ECSTASY EXAMPLE OF PROHIBITION GONE AWRY

In 1985, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration made a little-known drug,
3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), illegal. Since then, sentences
have escalated to the point where it is treated more harshly than heroin.
Less than two decades later, the drug is described by law enforcement as a
youth epidemic and is widely available throughout the United States.

The drug, better known as ecstasy, was the first drug ever to be made
illegal by the DEA using the emergency scheduling authority granted to the
attorney general under the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, Pub. L.
No. 98-473, 98 Stat. 1976 (1984).

This emergency scheduling was voided in a separate criminal trial involving
an Ecstasy prosecution because the attorney general had not delegated the
authority to the DEA. The DEA persevered and shortly after that received
this authority. When it finally prohibited ecstasy, the DEA ignored the
recommendation of its own administrative law judge that physicians be
permitted to continue to administer MDMA to their patients. Thus, it did
not take an act of Congress to prohibit Ecstasy - just the administrative
authority of the DEA.

The prohibition of Ecstasy is an excellent example of how prohibition not
only fails to prevent drug use, but also may actually encourage use and
unnecessarily endanger those who seek to use the drug. There is good reason
to believe that if Ecstasy had not been prohibited, the drug still would be
primarily used only in psychotherapy.

Indeed, the very process of prohibiting the drug drew national attention to
it. Time magazine ran a cover story that described the drug as the "love
drug," which made sex more fun. The deluge of news reporting that followed
Time's cover story made ecstasy a household name and enticed many into
trying the substance.

In fact, Ecstasy simply reduces fear and anxiety, enabling people to
converse more freely, even about painful issues. This is why therapists
used it to enable patients to discuss issues that they found difficult to
confront and to facilitate emotional catharsis.

While the drug is relatively safe, its dangers have escalated simply
because it was made illegal. Since it cannot be purchased from regulated
sources, Ecstasy is probably the most adulterated drug on the illegal
market. Users have no idea what they are buying. Sometimes the adulterated
substance is more dangerous than MDMA itself. Indeed, very few deaths can
be attributed to MDMA itself. Almost all are either a substitute drug,
usually PMA, or MDMA when taken in combination with other drugs --
especially alcohol, cocaine or heroin. Ecstasy is commonly used at raves -
dance parties where young people dance and chat late into the night. Some
groups, most notably DanceSafe, attempt to inform participants by testing
the substances that users purchase from the unregulated market. But those
trying to help are harassed by law enforcement for doing so as police see
this as tolerating, even aiding, ecstasy use.

Also, the relatively small but real dangers of ecstasy are heightened by
law enforcement. Ecstasy does slightly raise the body temperature, and
during raves, there is a lot of body heat generated. This can develop into
a risky situation, especially if water and a relaxation room are not
readily available.

Unfortunately, Ecstasy is used in unregulated clubs, so there is no way to
ensure these services. And the DEA, in a case in New Orleans where rave
promoters were prosecuted under a statute actually designed for use against
crack houses that made it criminal to run a place where people went to use
drugs. The DEA forced the owners to include in their plea agreement that
they would not provide chill rooms at dances. Some places have gone so far
as to suggest a Taliban-like move of banning late-night dances. Does that
show the absurdity of prohibition?

As is so often the case with the drug war, rigid ideology replaces common
sense. We put our young people at greater risk as a result.

Predictably, there have been the escalating penalties - as if that has
worked for any of the prohibited drugs. Illinois has led the way on the
state level, passing a law that treats MDMA more harshly than cocaine or
heroin. Possession of 15 pills results in a four-year mandatory sentence.

At the federal level, penalties were increased this March - more than
tripling potential jail terms to over six years for selling 800 pills. The
change makes Ecstasy five times more serious to possess or sell than heroin
on a per-dose basis.

A record 9.3 million tablets of ecstasy were seized last year, a huge
increase of 165.7 percent over 1999's 3.5 million tablets. Tablets that are
produced for pennies sell for $20 dollars each. Prohibition may be the best
marketing device that ever has existed.

Last month a breakthrough in the right direction occurred - the federal
government approved research on Ecstasy as a treatment for post-traumatic
stress disorder. In 1995, an FDA-approved safety study revealed no unusual
risks and indicated that MDMA could be safely administered within a
clinical context. Information on this research is available at www.maps.org.

The Ecstasy debacle is good reason for Congress to revisit the power of the
DEA to make drugs illegal. A relatively benign drug, used safely in
therapy, has been publicized through prohibition. Beneficial medical uses
have been banned. Worse yet, an adulterated supply has turned any use of
the drug into a risky practice. The natural tendency of a bureaucracy to
expand seems to blind the DEA to the harm that they do when they misuse
their powers.