LEGALIZE DESIGNER RAVE DRUG, AUTHOR URGES INQUEST

Professor Advises Governments To Beware Of Moral Panics

Toronto -- Governments should legalize ecstacy, says a university professor
who told an inquest yesterday that the drug is the subject of the latest
"moral panic" to sweep across North America.

"Since the late 1950s, we've had one of these moral panics about a
substance every four years," said Philip Jenkins, a professor of history
and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State).

The author of The Symbolic Politics of Designer Drugs testified yesterday
at the coroner's inquest looking into the ecstacy-related death of Allan
Ho. The 20-year-old university student collapsed and died while attending a
rave at an underground garage last Oct. 9.

The inquest, which winds up tomorrow, is looking at the rave culture,
including the prevalence of ecstacy, and at ways to prevent further
ecstacy-related deaths.

Prof. Jenkins told the hearing that ecstacy should be legalized because it
can be a useful medical tool. Since it was first produced in Germany in
1912 and until the United States banned its use in 1985, the U.S. medical
community prescribed it to help patients confront traumatic childhood memories.

Mr. Jenkins said "moral entrepreneurs" are spreading the panic over
ecstacy, just as they did in the past over other illegal drugs.

He defined a "moral entrepreneur" as a person who develops and presents
something as a problem and then becomes the leading spokesperson on the
subject.

Yesterday was the first time Prof. Jenkins has testified on raves. Despite
his book and expertise about designer drugs, he could speak only about the
U.S. drug scene and rave experience. He said what little he knows about the
Toronto experience has come from media reports.

Outside the hearing building, Prof. Jenkins elaborated about his
impressions, saying that the scare over ecstacy and raves currently holding
sway in Toronto is the classic moral panic.

He added that the driving force behind the scare is Toronto Police Chief
Julian Fantino. "As far as I can see, the police chief is very active as
the entrepreneur in this," he said.

He refused to comment further about the chief's war on ecstacy, other than
to say that he was worried about driving raves underground.

He told the jury that scares about a specific drug can be precipitated by a
single horrible incident that then is seen as the norm. He also criticized
law-enforcement agencies for using these scares to obtain funds and to
justify their existence.

"Moral panics will always happen, but people need to be critical of the
claims and look for words such as 'epidemic' and 'addictive,' and ask if
there is evidence to support the claims," he said.