Pubdate: Sat, 13 Jan 2001
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2001 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact:  435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611-4066
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Author: Art Barnum
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

DUPAGE OFFICIALS URGE STATE TO TOUGHEN PENALTIES FOR ECSTASY SELLERS

DuPage County authorities asked state lawmakers Friday to step up the
war against those who sell Ecstasy and other popular club drugs by
passing legislation to increase prison time for such crimes.

Illinois House Republican Leader Lee Daniels of Elmhurst and DuPage
County State's Atty. Joseph Birkett joined members of DuPage's
law-enforcement community at a news conference, where they urged
increased penalties for the possession and sale of MDMA, the active
ingredient in Ecstasy. The club drug has grown in popularity across
the country and is blamed for an increase in fatal overdoses.

Daniels and four other representatives introduced the legislation this
week, based on recommendations from public hearings across the state
last fall.

"These drugs are cheap and plentiful, and government has to react,"
Daniels said. "Clearly, tougher penalties are required to send a
message to those who intend to harm our children for the sake of
lining their own pockets."

Birkett said that in recent years, when law enforcement saw increased
use of LSD and other dangerous drugs, similar legislation helped
police slow their growth.

"One of the reasons for the rapid increase is that current state
penalties for selling Ecstasy amount to a slap on the wrist," Birkett
said.

It now takes the sale of 200 grams of MDMA (about 900 pills) to make
the drug's sale a Class X crime that calls for an automatic prison
sentence of 6 years.

Daniels' legislation would make it a Class X crime to sell 15
pills.

DuPage Sheriff John Zaruba said the county crime laboratory has seen
tests involving Ecstasy grow, to 84 last year compared with eight in
1998. The lab has done seven tests in the first 10 days of this year.

DuPage County Coroner Richard Ballinger said drug overdoses in DuPage
increased to 31 in 1999 from 15 in 1998. Figures for 2000 are not yet
available. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake