CUTTING THROUGH THE HYPE ABOUT DRUGS

	“If you are not in good spirits, if you are ‘down,’ ecstasy plunges you down even more. I’ve also seen guys completely out of it, slumped in a chair, head down, eyes closed, for hours. Later they said they thought they were dancing like the others!” Diane, drug addict(1)

The “positive” image that drugs have comes for the most part from the media. As soon as any new substance appears, it is seldom considered dangerous until the harm becomes evident. By then the damage has already been done, and the false idea that the drug is “harmless” already widely accepted.

Ecstasy has been the subject of similar hype. As one media observer noted, “It is almost as though some clever marketing wizard came up with a campaign for it.” As a result, people today have many false ideas about the drug.

So think twice before taking ecstasy from someone who is telling you how great you’ll feel once you try it. Maybe you’re just being sold something dangerous.