Ecstasy

Following the directions on the colorful flyer, you end up in a warehouse where the music is thumping, the DJ is spinning, the crowd is hopping, and--suddenly--someone hands you a little tablet with a cute smiley face stamped on it. It looks just like candy, and since it makes you feel happier and dance longer, it can't be all that dangerous, right? Not like heroin or crack, right? Wrong and wrong. Hosted by Erika Christensen (the actress who portrayed the teen addict in the Academy Award-winning film Traffic), the latest installment in the award-winning PBS series In The Mix takes a hard look at the dangers of club drugs such as ecstasy, Special K, and GHB, mostly through interviews with teens in rehab who discuss their experiences with the harmless-looking little pills that ended up seriously derailing their lives. In addition, the program rides along with an undercover cop in Miami, informs viewers about the legal consequences of drug possession, and demonstrates the adverse neurological effects of these stimulant drugs. Although not quite as energetic and fast-paced as earlier entries from the series, Ecstasy is still a solid presentation on a very current topic and makes a good complement for adolescent audiences to the more general program The Agony of Ecstasy (VL-7/01). Recommended. Aud: J, H, P. (E. Gieschen)