“You can get a single hit of “E” for $20, but I don’t know what “K” costs,” said a 20-year-old Korean student, who admits spending his weekends at Manhattan clubs with his friends. “E” is Ecstasy, a “party or club” drug; “K” Ketamine, an animal anesthetic, which, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), is rapidly gaining as much popularity among young people as Ecstasy.

It is also gaining popularity among young Koreans, as evidenced by events at the Sound Factory, a well-known Manhattan night club popular with Korean youth. The club was recently closed by order of the New York City Police Department. According to a police statement, the club has a history of drug dealing on its premises, with illegal drugs such as Ecstasy, cocaine or marijuana both highly used by club patrons and readily available for purchase.

Drug use by patrons was so rampant, that the club even had a special room reserved for the treatment of club goers experiencing overdose, unconsciousness, or other drug induced medical emergencies. Patrons in need of aid were taken to this intensive care unit (ICU) to be revived. After “recovery” the patrons were unceremoniously deposited outside of the club. Police reports indicate that there have been at least three drug-related deaths at the club since the year 2000.

Police report that the incidence of drug use among young Koreans is on the rise: many Korean employees of bars and night clubs admit to having used drugs. One young employee in the entertainment field confided to me that she was persuaded by a colleague to use Ecstasy. She also noted that many of the business customers frequently use drugs, chiefly marijuana.

With the rise in drug use among Korean youth, the NYPD is also reporting an increase in the arrest of Korean drug dealers. Captain Thomas Cea, Commanding officer of the 109th Precinct, reported the arrest of two young Korean drug offenders last February; one, in his late teens, had purchased and consumed drugs, the other, in his early twenties, had sold drugs to other young people. In the same month, a 20-year old Korean resident of Bayside took drugs and began hallucinating so severely that she set her home on fire. Someone was killed in the fire and the woman was arrested.

Officers of the 109th precinct commented that many Flushing clubs serving young Chinese and Korean people – but owned by other races – are making it very easy for the youth to purchase drugs. Police reports mention Elmhurst, Roosevelt Avenue, Corona, Rego Park, Ridgewood, Jamaica and Flushing as areas of active drug sales and use.

Many professionals involved in drug prevention assume the problem to be more serious than is widely believed; drug dealing is not limited to clubs, but is still widespread on street corners, and around schools, where the very young are targeted. Many schools that have active programs to discuss and combat drugs report apathy on the part of the students when it comes to “saying no.”