©2001 William Löwenkamp

Maria’s World of Ecstasy

The snow fell softly from a darkened sky on the ground below as teenagers by the dozens entered the weekend hideaway called the “Frog” in Stampede, anywhere USA.

The Rage party was on and inside the “Frog” you are about to enter a most cynical environment be laden with psychedelic lighting and music to make your ear drums ache and your head feel like it was being pounded with a rubber mallet.  Amidst all this you could see the young people sipping on soft drinks and fruit drinks of all types as there were no alcoholic beverages served and none allowed on the premises.

Frequently you could recognize the exchange of tablets and different forms of substances, which were definitely not cigarettes and such.  The majority of “Ecstasy” was made in the open and other substances, like Math, were generally made at a table amongst friends, which seem to be popular at these Rage parties.  Rarely did you see any money exchanged except during the purchase of drinks and the entrance fee of $10 for guys – and women were free. 

Drugs, drugs and more drugs.  Does anyone really have good statistics on the usage and abuse drugs?  Or, is everything we do statistically just a crapshoot in the dark.  I often wonder how law enforcement people deal with these abuses of drug substances, especially since the concentration is on Heroin, Cocaine, drug labs for crystal math and other substances.  Rarely do you hear have a Rage party being raided and drugs confiscated.

Maria is just one human soul lost in an out of control scenario of degenerative social structure.  She was from an upper class family and had everything a child or young adult could ask for, except she was bored with life and her surroundings, so she frequented the “Frog” in an attempt to expel her emotional sociologic problems.  Her many friends were also a part of the Rage scene and frequented these parties on weekends to meet dance and get high.  You can find a very wide age spread at one of these parties with the majority from 16 to 28 and a handful of individuals from the 30’s, 40’s and even 50’s, 60’s.

As a dance club environment, the “Frog” was fine.  It offered a place for young adults to go and unwind, but it had no control over the use of any form of drugs.  It served no alcoholic beverages and would not allow smoking within the establishment.  It was well known around a tri-state area and was frequented by drug dealers selling “Ecstasy” the famed happy drug because it was easily made, obtained and affordable.  Even in some establishments the drug was given away as part of the entertainment process.

Maria had used “Ecstasy” many times to let her emotions run wild and allow her anxieties to relax and it allowed her to be part of an increasing world of drug abuse.  Her many friends also shared the same experience and on the night of a big Rage party no one expected anyone to die in an agonizing death from “bad Ecstasy."

Maria and her friends were living it up and enjoying the moment of loud music and wild dance.  During the evening they had had many fruit drinks and a round of “Ecstasy” to enhance their enjoyment of activity and extend their ability to dance for long periods of time.  This night was a non-stop night of music and dance and when Maria returned to the dance floor she began to fly like a bird, hands and arms swirling in the air around her dance partner, her eyes became big and with the look of fear, she dropped to the floor on her knees and then fell on her back with legs, arms and body twitching violently with her big glass looking eyes staring up to nowhere.

People gathered around and a call for help went out.  Watching in dumb founded and confused horror as one of their friends fell ill from a dose of bad “Ecstasy?”  No, Maria’s biological system was shutting down, ever so slowly and how painfully we will never know, but within the hour and before medical help arrived Maria lay, not in a coma as thought, but at the doorstep of death.  She died in her happy place, on the dance floor.  She left, not in her car, but in a body bag on a hospital gurney.  The “Frog” still operates its rage parties and it is still a favorite spot for young people of all ages.

I wonder how the current statistics stack up for drug OD, drug abuse as compared to death and other induced medical problems.  I have not found much information on comparison of Heroin, Cocaine, Marijuana and other drugs as compared to man made synthetic drugs.  It would also be an interesting study to compare and link alcohol abuse, drug abuse with social trends, trafficking, general abuse and related issues. 

As the Law Enforcement community concentrates on the normal drug trade involving heroin, cocaine, opium and other drugs as well as some synthetic drugs, many drugs that can be home made are becoming increasingly popular and the cost can be low in many countries, depending on the social climate and affordability.  It might be a nice thought by some governments, that the drug trade is good for the economy, but in the long term such an attitude produces permanent damage to those who use drugs making them partially to totally useless in normal society.  How much international criminal activity will be tolerated by governments in the future should be interesting to watch, or more important, how much of the new drug trade activities will be tolerated before society begins to cripple itself.  The drug epidemic and the comparison to AIDS is an interesting topic.  I believe there are hundreds of thousands of young people with mutated brains, and other body organs that will pass on to new born degenerative problems if the drug abuse problem continues to grow.

©2001 William Löwenkamp