Sujudi to issue decree on 'Ecstasy'

JAKARTA (JP): In response to mounting pressure, the Minister of Health will soon issue a decree that will provide the legal basis for the control of Ecstasy stimulant pills.

The decree will be effective until the bill on psychotropic, now under deliberation at the House of Representatives, is passed into law, an official said yesterday.

Secretary to Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Suyono Yahya said that the decree will be issued soon to give the authorities the necessary legal basis to combat the drug.

"This is to deal with Ecstasy trafficking and use, which is rife in some discotheques and other public places," Suyono told reporters after a coordination meeting on the plan.

"When the decree is issued, the police will crack down on Ecstasy in the country's big cities," Suyono said. "If it's necessary, the police can revoke the permits of discotheques where trading in Ecstasy takes place," he added.

Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, is highly popular among young Indonesians.

Police have been hampered in their fight against Ecstasy because the 1976 Anti-narcotics Law does not classify the substance as a narcotic. The law only deals with marijuana, cocaine and morphine.

Police have resorted to using a 1949 Law on Dangerous Drugs, the 1992 Health Law -- which deals with the distribution of substandard drugs -- and Article 204 of the Criminal Code, which deals with the supply of dangerous drugs.

Possessing and trafficking Ecstasy is illegal under Health Law No. 23, which was issued in 1992. People caught breaking this law can spend up to 15 years in jail or be fined up to Rp 300 million.

Minister of Health Sujudi said in Bandung recently that the government will submit a bill on psychotropic drugs to the House of Representatives later this month.

Suyono said that the government means to take tough punitive action against Ecstasy dealers.

Ecstasy can reportedly be purchased at certain discotheques. In the early days of its popularity, the substance was sold at between Rp 100,000 (US$44) and Rp 200,000 per pill.

In most recent major operation, police arrested 177 youths at a "drug party" in Lembang, a cool holiday resort about 15 kilometers north of Bandung. (31)