UNDERSTANDING ECSTASY'S DANGER

As a drug educator and speaker, I felt this column was missing some
relevant information. The facts cited here refer to the drug MDMA, or
Ecstasy. The problem is that most of what's being sold to our kids as
"E" is not MDMA but a perverted mixture of concoctions that have no
consistency. Instead, various drug combinations sold as "E" often
include methamphetamine, ketamine, PCP and so on.

The police (an occupation where I spent 25 years) are often the most
poorly informed source of drug prevention information. They have an
agenda and often won't deviate off course if it interferes with the
"war on drugs" and the model they live by.

Likewise, the opinion of Richard Green (a pharmacologist who states
that Ecstasy is not a "particularly toxic compound") is also
dangerous. If an adult chooses to ingest MDMA and takes the associated
risks, so be it, but we should not be telling children that Ecstasy is
"safe."

The war on drugs has, for the most part, proven to be a colossal
failure. To allow our teens to make ethical, responsible choices about
recreational drug use we must provide them with information that is
factual and honest -- regardless of what side of the agenda we sit
on.

Doug Green

Whitehorse