ve position, they have less influence then a common person. A user, or a user’s friend, a dealer, or a dealer’s friend, would have the longest lasting effect on those young teenagers. The more ruined the person’s life because of the drug; the harder their words will hit the adolescents. On the contrary, the U.S. Government insists on attempting to stop the influx of the drug into the states. As with all the other illicit drugs, this is a losing effort. Granted the number of pills seized increases every year, “Inspectors at Newark International [where of all the pills confiscated in the U.S. are found] seized 20,000 tablets in 1998. The following year, the number of seizures jumped to 444,000. From January through March 31 of 2000, Customs inspectors here have found 120,000 of the drug tablets” (Fields, Leinwand 4/19/00). “8 million doses were seized at airports, and other ports of entry, far exceeding the 750,000 doses in 1998, and the 3.5 million confiscated 1999…” (Hernandez 8/2/00). They are seizing more pills every year, but by the same token more pills are slipping past customs and coming into the country. This is because of the high demand for the drug, along with the appealing profit margin (a pill made for 50 cents in Amsterdam, where MDMA is legal, can sell for as much as 40 dollars in the U.S.) (Hernandez 8/2/00). As long as people want them, the E is going to manage to find a way to get here. I am not saying that efforts to stop the influx should be completely dismissed, that would be suicide. But, the concentration of funds and efforts ought to be shifted to education. This would hinder the demand for the drug by turning youth away from using MDMA. In conclusion, Ecstasy is a new and rapidly growing drug plague and cannot be taken lightly. I petition you, the parent, to see that actions be taken within your communities’ schools to thoroughly educate your children. If you...
