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| DEA Announces ‘Party Drug’ Initiative |
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Posted by CN Staff on May 28, 2002 at 12:39:15 PT By Jason Pierce, CNSNews.com Staff Writer Source: CNSNews.com 
The Bush administration is joining forces with a group of female lawmakers, hoping to raise awareness about the growing problem of "club drug" abuse by young people.DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson said the partnership between the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the National Foundation of Women Legislators is intended to draw attention to the growing use of -- and problems associated with -- club drugs, such as Ecstasy. According to Hutchinson, such drugs are "fast becoming the number one drug problem facing our youth in urban America." In comments he made last week, Hutchinson said, "Our kids are being told that club drugs are safe, but we know better." He said the dangers of such drug abuse includes death. "We must work together to educate parents about the deadly danger of club drugs that cast a dark shadow over the summer's activities." Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) said many parents are surprised to learn about the variety and danger of the drugs on the street nowadays. "We have drugs now that parents have never heard of," she said. "You have to be on the alert, because this is an epidemic." The increased potency of drugs is also a growing danger. "Drug trafficking is more and more complicated today, drugs are easier to conceal, and most importantly, they are becoming far more lethal," Dunn said. Hutchinson said that between 1998 and 2001, Ecstasy use doubled in the U.S. Ecstasy can be produced for as little as 25 cents per dose, but it sells for as much as $25 on the street, and with the potential for such big profits, drug peddlers are eager to create demand for the drug. With that in mind, Hutchinson said, it's vital to spread the word about the dangers of Ecstasy and other "club drugs." "The focus of this partnership is helping community leaders to understand the dangers of club drug abuse, and then to spread this message within their communities," Hutchinson said. "We want to combine DEA's knowledge about these drugs with the legislators' commitment to taking that message to the country." "We will also focus on the link between drugs and terrorism," Hutchinson said. "Since 9/11, the war on drugs has developed into a war on narco-terrorism." The impact of drug use in America today involves more than the risk of addiction or death, Hutchinson said. "Drug trafficking has become a national security issue because it is often drug money that finances terrorist operations," he said. Robin Read, president of the National Foundation of Women Legislators, predicted the partnership's efforts will yield positive results in reducing drug use. "Combining the DEA agents' experience and the legislators' commitment to serve their communities gives new hope to the campaign to keep kids drug free," Read said. Newshawk: Nicholas Thimmesch II -- http://www.norml.org/ Related Articles: Ecstasy: Are 'Scare Tactics' Valid? 'Ecstasy' For Agony Sentencing Guidelines Toughened for Ecstasy Scientists Oppose Punishing 'Ecstasy' More Harshly Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #11 posted by FoM on May 28, 2002 at 18:55:57 PT |
| Here you go. I think this is what you wanted to post. http://www.maps.org/research/mdma/ [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by greenmed on May 28, 2002 at 18:39:43 PT |
| Maybe this http://www.maps.org/research/mdma/>link will work better. g [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by greenmed on May 28, 2002 at 18:34:22 PT |
| Merck's patent on MDMA dates to 1914, so it's been in the public domain for a long while now. So, as for cannabis, there's little compelling financial motivation to do the studies required for FDA approval. Hence the research focus on delivery systems and standardized extracts. But don't worry, there's currently research out on the pharm. Add a novel side-chain here and there so it's patentable, and voila a new product! Until then, it's the patriotic thing to continue taking your Prozac, Ritalin, and Xanax ... and alcohol and nicotine, of course. Gotta keep the economy going, ya know. To defeat the terrorists! g p.s. - On a less cynical note, check out the excellent work http://www.maps.org/research/mdma/>MAPS is doing. There is hope yet for mdma as an orphan drug. Could this be why there's been so much media focus on ecstasy lately? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on May 28, 2002 at 17:34:35 PT |
| Don't forget, MDMA has a history as more than a 'Party Drug'. Many psychotherapists were reporting great success using it with their patients. But the DEA couldn't allow that to happen, so it attempted to make sure nobody got any MDMA. And all that happened was that MDMA manufacture and use went underground, and now they have less control over who takes it, rather than more. Do it again, Uncle Sam. It was so much fun the first time. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by boppy on May 28, 2002 at 15:00:22 PT |
| Is that right?? Imported here surreptitiously by terrorists to undermine our children's well being? "We will also focus on the link between drugs and terrorism," Hutchinson said. "Since 9/11, the war on drugs has developed into a war on narco-terrorism." Thanks, Asa. Didn't know that until now. Does it come from Afghanistan do you suppose? Anyone know?
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| Comment #6 posted by dddd on May 28, 2002 at 14:11:41 PT |
| ....The war on drugs will be swallowed up,and morphed into the Mother of all wars,,,"The War on Terror.".. ""We will also focus on the link between drugs and terrorism," Hutchinson said. "Since 9/11, the war on drugs has developed into a war on narco-terrorism."" ....We will be hearing alot more of this type of rhetoric,and propaganda that will suggest that drug users are little more than terrorists.....I know I've ranted and rambled about this before,,,but I think it's worth saying again because it's going to happen!!!,,It's already happening!..........think about it,,,,We have seen commercials on national TV,,,even during the Superbowl,,telling people that drug use is almost equivilent to terrorism,,or that drug use is responsible for terrorism......................."This is the war on drugs..This is the war on drugs sponsored by the military!..The war on Narco-terror!!!..................Believe me!,,It will begin with military incursions in South America,,and it wont be long,until the military becomes further involved here in the states!...It's going to happen!!!!!! "We will also focus on the link between drugs and terrorism," Hutchinson said. "Since 9/11, the war on drugs has developed into a war on narco-terrorism." .....It's a natural....Incorporate the drug war into the terror war..It will allow massive funding,,and,,most importantly,,it will further seach and seziure powers,because drug users will be proclaimed terrorists!..Laws will be passed that make suspected drug offenders,to be officially known as "terrorists"...........This will allow drug enforcement to be covered under the usa/patriot act....It will give drug police gestapo like power!!! ..Did anyone see the news,and video,of the 11 year old girl,who got arrested on the SF Bay Bridge,during an anti-war march?...A perfect example of the new police state,,and the world to come!.....indeedddd [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on May 28, 2002 at 13:23:13 PT |
| Asa and the boys got together and this is what they came up with. "Gee, looks like we're in a situation similar to 25 years ago: drugs have lost their stigmatization in the US, drugs laws are changing rapidly at the state level, a unstoppable wave of reform is about to crash. Let's go back to what save us last time: The parent's movement! (of course, 95% of the 'parents' were women, a tradition dating back 200 years to the Temperance ladies.) But wait, all of today's mommies smoked weed like fiends in college, and enjoyed it! Uh-oh! We need something new.....ahhhh, "club drugs"! Terrifying!" Good luck guys, it won't work for long. Look at this crap: "Hutchinson said that between 1998 and 2001, Ecstasy use doubled in the U.S. Ecstasy can be produced for as little as 25 cents per dose, but it sells for as much as $25 on the street, and with the potential for such big profits, drug peddlers are eager to create demand for the drug." There they go again, using the negative results of their own policies to justify amplifying them! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by Dark Star on May 28, 2002 at 13:21:29 PT |
| Just suppose that all the things the Feds claim about club drugs and marijuana were true. Start calculating the economic cost of the health care, loss of income due to club drugs, etc., and imagine a cash figure. Now compare that figure to the known morbidity and mortality of alcohol in young people: the death and destruction. Calculate that. Which figure is higher do you suppose? And which drug is legal, and advertised on TV (remember those fun beer commercials)? Let me tell you a story. My daughter, Dwarf Star, lost a high school friend to suicide this weekend. Apparently he was found with some marijuana, and some amount of cash. Apparently this warranted "house arrest" and in a distraught state, he ended his life. I am certain that the prohibitionists will tally this up to another life ruined by drugs, but that is a lie. His life was not ruined by drugs, it was squandered by a society that criminalized his normal behavior, and punished him to the point of suicide. That is what a moralistic criminal code produces as opposed to making this a medical or counselling issue, where a teenager gets help (if he needs it), and guidance from a society that cares about his welfare, and is not hellbent for retribution. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on May 28, 2002 at 13:13:56 PT:
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| Let's see: There's a party drug out there that you parents ought to know about. It's been responsible for at least a hundred thousand deaths a year in this country. Some of those deaths resulted from one dosage. It's been known to cause violent behavior in some of those more susceptible to its power, leading to assault and battery, vehicular manslaughter, and murder. People who take this drug with any regularity often become hopelessly addicted to it; it's that powerful. It ruins lives, cost billions in health care, destroys families and threatens our nation. Something has to be done about this terrible drug, right? Very well then. Go to your liquor cabinets and dump the entire contents into the toilet. Then, and only then, can you seek to lecture your children about 'party drugs'. Because, until you divest yourselves of your 'party drugs' you are in no position to lecture anyone about the need to abstain from their 'party drugs' [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on May 28, 2002 at 13:09:04 PT |
| The increased potency of drugs is also a growing danger. "Drug trafficking is more and more complicated today, drugs are easier to conceal, and most importantly, they are becoming far more lethal," Dunn said.
And this all happens because of prohibition, not in spite of it. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by masscrusader on May 28, 2002 at 12:55:25 PT |
| They can take their "experience" and "commitment" off a tall buliding. [ Post Comment ] |
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