NOT SO ECSTATIC

As a former chief of the Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection commissioner Robert Bonner knows a bit about illicit drugs.
That's why Americans are not so ecstatic to hear Bonner say, "In the past,
Ecstasy was most commonly associated with the big-city club scene and
popular all-night dance parties known as raves. This is no longer the case.
Ecstasy use has spread to bars, college campuses, and high schools and
junior high schools across the country. What began primarily as an urban
threat has now become a national crisis."

What to do?

Attacking supply ranks as one step. In the U.S., Ecstasy pills can provide
profits 80 times larger than their production costs. Customs officials note
a sharp rise in Ecstasy seizures, up millions of tablets in the past five
years.

Yet teaching children (i.e., the demand) the toxic and injurious effects of
the drug is even more beneficial in stemming this crisis. Bonner notes,
"Don't be fooled by what some describe as the minimal side effects of the
drug," adding that research suggests even first-time users can experience
brain damage.

If a former club drug truly has gone mainstream, then only this type of
two-tier war on Ecstasy may send it retreating once again to urban threat
status -- or to no status whatsoever.