(Right: The MDMA Molecule)
Ecstacy
by Greg Landheim
I used to be a sinner,
I drank and I got stoned,
There never was a blessed thing,
That I could say I owned.
Then I discovered Jesus,
And what he’d done for me.
I prayed for my repentance,
And asked that I might see.
I worked at being Holy,
Until I thought I’d faint.
The spirit would not come to me,
So I sought out a Saint.
He told me what I had to do,
If I would find my bliss.
His words fell gently on me,
Just like an Angel’s kiss.
I dedicated all my life,
To being one with God.
Became a holy pilgrim,
And walked the world unshod.
I prayed through every waking hour,
As I went on my way.
And then without a warning,
It came to me one day.
The earth broke up beneath my feet,
And lights lit up the night.
I heard a holy chorus,
Of Angels taking flight.
My soul became so very large,
I could not find its end.
It flowed through all around me,
The world became my friend.
My mind could not contain it,
This bliss so very great.
I loved all things that I could see,
There was no room for hate.
I had achieved trancendence,
“Praise Christ the Lord!” I cried.
And then I started weeping,
For those still trapped inside.
I had to find my Master,
And tell him what I’d done.
He’d heap upon me holy praise,
And love me like a son.
My Master was disgusted,
I begged him to tell why.
“It’s not about the side show,
Come back when you’re not high.”
The extent and breadth of drug use all over the world is just staggering. In the Philippines, it is believed that there are at least several million people across all socioeconomic classes who are drug users. The face of the drug user can vary - from the raggedy waif on the streets of Manila getting himself on with inhalants, to the college kid getting blown off on ecstacy while sweating it out on a rave party, to the hashish or coke sessions in one of the condominiums in Makati, or or the taxi driver chasing the white dragon in a shantytown in Pasig. It really depends on one's budget and connections.
I remember attending a dance event in the past where lollipops are being passed around (obviously to act as pacifiers to the teeth clenching of ecstacy users) and with the insanely criminally priced expensive bottle of water- I wonder how these people sleep at night, while people could die from virtual dehydration. One club has a standing policy of disallowing clubbers inhalers, drugs, and pacifiers within their premises, but how this is being enforced i really dont know.
Buying candies is very easy, with the proliferation of pushers everywhere who gets usually connected by word of mouth. During summer season, Boracay, Puerto Galera and Cebu become flashpoints as thousands of tourists converge for their vacations. Manila with its pulsating nightlife is not spared. At one time my friend told me that a pusher was apprehended outside a Quezon City club who then implicated the pointman in a club at the Fort who then pointed to the other guy in a Makati club. Candymen come in many shapes and sizes, I dont want to enumerate and describe any of them.
But this problem is obviously universal, taking a page from a UN Press Release:
UN drugs chief sounds warning about Afghan opium production, cocaine consumption in EuropeWASHINGTON, June 26 2006 (UNODC) - Cocaine consumption in western Europe is reaching alarming levels while opium production in Afghanistan could rise again this year despite a welcome decline in 2005, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Antonio Maria Costa, said on Monday. UNODC's 2006 World Drug Report showed global opium production fell five percent in 2005 while cocaine production was broadly stable. Seizures of both drugs, especially cocaine, reached record highs. Consumption of cannabis, the most widely used illicit drug, continued to increase while the market for amphetamine-type stimulants stabilised. Africa is growing in importance for trans-shipments of cocaine and heroin to Europe. Presenting the World Drug Report at the National Press Club in Washington, the UNODC Executive Director said trends in the global drugs market were moving in the right direction but governments needed to step up their efforts to reduce both supply and demand. "Drug control is working and the world drug problem is being contained," he said. "This is true whether we look over the long term or even just over the past few years. Humanity has entered the 21 st century with much lower levels of drug cultivation and drug addiction than 100 years earlier. Even more importantly, in the past few years, worldwide efforts to reduce the threat posed by illicit drugs have halted a quarter-century-long rise in drug abuse that, if left unchecked, could have become a global pandemic." Laos, which until the mid-1990s was the third largest illicit opium producer in the world, slashed opium cultivation by 72 percent in 2005 and is on the verge of becoming opium-free. "Laos has made spectacular progress which has not received the attention it deserves," Mr Costa said. However, the UNODC head highlighted three key weaknesses in the global drug control situation: heroin supply in Afghanistan, cocaine demand in Europe and cannabis supply/demand everywhere. In Afghanistan, the world's largest opium producer, the area under opium poppy cultivation fell 21 per cent to 104,000 hectares in 2005, the first such decline since 2001. "Afghanistan's drug situation remains vulnerable to reversal because of mass poverty, lack of security and the fact that the authorities have inadequate control over its territory," Mr Costa warned. "This could happen as early as 2006 despite large-scale eradication of opium crops this spring." Some encouraging trends were noted on the coca/cocaine market. Coca cultivation and cocaine production were broadly stable while seizures of cocaine rose to new highs. Global cocaine use declined slightly. "Demand for cocaine is rising in western Europe to alarming levels," Mr Costa said. "I urge European Union governments not to ignore this peril. Too many professional, educated Europeans use cocaine, often denying their addiction, and drug abuse by celebrities is often presented uncritically by the media, leaving young people confused and vulnerable." After years of increases in the 1990s, the market for amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) is stabilizing, reflecting improved law enforcement and better precursor control. Some 25 million people used amphetamines at least once in 2004, while some 10 million used ecstasy. Total ATS production was estimated at 480 tons in 2004, which is lower than the peak in 2000. The U.S. authorities again dismantled the largest number of illegal methamphetamine laboratories - over 17,000 in 2004, more than 90 percent of the global total. While abuse of methamphetamine remained stable or declined among secondary students over the last few years, treatment demand for methamphetamine abuse in the United States has grown dramatically. Many countries have the drug problem they deserve The 2006 World Drug Report devotes special attention to cannabis, the world's most abused illicit drug. Cannabis was used by an estimated 162 million people at least once in 2004, equivalent to some four per cent of the global population age 15-64, and consumption continued to increase. The UNODC Executive Director warned that cannabis was now considerably more potent than a few decades ago and said it was a mistake to dismiss it as a "soft" and relatively harmless drug. Evidence that cannabis use can cause serious mental illness is mounting. "Today, the harmful characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin," Mr Costa said. "National policies on cannabis vary and sometimes change from one year to the next," he added. "With cannabis-related health damage increasing, it is fundamentally wrong for countries to make cannabis control dependent on which party is in government. Policy reversals leave young people confused as to just how dangerous cannabis is. The cannabis pandemic, like other challenges to public health, requires consensus, a consistent commitment across the political spectrum and by society at large." "After so many years of drug control experience, we now know that a coherent, long-term strategy can reduce drug supply, demand and trafficking," Mr Costa concluded. "If this does not happen, it will be because some nations fail to take the drug issue sufficiently seriously and pursue inadequate policies. Many countries have the drug problem they deserve." NOTE TO EDITORS: Drug cultivation and production numbers in the World Drug Report are for 2005, while figures for drug abuse and seizures are for 2004. 
ECSTASY Annual prevalence of abuse as percentage of the population aged 15-64 (unless otherwise indicated) *UNODC estimates based on local studies, special population group studies, and /or law enforcement agency assessments. Sources: ARQs, Government Reports, US Department of State, European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Abuse (EMCDDA). AFRICA Near and Middle East / South-West Asia South Africa*, 2004 0.4 Israel, 2001 0.8 Zambia*, 2003 0.3 Lebanon*, 2001 0.5 Zimbabwe*, 2003 0.1 EUROPE Namibia, 2000 0.1 East Europe Morocco, 2003 0.02 Ukraine*, 2003 0.1 Ghana*, 1995 0.01 Russian Federation*, 1999 0.1 AMERICA Southeast Europe Central America Bulgaria*, 2003 0.4 Panama*, 2003 0.4 Croatia*, 2003 0.3 Guatemala*, 2003 0.2 Turkey*, 2003 0.3 Belize*, 2003 0.2 Romania*, 2004 0.1 Honduras*, 2003 0.2 FYR of Macedonia*, 1999 0.1 Nicaragua*, 2003 0.1 West and Central Europe El Salvador*, 2003 0.1 Czech Rep., 2002 2.5 North America England & Wales, (16-59), 2003/04 2.0 Canada, 2004 1.1 Scotland, (16-59), 2003 1.7 USA, (15-64), 2004 1.0 Estonia, 2004 1.7 Mexico, 2002 0.01 Northern Ireland, 2003 1.6 South America Netherlands, 2001 1.5 Colombia*,2001 0.3 Spain, 2003 1.4 Ecuador*, 2003 0.3 Hungary, (18-54), 2003 1.4 Venezuela*, 2001 0.2 Slovakia, 2004 1.2 Guyana*, 2002 0.1 Ireland, 2003 1.1 Uruguay*, 2003 0.1 Belgium*, 2003 1.1 Chile, 2002 0.1 Slovenia*, 2003 0.9 Argentina, 2004 0.1 Austria, 2004 0.9 Peru, 2002 0.1 Switzerland*, 2003 0.8 Suriname*, 2002 0.1 Latvia, 2003 0.8 Paraguay*, 2003 0.1 Germany, (18-59), 2003 0.8 Iceland*, (15-65), 2003 0.6 The Caribbean Norway, 2004 0.5 Turks & Caicos Is.*, 2003 0.7 Luxembourg*, (15-65), 1998 0.5 Barbados*, 2002 0.3 Finland, 2002 0.5 Dominican Rep.*, 2000 0.2 Denmark, (16-64), 2000 0.5 Bahamas*, 2003 0.1 Sweden*, 2003 0.4 ASIA Portugal, 2001 0.4 East & South-East Asia/South Asia/ Lithuania, 2004 0.4 Transcaucasia Italy, (15-54), 2003 0.4 Indonesia*, 2004 0.6 Cyprus*, 2003 0.4 Malaysia*, 2003 0.4 France, 2002 0.3 Rep. of Korea, 2004 0.3 Poland, 2002 0.2 Macao SAR, China*, 2002 0.2 Malta, (18-65), 2001 0.2 Viet Nam*, 2003 0.2 Liechtenstein, 1998 0.2 Philippines, 2004 0.2 Greece, 2004 0.2 Cambodia*, 2003 0.1 OCEANIA Thailand, 2001 0.1 Australia, 2004 4.0 Armenia, 2005 0.1 New Zealand*, 2001 2.2 Japan, 2003 0.1 Hong Kong SAR China, 2004 0.02 India*, 2004 0.01 Singapore, 2004 0.004 a/ Life-time prevalence (15+) |
