Hearing:
"Ecstasy: Underestimating the Threat"
U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control
Date:
Tuesday, June 27, 2000
Time/Location:
10 a.m. in 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Description:
This hearing is intended to raise awareness about the growing problem of ecstasy use among teenagers and young adults. Use of MDMA, known as ecstasy, has been on the rise. Advertised as the safe drug, many young adults take the pills in order to maintain a high while at all-night rave parties. The hearing will look at how ecstasy is smuggled into the United States and how it affects the human body.
In May, Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Bob Graham of Florida introduced a bipartisan bill to enhance the federal sentencing guidelines for ecstasy. The "Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000" would require the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend the federal sentencing guidelines for MDMA, making them equivalent to the base offense levels for offenses involving methamphetamine. Under these new guidelines, 50 grams of MDMA would lead to a five-year prison sentence, while a dealer trafficking 500 grams of MDMA would receive a ten-year prison sentence, therefore making the cost of breaking the law harsher.
Panel I
Dr. Donald R. Vereen, MD., MPH, Deputy Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
The Honorable Wendy Chamberlain, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of State
The Honorable Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, U.S. Customs Service
Mr. Donnie Marshall, Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration
Panel II
Dean Timothy Brooks, Dean of Students, University of Delaware