Naked City

During a press conference on Nov. 20 in San Diego, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration head Asa Hutchinson announced his drug warriors will be stepping up efforts to bust Ecstasy users and dealers. As reported by the Drug Reform Coordination Network, Hutchinson told the crowd that Ecstasy is "the Y generation's cocaine," and its use is reaching near-epidemic proportions. The DEA intends next year to double the number of club drug arrests. According to DRCNet, the DEA intends to step up enforcement in South Florida, where the bulk of European-manufactured Ecstasy makes its way into the country, along with beefing up enforcement measures at airports across the country.

Meanwhile, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, headed by national drug czar John Walters, unveiled a new "drugged driving" campaign that has drug-policy reformers crying foul. The ONDCP initiative, in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, targets drivers who may be under influence of drugs. Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the national advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance, called the plan nothing more than a "thinly disguised zero-tolerance policy that will do little to detect impaired driving and much to punish responsible citizens for crimes they did not commit."

At issue is how law enforcement officers would go about testing for drugged motorists. Critics say that ONDCP's policy does not take into account the fact that certain drugs, including THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, remain in the body longer than alcohol without causing impairment. Nonetheless, ONDCP announced it is going forward with its plans and will be offering resources nationally to both state and local law enforcement officers who'd like to follow the czar's charge, as well as providing state legislators with a "framework" for drugged driving legislation.