what a difference an E makes
The UK dance drug scene has changed

unrecognisably over recent years. In the late 80s a new and wildly popular substance came along - MDMA or Ecstasy. It was quickly 'legalised', not in the sense of being made legit, but in the sense of being brought under legal control by banning unlicensed raves. Crusties became clubbers overnight.
This had the unintended effect of turning an underclass into part of Cool Britannia, to the extent that a commons committee is recommending decriminalisation, and the home office has just put out an uncharacteristically whizzy pamphlet on Safer Clubbing, complete with Cyberdog-style graphics.
Grainne Whalley, one of the pamphlet's authors, says: "We have

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moved in one decade from a counter-culture to Smiley faces being used in ads for the Alliance and Leicester." She mourns the solidarity of rave culture. "People use drugs now in a more isolated way, and that causes health problems in itself. Your best health asset is your mates."
Now every weekend an estimated 750,000 Britons pop an E. This has brought health problems in its wake. These aren't usually of an acute, fatal nature, despite tabloid headlines: there have been a total of 80-100 E-related deaths since the drug arrived, which compares pretty favourably with the figures for alcohol or driving.
the menace of mixing
But Grainne continues: "The real danger is that we're now seeing a culture of poly-

drug use. People are used to 'fixing' themselves with medications, and we're