DRUG EDUCATION MUST STRESS RISKS

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Regarding Commentary columnist Joe Dombroski's column on Ecstasy:

Studies on the long-term effects of ecstasy are inconclusive, but we do
know that, in rare cases, Ecstasy can be deadly in the short term if users
are unaware of the risks. With more than one in 10 high school seniors
trying Ecstasy, it's imperative that teenagers are made aware of these risks.

Many youths don't take "just say no" school-based programs seriously,
doubting the validity of their information. What's needed is reality-based
drug education that promotes the ideal of abstinence while providing a
fallback strategy of honest, science-based education for students who say
maybe, sometimes, or yes.

The good news is the short-term risks of ecstasy are preventable. The bad
news is that Congress is pushing dangerous legislation known as the
"Illicit Drug Non-Proliferation Act" (formerly the RAVE Act) that penalizes
dance clubs that offer harm-reduction education and water designed to
prevent Ecstasy-related heatstroke, a potentially life-threatening concern.

Sacrificing more children at the altar of the failed drug war is not in
America's best interests. While European nations have largely abandoned the
drug war in favor of harm-reduction alternatives, our so-called leaders are
seemingly intent on maximizing the harm associated with illicit drug use.

Robert Sharpe
Washington, D.C.