DEA Cranks up America's War on Club Drugs

DEA chief Asa Hutchinson announced this week that US authorities will be escalating their campaign against ecstasy and "club drugs", emphasising "the dangers of club drug abuse."

"We must work together to educate parents about the deadly danger of club drugs that cast a dark shadow over the summer's activities," he told a conference of female legislators.

"Our kids are being told that club drugs are safe, but we know better."

His message contrasted sharply with the views of a leading British neuroscientist, who this week called for full legalisation of drugs, including ecstasy.

"The medical dangers of most illegal drugs have been exaggerated to some extent and the strategies of the past have tended to try to scare people out of drugs," Professor Colin Blakemore, a professor of physiology at Oxford University told the Telegraph.

"The more drug use is growing, the more suspicious young people have become of these scare stories.

I'm not saying there are any benefits of taking drugs, but the vast majority of people who dabble with illegal drugs come through the experience without being substantially damaged. They go on to complete their education and keep down jobs," he added.

His views were backed by self confessed ecstasy user and top newspaper journalist Johann Hari.

"There is no reliable evidence at all for long-term damage (from ecstasy)- in sharp contrast to cigarettes, alcohol and fatty foods," he pointed out in an opinion piece in the (London) Standard.

"Fewer people die because of ecstasy than perfectly legal alcohol. But did you know that more people, in fact, die working out on an exercise bike or because of allergic reactions to nectarines each year than because of ecstasy-"
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