Saturday, April 23, 2005

Fewer high schoolers use Ecstasy

"Ecstasy was the "it" drug among teens and young adults for a few years beginning in the late 90's: a feel-good, dance-all-night stimulant that was a driving force behind rave parties that featured pulsating, melody-free music."
After its peak in 2001, it is just not the drug of choice anymore. Many teens and young adults fear using ecstasy due to its effects that result in brain damage or even death.
Last year, 57.7% of high school seniors (up 33.8% in 1997) stated that just using 'X' once would harm them. Although the decrease of 'X' can be viewed as a good thing, teens and young adults have turned their focus to cheaper more readily available drugs (such as OxyCotin and Vicodin). Teens find that prescription drugs are less harmful than ecstasy and other street drugs (heroin and cocaine). Young adults and teens have easy access to prescription drugs. They either rip off their parents medicine cabinet or place an order for illegal prescription drugs over the Internet. "This week, agents with the DEA and other agencies broke up an alleged drug ring that is accused of illegally selling more than 2.5 million pills a month via the Internet."
Now, instead of going to raves, "trail mixing" parties are the way to go. A "Trail Mixing" party consists of teens mixing pills in a bowl and then randomly handing them out.
Since the use of Ecstasy has declined over the passed few years, do you feel that the "trail mixing" stage will decrease as well?

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