ECSTASY, SCIENCE AND POLITICS

"ECSTASY" SEEMS to be on the minds of everyone these days. This month, the
Drug Abuse Warning Network reported more than 4,500 Ecstasy-related
emergency room visits in 2000 -- up 58 percent from 1999. To boot, MDMA
(Ecstasy's chemical name) topped this year's list of substances "increasing
sharply" on the government's annual survey of high school students. More
than 1 in 10 12th-graders have tried the euphoric drug. Law enforcement is
concerned, and in what was reported to be "the largest seizure in history,"
police in New York confiscated 1 million Ecstasy pills last month.

Raves, the large dance parties in which Ecstasy is used by some, have been
deemed venues for drug use and sales, and a movement is under way to shut
them down. Politicians are again sounding tough on drugs by proposing
ever-increasing penalties for sales as well as possession of Ecstasy. On
July 19, U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., introduced the "Ecstasy Prevention
Act of 2001," and just this month, Illinois Gov. George H. Ryan signed into
law one of the nation's harshest laws. A person convicted of possessing 15
Ecstasy pills in Illinois will receive a mandatory minimum sentence of four
years in prison. Scientists are concerned about Ecstasy, too.

Recently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) hosted a conference
presenting the latest research on Ecstasy's physiological and psychological
effects.

As a parent, I wonder whether all the expression of concern by law
enforcement, politicians and even scientists is really helping. If history
is any guide, increased drug seizures will make little dent in the supply
of Ecstasy. It is cheap to make and relatively easy to import. The motive
for profit will ensure that manufacturers will find ways to outsmart
Customs and the Drug Enforcement Administration, as was illustrated so
brilliantly in the Hollywood movie, "Traffic." The attempt to close raves
will not curtail young people's desire to get together and dance. Instead,
parties will be driven underground and efforts to ensure safety (like
having health professionals on hand) will be compromised. Increased
penalties for possession and sales will do little to deter the use of Ecstasy.

Instead, we will see an affirmative action of sorts, with a larger
proportion of white men and women adding to the expansion of our burgeoning
black and brown prison population.

I attended last month's National Institute on Drug Abuse conference, hoping
to get answers to troubling questions about the effects of Ecstasy. Claims
of brain damage that fuel the government's "Just Say No" message dominated,
but the bulk of evidence at the conference produced far more questions than
answers.

The single most consistent message coming out of the research was that we
need much more research.

We surely need more research about Ecstasy's long-term effects on the
brain, but evidence presented at the conference also revealed that experts
know plenty about MDMA's immediate effects.

I heard researchers talk about the negative consequences of overheating,
dehydration, combining drugs and "fake" Ecstasy.

Scientists know how Ecstasy users can lessen these risks: -- They can
"chill out" periodically, -- Drink water, -- Test pills to be sure they do
not contain dangerous adulterants, -- Avoid combining MDMA with other
drugs, -- And use moderation in dose level and frequency of use. No such
recommendations were made at NIDA's conference. Scientists have instead
been silent about harm reduction. It's "Just Say No" or nothing at all.

Facing ostracism and loss of research funding, scientists are, in practical
terms, prevented from making safety-oriented recommendations. Instead,
political interests that mandate abstinence determine which "findings" are
to be disseminated.

As a parent, I take issue with researchers' refusal to reveal everything
that is known about MDMA.

If our government is truly concerned about young people, it will dispense
with rhetoric and give them the information they need to stay safe