Nestled behind Sailfish Services, snug between the commuter parking lot, sits Palm Beach Atlantic University's rodent laboratory.

The lab has been operating off and on since 2003.

This month, the rodent lab at PBA will host a clinical psychology test  to look at the effects of two hallucinogenic drugs: ecstasy and foxy methoxy.“I'm very lucky to have been chosen to work on this project,” Senior Eric Westman said. Westman applied for the study as his final research practicum and will be supervised by Dr. David Compton, professor of psychology.

To conduct the tests, first the drugs must be procured through the clinical company Sigma.

Compton has a special license through the Drug Enforcement Administration that allows him to purchase and keep the illegal substances for the duration of the experiments.

Compton and Westman are the primary caretakers of the rats, visiting and feeding them daily.

“We stress the lives of the animals,” Westman said. Four of the rats are named after the presidential candidates and their running mates.

The rats are separated into three groups, and they will be dosed six times throughout the study. One group will be given ecstasy, another foxy methoxy, and the last will be a control group.  The control group is used to compare the effects of the drugs and the natural reactions of the rats.

“We will give them one injection every three days, for 18 days,” Compton said. “This is designed  to mimic drug use in adolescents.”

After the dosing period has ended, the rats will be tested for their motor-functioning and memory skills.

“We will test their memory skills by timing the rate in which they swim from one side of a swimming area to a platform on the other side,” Westman said.

In recent years, both ecstasy and foxy methoxy have become popular “party drugs,” especially among high school students.

A study conducted in 2004 by the DEA  found that 7.5 percent of high school seniors have tried ecstasy at least once. The DEA also reports that more ecstasy is confiscated in Florida than any other state. The DEA also suspects international traffickers use South Florida as a “base of operations for the importation and distribution of [ecstasy].”

However, little research has been done on the effects of foxy methoxy. It is reported by the Center for Disease Controls as having ecstasy-like symptoms.

“There is surprisingly little research in this area, and our trials will hopefully add more information to the side-effects these drugs may cause,” Westman said.

“There have been so-called 'emergency room studies,' which evaluate the number of overdoses, but very little research on side effects,” Compton said of foxy methoxy.

According to Westman, the study means more than discovering the effects of the drugs. “It is important for us as Christians to be able to compete with our peers, and show that we can contribute just as much to research.”