GOVERNOR SIGNS TOUGHER ECSTASY LEGISLATION

JEFFERSON CITY -- People possessing the drug Ecstasy would be treated
like those carrying cocaine or heroin under legislation signed into
law Monday by Gov. Bob Holden.

The law makes the crime of possessing more than 450 grams of Ecstasy
a felony punishable by 20 years to life in prison. The penalty is
similar to those currently on the books for drugs such as heroin or
cocaine.

"Ecstasy is especially marketed to people like you," Holden told high
school students at the Boys State leadership conference at Central
Missouri State University in Warrensburg. "Sadly, these club drugs
are very harmful and sometimes lethal."

Also included in the bill is a provision that makes the drug GHB --
the so-called "date rape" drug -- a controlled substance.

While selling and possessing the drug Ecstasy is illegal in Missouri,
prosecutors can only file charges of possession with intent to
distribute, a lesser crime.

Kansas City police Det. Brad Evans, with the drug enforcement unit,
said the law was a positive step, given the increasing popularity of
the drug.

"Ecstasy is more popular than most people realize," Evans said.
"Every high school we go to, the kids know about it and know where to
get it. It is what crack was to the '80s or what (methamphetamine)
was to the '90s.

"Hopefully (the law) will help control large quantities of Ecstasy
coming into Missouri, especially Kansas City."

Still, the law might not apply to most of the Ecstasy busts in Kansas
City, Evans said. The law specifies a suspect must possess a certain
amount of Ecstasy for prosecution, which he estimated amounted to
2,722 Ecstasy pills.

"We just don't see that quantity very often," Evans said. "We mostly
see local users and people selling to support their own habit."

Officer Bill Pross, a spokesman for the Independence Police
Department, said the new law enables local police departments to
fight the drug easier. Before, they had to use federal statutes for
prosecution, he said.

The drug Ecstasy became popular about five years ago among young
partygoers on the East and West coasts, and has since spread across
the country. The drug produces a short-lived feeling of euphoria and
relaxation, a lowering of inhibitions and an energy burst. It can be
ingested orally or taken in a suppository form for a longer high.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has found that the drug causes
permanent changes in brain chemistry and can cause severe dehydration
and depression after the drug wears off. The drug can raise a
person's body temperature to 108 degrees.

"Ecstasy is a killer in disguise," Pross said. "A lot of people have
gone to a lot of trouble to tell young people that Ecstasy is just a
mood enhancer."

Rep. Cathy Jolly and Sen. Harry Wiggins, both Kansas City Democrats,
sponsored the legislation.

The lawmakers have said the legislation was crucial because of the
recent deaths of five young men in St. Louis. The men, found in a
car, had died of carbon monoxide poisoning. All had Ecstasy in their
bodies.

The legislation also focuses on drugs used in the manufacture of
methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug that can be made from common
household items including cold medicines and cleaners.

Under the bill, delivery or possession of 24 grams or more of
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine is evidence of both intent to deliver
drug paraphernalia and intent to manufacture methamphetamine, both
felonies.

The substances are found in common cold medicines, and the bill
prohibits the sale of more than three packages that contain any
methamphetamine precursor drug in any single transaction. It also
prohibits the sale of any package of any methamphetamine precursor
drug that contains more than three grams per package.

All nonliquid products must be in blister packs containing no more
than two doses, or in single-unit dose packets or pouches.

"We are still discovering the lasting effects of this harmful drug,"
Holden said of methamphetamine.

The law takes effect Aug. 28.

The Star's Christine Vendel and Tim Higgins contributed to this article.