NCJ Number
196593
Journal
Counselor Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 30-34
Date Published
February 2002
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the origin of ecstasy (3, 4-Methylene-dioxymethamphetamine-MDMA) and traces its influence in America from its use in European clubs in resort locales in the 1980's, followed by a discussion of its supply and demand and strategies for countering it.
Abstract
On the U.S. drug scene in the 1970's, the then-legal stimulant had a small place. Ecstasy was not considered a controlled substance until 1985, when it had a streak of popularity through its symbiotic relationship with "raves." Raves originated in England as gatherings of thousands of youth revolved around "techno-music." In the late 1980's and early 1990's, the rave scene and techno-music migrated to the United States through promoters and entertainers. Ecstasy is manufactured clandestinely in western Europe, primarily in the Netherlands and Belgium. Most often, the drug consumed in the United States is manufactured by Dutch chemists and transported or distributed by various factions of Israeli and Russian organized crime groups. In October 2001, Dr. Peter D. Rogers, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health declared, "The use of Ecstasy is now an epidemic with teenagers. I've never seen a drug take off like this. The current popularity of Ecstasy could be the number one public health problem in the United States." This concern is supported by U.S. Customs figures on Ecstasy seizures. The Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000 directed the U.S. Sentencing Commission to provide for increased penalties for the manufacture, importation, exportation, and trafficking of MDMA. In July 2001, the Ecstasy Prevention Act of 2001 was introduced to the Senate as a bill to combat the trafficking, distribution, and abuse of Ecstasy. Another strategy has been mounted by DanceSafe, a nonprofit, harm reduction organization that promotes health and safety within the rave and nightclub community. It currently has local chapters in 26 cities throughout the United States and Canada. These chapters are composed of youth from within the dance culture itself who have a strong interest in improving youth culture within their communities. Volunteers are trained to be health educators and drug abuse prevention counselors within their own communities, using the principles and methods of harm reduction and education.