FIRST-TIMERS EASILY LURED TO TRY OUT PILL

KUALA LUMPUR: The market for Ecstasy pills is good because first-time drug
users are tempted to try it if offered, MCA national social ills committee
chairman Datuk Chor Chee Heung said.

He said the lack of physical addiction signs among Ecstasy users and
ignorance about severe health damage were among reasons why first-timers
were not afraid to try the pill.

Chor said users would suffer psychological addiction and they would crave
for Ecstasy whenever they heard techno music.

There was proof that Ecstasy pills damaged vital organs like the brain,
heart, kidney and also muscles, he added.

Chor said the pills which were easily available and were promoted as a
designer drug to help people relax, were used by a cross-section of people.

Users included professionals, semi-professionals and many who were in the
average or above-average income bracket, he said.

"Over 90% of some 200,000 Ecstasy users are Chinese.

"If nothing is done, the situation will be likened to a repeat of the Opium
War in China some 150 years ago,'' he said at the launch of the MCA national
anti-Ecstasy campaign here yesterday.

Chor said Ecstasy pills which came from the Netherlands in the mid-90s used
to be priced between RM100 and RM150 each and their amphetamine content was
very high.

The contents of locally-produced pills only had between 10% and 15%
amphetamine and the rest were substances like rat poison and powdered glass
to give the added kick, he added.

Chor said that since 1996, police had seized 140,000 Ecstasy pills, cracked
down on 10 illegal laboratories and caught 176 traffickers under the
Dangerous Drug Act 1952.

He did not deny that police had previously been not aggressive enough but
maintained that no policemen doubled as peddlers as alleged by some
quarters.

Chor condemned those who criticised the MCA war against Ecstasy, saying that
two political parties including a Barisan Nasional component had alleged the
party was using it as a publicity stunt.

He told these critics to "shut up'' and let others do the job if they were
not keen.

Chor said many non-governmental organisations were keen to co-operate with
the MCA and were glad that the party had taken the lead to stamp out the
menace.