GOVT LOOKING FOR MEANS TO SPOT ECSTASY USER INSTANTLY

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government wants to find a means to confirm a suspected
Ecstasy pill user on the spot, in a manner similar to the breathalyser test
to detect drunk drivers.

At present, Ecstasy pill users are detected through urine tests, and a
device which can give instant results is being sought.

The Health, Transport and Home ministries will jointly study the proposal
by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik.

Dr Ling said yesterday that he was concerned after being informed that many
fatal road accidents were due to consuming Ecstasy pills.

About 200,000 people were reported to be consuming Ecstasy pills and 65% of
them were aged below 40.

"Detecting such drivers not only saves their lives but also those of other
road users,'' Dr Ling told reporters after chairing the MCA presidential
council meeting yesterday.

The MCA recently declared an all-out war against Ecstasy pills and about
180,000 or 90% of the pill poppers were Chinese.

The party will launch a campaign against the pills next Monday and mobilise
its 880,000 members.

According to Transport Ministry parliamentary secretary Donald Lim,
imported Ecstasy pills were sold at between RM100 and RM150 each.

The locally-made pills only cost about RM50 each, he told reporters at the
party headquarters.

He said the National Drug Authority had prosecuted 648 pill traffickers
since 1996 and confiscated about 130,500 pills.