By: Fabian Ledgister, Staff Reporter

Party pills exchanging hands. - Fabian Ledgister

It's the new easy-to-get, cheap drug of choice for some 'uptowners' and tourists. From clubs in the resort areas and the Corporate Area, to (rave) parties islandwide, more wealthy young Jamaicans are 'pill popping', according to police intelligence.

With a worldwide boom in synthetic drug production, police said that Ecstasy (real name Methylenedioxymethamphetamin) use in Jamaica is on a steady rise.

Statistically, police are seizing considerably reduced numbers of these pills, with just 500 tablets being recovered so far this year (compared to 13,070 pills seized in 2005, and 133,000 tablets recovered in 2004), but the Narcotics Division said its intelligence reveals increased incidence of distribution and usage.

Increase in drugs

"Statistics do not reflect it, but intelligence suggests that there is an increase in the presence of this type of amphetamine in particular (Ecstasy), but we are unable to identify the main perpetrators owing to the difficulty in differen-tiating the drug from legal pharmaceutical pills," said the head of the Narcotics Division, Senior Superintendent Carlton Wilson. "We face the danger of it spreading to the Caribbean, especially Jamaica, as a tranship-ment point, so we must be vigilant that it does not overtake us."

However, STAR investigations have discovered that the intelligence of the Narcotics division may just be the 'tip of the iceberg' in a rampant drug trade locally.

Illegal Ecstasy retailers say their trade has become more profitable due to increased supply, and a subsequent drop in cost price of the 'party pill'.

"Yea man, di pill dem a sell hard, and it easier fi get, caa, if one man run out yu can check other new suppliers whe can't even speak English good (chuckles). They used to sell fi 'bout eight bill to a gran' ($800- $1,000) per pop (pill), but like how competition deh yah now, dem a sell fi all five to six bills ($500- $600)," says the dealer.

The ecstasy pusher says he sells about 10 to 15 pills per week, but adds that he is just a "little fish" in the proverbial pool of a new and booming business. When asked if he is affected by news of any of his customers having an overdose he said, "That is why mi only buy pill from legit people, caa a nuh like weed whe yu can look an' tell if a good stuff. Yuh afi look out fi yuh customers else dem a tell dem fren an' mash up yuh business."

Although the dealer maintains that the drug is safe, the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention describes the effects of ecstasy in large doses, as causing hypothermia, dehydration, urinary retention, seizures, stokes, heart attacks, cardiac arrythmias, paranoia, and hallucination.

Long term effects include strong physical and psychological dependence, disorientation, apathy, exhaustion and a state similar to paranoid psychosis. There are also concerns that ecstasy may have toxic effects on the brain and other organ tissue. Reports also claim that the mixture of Ecstasy and alcohol is considered to be deadly.

"Many young persons are overdosing, but because the drug is new, it is being medically termed as heart attacks," said SSP Wilson.

The STAR spoke to a person who has suffered from an overdose of Ecstasy, who relayed her near death experience.

"The first time I took ecstasy, what started out as a euphoric vibes, became a nightmare. I didn't know I was to only take half on my first try. I took five 'half pill' (two and a half pills) ... I was dizzy, sweating like crazy, vomiting up all the water I was drinking, and everything was a blur," said the victim, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Despite an overnight stint at the hospital, and subsequent punishment from parents, this has not deterred her from regularly taking Ecstasy. As with many young users, so long as the drug is associated among parties, 'clubbing', and friends, they will always be a customer.

One dealer in Montego Bay and Mandeville, who spoke to THE STAR said that 'word-of-mouth' is his mode of advertisement, and that he only sells to "friends of friends".

"If I don't know you or my fren don't know you, then no sale. Simple," said the dealer.

Although he was reluctant to reveal how much pills he sold, he said that the resort areas, and 'uptowners' (wealthier young persons) are where he reaps the majority of his sales.

In the meantime, officers from the Narcotics Division say they will be fighting any further increase of the ecstasy drug trade in Jamaica, with a two-phased pro-active effort.

"We are focusing on the pre-cursor chemicals that make the drug, and are now training border personnel (airport officers) to be on the alert for these substances," said SSP Wilson.

As part of the International Demand Reduction Programme, narcotic officers say they are constantly entering educational institutions to educate the youth (target market for ecstasy) on the negative repercussions of drug use.

"We have included ecstasy in our demand reduction programme ... We don't wait for schools to call us, we go to them," added Wilson.