Pubdate: Sat, 01 Apr 2000 Source: Belfast Telegraph (UK) Copyright: 2000 Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Ltd. Contact: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ Author: Martin Breen DON'T GO SOFT ON ECSTASY, SAYS MUM THE mother of an Ulster Ecstasy victim today hit out at a major report which called for the drug to be classed as a softer drug. Barbara Giles, whose daughter Sharon died after collapsing outside an Armagh nightclub in May 1995, said her "heart turned " when she heard an inquiry set up by the Police Foundation has called for Ecstasy to be classed as a less dangerous drug. Mrs Giles, from Seskinore outside Omagh, revealed that this week also brought further heartache for the family as it would have been Sharon's 24th birthday yesterday. She died from medical complications after taking an Ecstasy tablet at the Arena nightclub in Armagh five years ago. The Independent Inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which was set up by the Police Foundation in August 1997, this week called for penalties for the possession of soft drugs to be reduced. The Drugs and the Law report does not suggest any drugs should be legalised but recommends the classification of individual drugs and associated penalties should be changed. This includes a recommendation that Ecstasy be moved from Class A to Class B - the same category as amphetamines. But Barbara Giles told the Belfast Telegraph: "To make the drug law more lenient is to take away whatever protection there is for young people at present. "When I heard about this my heart turned. To suggest that Ecstasy should not be classed as one of the more dangerous drugs is incredible to me. It is giving young people the impression that it is okay to take Ecstasy because it is not dangerous. "Sharon died after taking an Ecstasy tablet - it could not have been more dangerous for her."Mrs Giles said that not a day passed that she did not think of Sharon and what had happened to her. The Giles family has stressed that they believe Sharon, who was a care assistant at an elderly home, only ever took Ecstasy once and that was the tablet which killed her. She had been due to go to college in Liverpool in the autumn of 1995. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D