Washington (H24N). Representatives from both houses of Congress have passed a bill to increase the consequences of selling the club drug Ecstasy, a hallucinogenic they say is responsible for numerous deaths and nonfatal overdoses among teen-agers and young adults all around the country.

Congress sent the measure to President Clinton this week. If he approves it, the U.S. Sentencing Commission will set the new penalties during 2001.

Lawmakers insist that outdated sentencing rules do not recognize the health hazards of Ecstasy and other drugs sold primarily at rave clubs, and treat them more like marijuana than methamphetamines when sentencing is considered. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), who sponsored the House version of the bill, states on her congressional Web site, "The penalties in place for traffickers of Ecstasy are a joke and our children are under the impression that these drugs are not dangerous." Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), the bill's Senate sponsor, echoes this sentiment on his site, saying, "Ecstasy is a proven killer – and it is on the loose. We need to shatter the dangerous myth that this risky designer drug is safe for consumption."

More than 200 nonfatal overdoses and several deaths were linked to Ecstasy this year in Central Florida alone, according to an article in the Orlando Sentinel Sept. 28. Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Fla.), who also supported the bill, said in the Sentinel article that the proposed legislation was particularly important for his state since 40 percent of all Ecstasy entering the United States comes through Florida, especially Miami and Orlando.

According to an article on Graham's Web site, Ecstasy abuse in the United States increased by more than 800 percent between 1993 and 1998. U.S. Customs seized more than 4 million doses of the drug in the first five months of 2000 alone; only around 3 million doses were seized in 1999. Manufactured mostly in nations like the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain, where pill presses are not as controlled as in the United States, Ecstasy has successfully avoided the search and seizure mechanisms set in place by the U.S. government.

Ecstasy (methylene-dioxy-methamphetamine) is made for pennies but can be sold for anywhere from $20 to $45 a dose. It increases energy and sensitivity to touch, but also causes dehydration, hallucinations, depression, anxiety and sleep disorders.

Biggert and Graham hoped to have the drug put in the same classification as methamphetamines, but settled for a requirement that the U.S. Sentencing Commission increase the penalties for its sale. Charges against club drug users are usually left to state prosecutors, whose sentencing guidelines would not be affected by the legislation. However, the law would affect federal prosecutors who deal with drug trafficking.

"This legislation will turn Ecstasy dealing from a sure way to make money fast to a sure way to go directly to jail," Graham said in the Sentinel article. The bill also includes $10 million for prevention and education.

Biggert has also introduced a bill (H.R. 4553) for similar tough sentences on other club drugs. Both it and the Ecstasy bill (H.R. 4365) are part of the Children's Health Act of 2000.

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