TOUGHER PENALTIES FOR ECSTACY ARE WRONG

Governor Whitman, together with state legislators, has increased criminal
penalties for possessing and selling Ecstasy ("New Law Strikes hard at
Ecstasy Use," July 4).

There are inherent dangers in using Ecstasy, but Ritalin and prescription
diet drugs can also cause similar damage, which are related to Ecstasy in
their structures and effects.

Moreover, the deadliest drugs in order of deaths annually, are: 1. tobacco,
2. alcohol, 3. prescription drugs, 4. aspirin and over-the-counter drugs.
If the drugs were ordered in decreasing order of deaths caused, all the
prescription drugs that are known to be harmful but are still pushed by
drug companies in search of profits would crowd Ecstasy off a reasonably
long list.

As has happened with heroin, increasing penalties for Ecstasy users and
distributors only increases harm as such suppression encourages a black
market with deadly substitutes and enhancers. Deaths from using Ecstasy
look-alikes are already increasing.

Drug warriors using the tactics of "moral panic" to scapegoat the young and
to exacerbate intergenerational conflicts can only increase drug-war
casualties.

Kevin Fansler, Havre de Grace, Md., July 5