Study: Teen Ecstasy Use Rising Fast

Feb. 11 -- Calling it the "rave generation's cocaine," a nonprofit antidrug group is putting out a stern warning about Ecstasy, an increasingly popular drug that is being embraced by more and more teens.

"We're finding it alarming," Ginna Marston, the executive vice president of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America told Good Morning America. "Teen drug use is down and holding steady, but Ecstasy use is going up steadily."

A synthetic stimulant that comes in a pill, Ecstasy used to be the province of 20-somethings who used it at dance clubs or all-night raves, but now it is drawing the teen set.

The number of teens using Ecstasy has jumped 20 percent since last year, and 71 percent since 1999, with an estimated 2.8 million teens at least trying the drug once, according to a PDFA study released today on Good Morning America. Starting today, the nonprofit coalition is launching a series of public service announcements warning of the dangers of Ecstasy.

The new study, which looked at 6,937 teens across the country, found that more than 12 percent of teens had tried Ecstasy at least once in 2001, compared to previous studies that found usage rates of 10 percent in 2000, seven percent in 1999, and five percent in 1995, the PDFA reported. Overall teen drug use has been diminishing since 1997 and remained stable between 2000 and 2001, but Ecstasy has been the exception, the only type of drug that is attracting more teens.

It is now about as widely used by teens as cocaine, crack, heroin, LSD or methamphetamines. Marijuana remains the most widely used drug, with 41 percent of teens reporting that they have tried it.

Cocaine Marketing Strategy

Experts say the big problem with Ecstasy is its image — one that is so positive, it is almost as though some clever marketing wizard came up with a campaign for it. Though current statistics show that most teens will never try the drug, experts worry that the hype surrounding it could prompt the number of teens using Ecstasy to double.