Pubdate: Wed, 17 Jan 2001
Source: Daily Herald (IL)
Copyright: 2001 The Daily Herald Company
Contact:  P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006-0280
Fax: (847) 427-1301
Website: http://www.dailyherald.com/

PENALTIES ALONE WON'T WORK

A drug few people had heard of two or three years ago is taking an 
increasing toll among its users, and some prosecutors now want to toughen 
penalties for those caught selling it.

The instinct to protect young people from dangerous drugs is only right and 
natural. Whether that goal will be served by the current proposal is open 
to question.

Prompted by DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett, House Minority 
Leader Lee Daniels is recommending that the consequences for those who sell 
Ecstasy and other so-called "club drugs" be made just as severe as the 
punishment meted out for those who sell cocaine, heroin and LSD.

That certainly would be the right move if the club drugs were as dangerous 
to users as heroin, cocaine and LSD and if lawmakers could be confident 
that enacting harsher penalties would effectively curb the flow of these 
substances.

But whether Ecstasy proves to be as devastating to its users as heroin or 
cocaine remains to be seen. In at least some regards, that seems unlikely. 
Ecstasy poses risks, to be sure. Tragically, three suburban teenagers died 
last spring after taking what they believed to be Ecstasy. But authorities 
blame Ecstasy look-alikes in those deaths, suggesting greater risk in the 
fake club drugs than in the club drugs themselves.

Moreover, the hard knocks of America's war on drugs have demonstrated that 
tough penalties alone are not enough to shut down the use of drugs. We have 
filled tens of thousands of cells with drug dealers and for that effort 
have all too little progress to show in reducing the damage done by drugs.

Which is not to say that penalties for selling club drugs shouldn't be 
boosted by some amount. Prosecutors believe drug peddlers are apt to sell 
those drugs with impunity now because they know existing penalties are not 
very harsh - sometimes resulting only in probation. If that assessment is 
correct, then it is appropriate to adopt tougher penalties. Again, whether 
the sentences should be as harsh as the ones that apply to heroin and coke 
dealers should be debated.

But no one should pretend that tougher penalties alone will be enough to 
stem the tide. Education efforts that give young people accurate and candid 
information about the effects of Ecstasy and similar drugs are essential. 
If real gains are to be made in reducing dangerous drug use, then we must 
find more effective ways to deal with the demand side of the equation as 
well as the supply side.
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