ONE BAD LAW AFTER ANOTHER MAKES DRUG WAR INEFFECTIVE

DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett and Illinois House minority
leader Lee Daniels, R-Elmhurst, drafted a new law that ranks Ecstasy -- a
popular club drug -- right up with cocaine and heroin.

The new law took effect New Year's Day and carries tougher penalties for
those who provide Ecstasy to others -- six years in prison for 15 pills,
minimum; that's two-fifths of a prison year per pill. Patented by Merck in
1913, Ecstasy has only become popularized during the past few drug-war
years. Yet, authorities contend, "the use of Ecstasy and other club drugs
has soared largely because the penalties are too lax." (Chicago Tribune,
Jan. 1, "Tough club drug law in effect.")

More probable, because of increasing club drug overdose deaths: Kids are
mistaking more powerful amphetamines and other substances as (banned but
unregulated) Ecstasy -- Ecstasy has become the newly targeted drug-war
substance. ...

Legislators, here's a tip. Lax penalties are not driving Ecstasy drug use.
Rather it's the enactment of one bad drug law after another, and the
support of one ineffective drug policy after another, that is.

Illustrative -- a few weeks ago, I was Christmas shopping with my
six-year-old child. As we drove past a pharmacy advertised as a "Drug
Store," my son said, "Don't stop here, Dad. Drugs are bad."

The drug war is already at work, preoccupying a young mind that should be
elsewhere and twisting the good and bad of drugs into an attractive candy
cane of deadly disinformation.Save the kids from our lawmakers -- end the
drug war!In the meantime, regarding Ecstasy, our political leaders have a
few questions to answer.

How many persons are projected to go to prison under this new Ecstasy law?
Lots, I suppose, if this law is to be meaningful. How many prison cells
will we need to build and at what monetary cost?

Will the kids going to prison for Ecstasy violations have predominantly
white faces, good grades and live in the suburbs? Better still -- do we
care any more that kids with predominantly black faces, poor grades and
living in the "projects" are sentenced to prison for crack cocaine violations?

And how soon will we need a new Ecstasy prison? What economically deprived
Illinois Podunk will get the new prison and our kids? Will tough prison
sentences for Ecstasy fail to discourage drug use as mightily as tough
sentences for its cocaine and heroin counterparts?

A father of a 6-year-old child wants to know.

James E. Gierach