ECSTASY USE GOES BEYOND PARTIES, STUDY SAYS

A study of more than 250 youths, mostly from the St. Louis area, challenges
common notions of Ecstasy as a drug used predominantly by suburban
teen-agers at weekend dance parties.

The Washington University study -- which focused mainly on juvenile
offenders -- found evidence of sustained, daily use, with one teen
reporting having taken a total of 1,800 pills over time.

Matthew Howard, the Washington University associate professor who prepared
the report, said that in many cases, teens were using Ecstasy at home
alone, far from the pulsating music of "rave" parties commonly associated
with the drug.

"Some kids are cranking down a couple of tablets a day, and there isn't
anything social about it," he said. "It seems more like a coping mechanism."

Ecstasy is a mind-altering drug with both stimulant and hallucinogenic
qualities. It has been linked to damage of the brain, heart and kidneys.
Nonetheless, various studies suggest many teens view the drug as largely
harmless.

A survey by the Partnership for Drug Free America last year suggested that
12 percent of 12- to 18-year-olds had used Ecstasy at least once. That rate
was up from 8 percent in 1998.

The Washington University study zeroes in on the use of Ecstasy among
society's most vulnerable youths. The vast majority of the study's
participants were juvenile offenders. Others were residents of a
psychiatric hospital or a residential treatment center.

Howard said he was shocked by the prevalence of the drug among such teens.
As many as 40 percent of the study's participants said they had tried
ecstasy before landing in state custody - a rate at least three times
higher than the national average for adolescents.

The study is one of only a few conducted that looks at use of the drug
among teens with criminal, behavioral and mental health issues. The study
involved 90-minute interviews with 253 teen-agers, most of whom are from
low-income families.

Howard said the interviews suggest that many users of the drug have
psychological and mental disorders and had been "self-medicating"
themselves with Ecstasy over a sustained period.

Howard said about 11 percent of those who reported taking the drug were
heavy users, meaning they had used it 30-plus times in their lifetime.
Among those heavy users, the study found an average use of 156 times.

The study, which was funded through a grant from the National Institute on
Drug Abuse, begins to look at some of the effects of heavy Ecstasy use.
Though Howard said much more research needs to be done in the area, his
study found that heavy users reported increased depression, anxiety,
hostility, paranoia, cognitive difficulty and sleep disorders.

Several findings in the study are consistent with emerging research on Ecstasy.

Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told
Congress last year that Ecstasy "is spreading from raves and dance parties
to high schools, colleges, and other social settings frequented by youth
and young adults."

Leshner also cited symptoms among heavy users that parallel those reported
by users in the Washington University study.

Howard said he feared that police, educators and social workers might not
fully understand that youths from all socioeconomic backgrounds are
vulnerable to the drug. Worse yet, he said he saw little evidence that
teens were getting the message on Ecstasy's harmful side effects.