and state police said this week. UConn Police Maj. Ron Blicher said the arrest of seven people on charges of conspiracy to sell the drug over the past several weeks indicates a renewed interest among some students with Ecstasy, a man-made derivative of amphetamines and methamphetamines. According to student records, only one of those arrested, Stephen Hogan, 20, of Pawtucket, R.I., is listed as enrolled at the university. "There has been an increase frequency of incidents on campus where the drug Ecstasy is involved," said Blicher. "We believe our investigations into the possession and sale of the drug have been successful and the ongoing investigation may lead to more arrests." The latest incidents involving the drug occurred Tuesday when UConn police arrested Marie Cassie Hogan, 21, and Joseph Wilfred Mooney, 22, both of 185 Lake Shore Drive, Pascoag, R.I. Police said both were arrested in Rhode Island and charged with conspiracy to sell methamphetamines as a result of the current investigation. Police said both were placed on $50,000 bonds and will be extradited to Connecticut. Mooney is scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court in Vernon on Dec. 29 and Hogan on Jan. 11. Blicher said all the Ecstasy seized by police was in tablet form and the drug is usually manufactured in clandestine laboratories, which are "most likely not located in the state." State Police Sgt. Jeff Hotsky, of the eastern division of the Statewide Narcotics Task Force, said use of Ecstasy is definitely on the increase and his unit has investigated about a dozen cases involving the drug in the region over the last year. Hotsky said that as the latest "trendy drug," Ecstasy is often used in combination with marijuana or the animal tranquilizer called "Special K." A tablet or capsule containing about 300 milligrams of the Ecstasy drug mixture sells anywhere from $25 to $30 each, he said. As a drug that gives users both the effects of "speed" and a hallucinogen, Ecstasy is especially popular for use at all-night "rave" parties, said Vicky Barbero, director of adolescent programs for Perception Programs of Willimantic. Barbero said the number of reported cases of Ecstasy use among adolescents in the Windham region is only about five percent and she is not sure the arrests at UConn have any correlation to the area’s youth. Barbero said Ecstasy can be snorted, injected with a needle or taken in tablet form. She said extended use of the drug can lead to hypertension, heart or kidney failure and many users experience dehydration if they use the drug while involved in activities such as all-night dancing. Interim UConn Chancellor Fred Maryanski said campus police have kept him informed about the increase incidents of Ecstasy use which have led to the recent arrests. Maryanski said UConn officials "try to make it very clear to students that the university is not a place where drug transactions will be allowed to prosper." Maryanski also said he believes that various student affairs organizations do not consider Ecstasy use to be of a crisis proportion and none have raised the issue with him. "This is, of course, a societal issue and problem that is occurring across the nation," said Maryanski. "This particular drug seems to be popular with people of this (college) age group." UConn police said the suspects - who were arrested on a variety of charges which include conspiracy to possess methamphetamines and criminal attempt to possess methamphetamines with intent to sell - allegedly conspired to supply a number of people on campus with a large quantity of the illegal drug. Despite the ongoing arrests at UConn, police departments in Willimantic, Eastern Connecticut State University and Coventry said they have not yet seen any cases involving the Ecstasy drug. Of those arrested and placed on $50,000 bonds, Hogan, Jeffrey Petrello, 22, of Coventry, and Jason R. Malin, 26, of Vernon, did not enter pleas in Rockville Superior Court in Vernon last week but had their cases continued to Jan. 13. Robert Hayden, 22, of Seymour, and Joseph McCarthy, 26, of Monroe, are scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Jan. 4. In addition to the drug charges, police said Hayden was charged with unlawful restraint and threatening and Malin was charged with unlawful restraint stemming from allegations that the two forcibly detained and threatened one of the people involved in a failed attempt to get the drugs. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D