[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 23, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4317-S4318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Biden, 
        and Mr. Bayh):
  S. 2612. A bill to combat Ecstasy trafficking, distribution, and 
abuse in the United States, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
the Judiciary.


               the ecstasy anti-proliferation act of 2000

 Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today, along with my 
colleagues, to introduce the Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000--
legislation to combat the recent rise in trafficking, distribution and 
abuse of MDMA, a drug commonly known as Ecstasy.
  The Office of National Drug Control Policy's Year 2000 Annual Report 
on the National Drug Control Strategy clearly states that the use of 
Ecstasy is on the rise in the United States, particularly among 
teenagers and young professionals. My state of Florida has been 
particularly hard hit by this plague. Ecstasy is customarily sold and 
consumed at ``raves,'' which are semi-clandestine, all-night parties 
and concerts. Young Americans are lulled into a belief that Ecstasy, 
and other designer drugs are ``safe'' ways to get high, escape reality, 
and enhance intimacy in personal relationships. The drug traffickers 
make their living off of perpetuating and exploiting this myth.
  Mr. President, I want to be perfectly clear in stating that Ecstasy 
is an extremely dangerous drug. In my state alone, 189 deaths have been 
attributed to the use of club drugs in the last three years. In 33 of 
those deaths, Ecstasy was the most prevalent drug, of several, in the 
individual's system. Seven deaths were caused by Ecstasy alone. In the 
first four months of this year there have already been six deaths 
directly attributed to Ecstasy. This drug is a definite killer.
  Numerous data also reflect the increasing availability of Ecstasy in 
metropolitan centers and suburban communities. In a speech to the 
Federal Law Enforcement Foundation earlier this year, Customs 
Commissioner Raymond Kelly stated that in the first few months of 
fiscal year 2000, the Customs Service had already seized over four 
million Ecstasy tablets. He estimates that the number will grow to at 
least eight million tablets by the end of the year which represents a 
substantial increase from the 500,000 tablets seized in fiscal year 
1997.
  The lucrative nature of Ecstasy encourages its importation. 
Production costs are as low as two to twenty-five cents per dose while 
retail prices in the U.S. range from twenty dollars to forty-five 
dollars per dose. Manufactured mostly in Europe--in nations such as The 
Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain where pill presses are not controlled 
as they are in the U.S.--Ecstasy has erased all of the old routes law 
enforcement has mapped out for the smuggling of traditional drugs.
  Under current federal sentencing guidelines, one gram of Ecstasy is 
equivalent to only 35 grams of marijuana. In contrast, one gram of 
methamphetamine is equivalent to two kilograms of marijuana. This 
results in relatively short periods of incarceration for individuals 
sentenced for Ecstasy-related crimes. When the potential profitability 
of this drug is compared to the potential punishment, it is easy to see 
what makes Ecstasy extremely attractive to professional smugglers.
  Mr. President, the Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000 addresses 
this growing and disturbing problem. First, the bill increases the base 
level offense for Ecstasy-related crimes, making them equal to those of 
methamphetamine. This provision also accomplishes the goal of 
effectively lowering the amount of Ecstasy required for prosecution 
under the laws governing possession with the intent to distribute by 
sending a message to Federal prosecutors that this drug is a serious 
threat.
  Second, by addressing law enforcement and community education 
programs, this bill will provide for an Ecstasy information campaign. 
Through this campaign, our hope is that Ecstasy will soon go the way of 
crack, which saw a dramatic reduction in the quantities present on our 
streets after information of its unpredictable impurities and side 
effects were made known to a wide audience. By using this educational 
effort we hope to avoid future deaths like the one columnist Jack 
Newfield wrote about in saddening detail.
  It involved an 18-year-old who died after taking Ecstasy in a club 
where the drug sold for $25 a tablet and water for $5 a bottle. 
Newfield speaks of how the boy tried to suck water from the club's 
bathroom tap that had been turned off so that those with drug induced 
thirst would be forced to buy the bottled water.
  Mr. President, the Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000 can only 
help in our fight against drug abuse in the United States. We urge our 
colleagues in the Senate to join us in this important effort by 
cosponsoring this bill.
 Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joining my 
colleague, Senator Graham, to cosponsor the Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation 
Act of 2000. This legislation is vital for the safety of our children 
and our nation. Around the country, Ecstasy use is exploding at an 
alarming rate from our big cities to our rural neighborhoods. According 
to Customs officials, Ecstasy is spreading faster than any drug since 
crack cocaine. This explosion of Ecstasy smuggling has prompted Customs 
to create a special task force, that focuses exclusively on the 
designer drug.
  Along with my colleague Senator Graham, I believe it is important 
that we act to stop the spread of this drug. I join with Senator Graham 
in urging our colleagues to support the Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act 
of 2000, and pass this measure quickly. By enacting this important 
bill, we will get drug dealers out of the lives of our young people and 
alert the public to the dangers of Ecstasy.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, there is a new drug on the scene--Ecstasy, 
a synthetic stimulant and hallucinogen. It belongs to a group of drugs 
referred to

[[Page S4318]]

as ``club drugs'' because they are associated with all-night dance 
parties known as ``raves.''
  There is a widespread misconception that Ecstasy is not a dangerous 
drug--that it is ``no big deal.'' I am here to tell you that Ecstasy is 
a very big deal. The drug depletes the brain of serotonin, the chemical 
responsible for mood, thought, and memory. Studies show that Ecstasy 
use can reduce serotonin levels by up to 90 percent for at least two 
weeks after use and can cause brain damage.
  If that isn't a big deal, I don't know what is.
  A few months ago we got a significant warning sign that Ecstasy use 
is becoming a real problem. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the 
Future survey, a national survey measuring drug use among students, 
reported that while overall levels of drug use had not increased, past 
month use of Ecstasy among high school seniors increased more than 66 
percent.
  The survey showed that nearly six percent of high school seniors have 
used Ecstasy in the past year. This may sound like a small number, so 
let me put it in perspective--it is just slightly less than the 
percentage of seniors who used cocaine and it is five times the number 
of seniors who used heroin.
  And with the supply of Ecstasy increasing as rapidly as it is, the 
number of kids using this drug is only likely to increase. By April of 
this year, the Customs Service had already seized 4 million Ecstasy 
pills--greater than the total amount seized in all of 1999 and more 
than five times the amount seized in all of 1998.
  Though New York is the East Coast hub for this drug, it is spreading 
quickly throughout the country. Last July, in my home state of 
Delaware, law enforcement officials seized 900 Ecstasy pills in 
Rehoboth Beach. There are also reports of an Ecstasy problem in Newark 
among students at the University of Delaware.
  We need to address this problem now, before it gets any worse. That 
is why I am pleased to join Senators Graham, Grassley and Thomas to 
introduce the ``Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000'' today. The 
legislation takes the steps--both in terms of law enforcement and 
prevention--to address this problem in a serious way before it gets any 
worse.
  The legislation directs the federal Sentencing Commission to increase 
the recommended penalties for manufacturing, importing, exporting or 
trafficking Ecstasy. Though Ecstasy is a Schedule I drug--and therefore 
subject to the most stringent federal penalties--not all Schedule I 
drugs are treated the same in our sentencing guidelines. For example, 
selling a kilogram of marijuana is not as serious an offense as selling 
a kilogram of heroin. The sentencing guidelines differentiate between 
the severity of drugs--as they should.
  But the current sentencing guidelines do not recognize how dangerous 
Ecstasy really is.
  Under current federal sentencing guidelines, one gram of Ecstasy is 
treated like 35 grams of marijuana. Under the ``Ecstasy Anti-
Proliferation Act'', one gram of Ecstasy would be treated like 2 
kilograms of marijuana. This would make the penalties for Ecstasy 
similar to those for methamphetamine.
  The legislation also authorizes a major prevention campaign in 
schools, communities and over the airwaves to make sure that everyone--
kids, adults, parents, teachers, cops, clergy, etc. --know just how 
dangerous this drug really is. We need to dispel the myth that Ecstasy 
is not a dangerous drug because, as I stated earlier, this is a 
substance that can cause brain damage and can even result in death. We 
need to spread the message so that kids know the risk involved with 
taking Ecstasy, what it can do to their bodies, their brains, their 
futures. Adults also need to be taught about this drug--what it looks 
like, what someone high on Ecstasy looks like, and what to do if they 
discover that someone they know is using it.
  Mr. President, I have come to the floor of the United States Senate 
on numerous occasions to state what I view as the most effective way to 
prevent a drug epidemic. My philosophy is simple: the best time to 
crack down on a drug with uncompromising enforcement pressure is before 
the abuse of the drug has become rampant. The advantages of doing so 
are clear--there are fewer pushers trafficking in the drug and, most 
important, fewer lives and fewer families will have suffered from the 
abuse of the drug.
  It is clear that Ecstasy use is on the rise. Now is the time to act 
before Ecstasy use becomes our next drug epidemic. I urge my colleagues 
to join me in supporting this legislation and passing it quickly so 
that we can address the escalating problem of Ecstasy use before it 
gets any worse.
                                 ______