Ecstasy widespread

Ecstasy widespread

BANDUNG: The police force has sounded the alarm over the widespread trafficking of Ecstasy, a stimulant that has gained great popularity among young Indonesians.

Chief detective of the national police force Brig. Gen. Roesdihardjo said Thursday that, unlike heroin, consumption of ecstasy is not confined to people from "broken homes".

Now it turns out that adults from "good families" have become Ecstasy addicts, he told The Jakarta Post.

"In the Dutch colonial era, people would smoke marijuana. Then, for some decades, heroin was highly popular. Now Ecstasy is the most fashionable in cities," he said.

Roesdihardjo lamented the Indonesian laws on dangerous drugs. The laws are outdated because they don't cover the trafficking and use of newer drugs like Ecstasy, he said.

To use the law on health would not be useful because that would affect only dealers, and users would remain untouched, he added. (17/pan)