Pubdate: Fri, 30 Nov 2001
Source: Los Angeles Daily Journal (CA)
Page: 6
Copyright: 2001 Daily Journals
Contact:  http://www.dailyjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1142
Author: Kevin B. Zeese
Note: Kevin Zeese is president of Common Sense for Drug Policy in 
Washington, DC. Note as published in source.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

ECSTASY EXAMPLE OF PROHIBITION GONE AWRY

In 1985, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration made a little-known drug, 
3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), illegal. Since then, sentences 
have escalated to the point where it is treated more harshly than heroin. 
Less than two decades later, the drug is described by law enforcement as a 
youth epidemic and is widely available throughout the United States.

The drug, better known as ecstasy, was the first drug ever to be made 
illegal by the DEA using the emergency scheduling authority granted to the 
attorney general under the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, Pub. L. 
No. 98-473, 98 Stat. 1976 (1984).

This emergency scheduling was voided in a separate criminal trial involving 
an Ecstasy prosecution because the attorney general had not delegated the 
authority to the DEA. The DEA persevered and shortly after that received 
this authority. When it finally prohibited ecstasy, the DEA ignored the 
recommendation of its own administrative law judge that physicians be 
permitted to continue to administer MDMA to their patients. Thus, it did 
not take an act of Congress to prohibit Ecstasy - just the administrative 
authority of the DEA.

The prohibition of Ecstasy is an excellent example of how prohibition not 
only fails to prevent drug use, but also may actually encourage use and 
unnecessarily endanger those who seek to use the drug. There is good reason 
to believe that if Ecstasy had not been prohibited, the drug still would be 
primarily used only in psychotherapy.

Indeed, the very process of prohibiting the drug drew national attention to 
it. Time magazine ran a cover story that described the drug as the "love 
drug," which made sex more fun. The deluge of news reporting that followed 
Time's cover story made ecstasy a household name and enticed many into 
trying the substance.

In fact, Ecstasy simply reduces fear and anxiety, enabling people to 
converse more freely, even about painful issues. This is why therapists 
used it to enable patients to discuss issues that they found difficult to 
confront and to facilitate emotional catharsis.

While the drug is relatively safe, its dangers have escalated simply 
because it was made illegal. Since it cannot be purchased from regulated 
sources, Ecstasy is probably the most adulterated drug on the illegal 
market. Users have no idea what they are buying. Sometimes the adulterated 
substance is more dangerous than MDMA itself. Indeed, very few deaths can 
be attributed to MDMA itself. Almost all are either a substitute drug, 
usually PMA, or MDMA when taken in combination with other drugs -- 
especially alcohol, cocaine or heroin. Ecstasy is commonly used at raves - 
dance parties where young people dance and chat late into the night. Some 
groups, most notably DanceSafe, attempt to inform participants by testing 
the substances that users purchase from the unregulated market. But those 
trying to help are harassed by law enforcement for doing so as police see 
this as tolerating, even aiding, ecstasy use.

Also, the relatively small but real dangers of ecstasy are heightened by 
law enforcement. Ecstasy does slightly raise the body temperature, and 
during raves, there is a lot of body heat generated. This can develop into 
a risky situation, especially if water and a relaxation room are not 
readily available.

Unfortunately, Ecstasy is used in unregulated clubs, so there is no way to 
ensure these services. And the DEA, in a case in New Orleans where rave 
promoters were prosecuted under a statute actually designed for use against 
crack houses that made it criminal to run a place where people went to use 
drugs. The DEA forced the owners to include in their plea agreement that 
they would not provide chill rooms at dances. Some places have gone so far 
as to suggest a Taliban-like move of banning late-night dances. Does that 
show the absurdity of prohibition?

As is so often the case with the drug war, rigid ideology replaces common 
sense. We put our young people at greater risk as a result.

Predictably, there have been the escalating penalties - as if that has 
worked for any of the prohibited drugs. Illinois has led the way on the 
state level, passing a law that treats MDMA more harshly than cocaine or 
heroin. Possession of 15 pills results in a four-year mandatory sentence.

At the federal level, penalties were increased this March - more than 
tripling potential jail terms to over six years for selling 800 pills. The 
change makes Ecstasy five times more serious to possess or sell than heroin 
on a per-dose basis.

A record 9.3 million tablets of ecstasy were seized last year, a huge 
increase of 165.7 percent over 1999's 3.5 million tablets. Tablets that are 
produced for pennies sell for $20 dollars each. Prohibition may be the best 
marketing device that ever has existed.

Last month a breakthrough in the right direction occurred - the federal 
government approved research on Ecstasy as a treatment for post-traumatic 
stress disorder. In 1995, an FDA-approved safety study revealed no unusual 
risks and indicated that MDMA could be safely administered within a 
clinical context. Information on this research is available at www.maps.org.

The Ecstasy debacle is good reason for Congress to revisit the power of the 
DEA to make drugs illegal. A relatively benign drug, used safely in 
therapy, has been publicized through prohibition. Beneficial medical uses 
have been banned. Worse yet, an adulterated supply has turned any use of 
the drug into a risky practice. The natural tendency of a bureaucracy to 
expand seems to blind the DEA to the harm that they do when they misuse 
their powers.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jackl