By Balford Henry, Staff ReporterECSTASY, THE hottest new "club drug" in the United States, seems to be taking root in Jamaica, police are reporting.
Last year local police seized 5,070 ecstasy tablets, the first seizure of any amount of the drug in Jamaica that the police can confirm. But, the figures could be misleading as a guide to the level of increasing local usage, as the total amount was a shipment which had come in from Eruope and was about to be exported.
According to head of the narcotics division of the Police, Senior Superintendent Carl Williams, there is evidence that the drug is not only being transhipped through Jamaica from Europe to other destinations, but that it is also being used locally, especially at uptown "rave parties" and night clubs.
SSP Williams says that it is very unlikely that the drug is being produced in Jamaica, but its use is rising rapidly, raising the concern of his division.
He said that there is no evidence of its use in schools, for example, but it is in demand at parties and night clubs in uptown areas. The prohibitive cost of $1,000 per tablet may be the reason for its social status, he said.
A source at popular New Kingston night club, the Asylum, said yesterday that while the club holds "rave" parties on holidays, it does not sanction the use of ecstasy by patrons. However, he said that he could not say whether or not people attending the parties do use the drug.
SSP Williams also says that one of the main challenges in dealing with ecstasy is its "deceptive" nature.
"It can be moved and you don't even recognise it. It can be moved through ports by giving the impression that it is a regular prescription drug," he said.
The concern about use of the drug in Jamaica comes in the wake of an increase in the number of "rave" parties being staged locally. The use of ecstasy is a vital ingredient of "rave" parties.
Ecstasy is also known as MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), and is a synthetic, psychoactive drug with both stimulant (amphetamine-like) and hallucinatory (LSD-like) properties. On the street it is also known as Adam, XTC, hug, beans and love drug; and it can be combined with ganja.
