Across Canada, police have seized 712,000 of the feel-good tablets, with a street value of anywhere between $17.8 million and $28.5 million, said Leo Vaillant, the RCMP's head analyst on drug-related issues.     Comparatively, just 360,000 tablets were captured, worth between $9 million and $14.4 million, in 1999.

      The soaring rate of ecstasy seizures illustrates what is becoming common knowledge among police, drug dealers and users: demand for the drug has exploded as the one-time raver pick-me-up has become a drug of choice across demographic lines.

      Vaillant said the seizures indicate police are getting better at investigating ecstasy operations - either rings that import the drug into the country or, increasingly, labs that manufacture the tablets in Canada.    "There seems to be a shift to (domestic labs), because there is a market for that, probably more than for other synthetic drugs," he said.

      The surge in use comes at a time when the body of literature detailing the drug's potentially harmful effects are becoming known.    Researchers are finding that the drug has potential long-term effects such as long-term damage to memory and cognitive functions or chronic depression.

      Ecstasy is a mood-enhancing drug believed to work by stimulating the massive release of serotonin - a chemical that controls mood.   "Is there going to be a generation of people who are going to be permanently depressed?" Dr. Clare Roscoe, a resident in psychiatry at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto asked.

      Det. Randy Smith of the Toronto police's major drug unit said the drug has gained acceptance in groups much more reluctant to take risks including adult professionals and senior citizens.

      The growing demand for the drug has led to changes in the way the drug is supplied: where European-based rings used to send the drugs to Canada by courier, now more and more labs have popped up that produce the drugs domestically.

      Smith said there are no estimates as to the number of labs, but there appears to be no shortage. Each investigation conducted by the Toronto police this year has turned up a lab, he said.

      "Every time we put our hook in the water, we catch a fish," Smith said.      (Ottawa Citizen)

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