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1 (July 5, 2002)

handle is hein.crs/crsuntaaalq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS21108 Updated July 5, 2002 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Ecstasy: Actions of the 107th Congress to Control MDMA Mark Eddy Specialist in Social Legislation Domestic Social Policy Division Summary Legislation has been proposed in the 107'h Congress to combat the use and abuse of Ecstasy (MDMA) and other club drugs. In a 2001 survey, 12% of 12'h graders reported ever having taken the drug. The Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000, enacted by the 106'h Congress, directed the U.S. Sentencing Commission to increase penalties for Ecstasy offenses. As of March 2001, MDMA penalties became more severe than for powder cocaine but less severe than for heroin. The Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act of 2002 (S. 2633) would intensify the federal effort to control Ecstasy by amending the crack house statute to more directly target rave promoters. It has been reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar. The Ecstasy Prevention Act of 2001 (S. 1208/H.R. 2582) would encourage local communities to crack down on raves and authorize additional funds to be used in High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas for anti-Ecstasy law enforcement activities. The Senate added S. 1208 by amendment to H.R. 2215, the Department of Justice authorization act, which has gone to conference. H.R. 3138 would also combat Ecstasy and other club drugs but has not seen action. This report will be updated as further congressional actions occur. Background' Ecstasy is the street name for MDMA or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine. As its full, scientific name indicates, MDMA is in the amphetamine family of drugs, although its effects are unlike other amphetamine compounds. Discovered and patented by Merck Pharmaceuticals in Germany before World War I, MDMA was first tested on animals in the 1950s by the U.S. Army in its search for a brain-washing drug. Civilian researchers became interested in it in the 1970s and were the first to study its unique psychological 1 The early history of MDMA is documented in a variety of sources. The facts here, which are recounted elsewhere, are drawn from: Grob, Charles S., M.D. Deconstructing Ecstasy: The Politics of MDMA Research. Addiction Research, v. 8, no. 6, 2000. p. 549-588. Congressional Research Service **o The Library of Congress

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