U.S.

Ecstasy Stelling Penalties Stiffened

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 21, 2001 / 2:34 PM EST / CBS

The U.S. Sentencing Commission took emergency action Tuesday, sharply increasing guideline penalties for selling the hallucinogenic drug ecstasy.

The change, in response to a mandate from Congress, more than triples potential jail terms for people selling more than 200 grams of the drug — about 800 pills: between 63 and 78 months for first time offenders. The sentence had been 15 to 21 months for the same amount. The penalty for selling 8,000 pills will rise from 41 months to 10 years.

According to a new White House report that tracks the latest trends on drug use, the availability of ecstasy has increased dramatically and more blacks and Hispanics are now using the so-called "hug drug."

ecstasy, once a drug used primarily in nightclubs and "rave" dance parties, is now showing up in shopping malls, coffee shops, college campuses and high schools according to the report.

Edward H. Jurith, acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the report should be a warning to policy makers.

"We never again want another 'crack epidemic' to blindside this nation," he said in a statement. "By monitoring what is happening on the streets, we can often see a problem before it becomes an epidemic."

The Sentencing Commission changed the guidelines after hearing from the Justice Department, which advocated stiffer penalties to curb the rise in use. Officials said that the new laws are targeted at manufacturers and dealers, not users.

Defense lawyers and some medical researchers opposed the rule changes, saying they were excessive for a drug that is less dangerous than heroin or cocaine. The new penalty makes ecstasy five times more serious to possess or sell than heroin on a per-dose basis, said the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

"This is a wholly political act, not one based on scientific evidence," said Edward Mallett, the group's president. "The scientific experts we presented in the hearing before the commission testified unequivocally that ecstasy is not addictive and causes none of the long-term hard caused by heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine."

"Many sons and daughters will go to prison because they don't study federal rules before they go out on Saturday night," he said.

ecstasy, chemically known as MDMA — methylenedioxymethylamphetamine — causes feelings of euphoria and an increased desire for social interaction. Blood pressure, body temperature and heart rate increase dramatically.

The guidelines, which go into effect May 1, are mandatory for federal judges.