The newest television advertisements about Ecstasy, sponsored by
                          the Partnership for a Drug Free America, inform us users take their lives
                          in their hands. They show images of young people passed out on dance
                          floors, with oblivious drug-addled revelers all around them. We hear
                          voice-overs of coroner's reports, giving  the gruesome details of an
                          Ecstasy-related death. Unfortunately, as is often the case with the
                          Partnership's ad campaigns (remember "This is your brain on drugs" with a
                          picture of two fried eggs?) they neglect to truly inform us about anything
                          we can do to prevent death from occurring, save complete abstinence.
                          Following the slogan coined by Nancy Reagan in the eighties, the
                          Partnership wants our kids to "Just Say No."   But research funded by the
                          Partnership itself shows that scare tactics are not effective in reducing
                          drug use. As parents,we know that saying no to our children does not always
                          work. In fact, it might encourage them to rebel. Even First Lady Laura
                          Bush, whose own teenager's escapades have been fodder for news coverage,
                          was recently quoted as saying that"there's a certain time when children are
                          not going to do what their parents want them to."
                                  Kids today have access to unprecedented amounts of information on
                          illicit drugs via the internet. They are hungry for reputable, reliable
                          information. Anyone touting simple messages like "drugs kill" and not
                          offering real and useful information will likely be ignored or ridiculed.
                          An Ecstasy user, eager for facts about the true risks of the drug, will
                          scoff at ads which highlight only the less likely dire consequences, giving
                          no other practical information. The government's current ad campaign simply
                          entrenches the separation between young people who are using Ecstasy and
                          those who are concerned about them.
                                  As with teaching safe sex instead of preaching sexual abstinence to
                          teens, we need to adopt a more enlightened approach to educating our young
                          people about drugs. Anyone who thinks messages of abstinence are effective
                          for young people considering sex or drugs are simply deluding themselves.
                          These days, recommending condom use to teens is commonplace. Even
                          conservative Republican Colin Powell stated in a recent MTV interview  "I
                          encourage [condom] use among people who are sexually active and need to
                          protect themselves... it's the lives of young people that are put at risk."
                          This is harm reduction in action: admitting that risky behavior is
                          occurring whether we like it or not, and educating those who are engaged in
                          that behavior to help them reduce those risks.
                                  It may feel uncomfortable to offer advice on drug safety, when all
                          we really want to do is shake our kids and say "Mommy says No!" But the
                          bottom line is this:  statistics show that Ecstasy use is on the rise, year
                          after year. The least we can do as parents and educators is to take our
                          heads out of the sand and try another approach to reducing the "collateral
                          damage" of drug experimentation. What makes more sense is to inform parents
                          and teens alike about the specific behaviors that can be adopted to save
                          lives. Instead of dire warnings and worse-case scenarios, we can offer
                          practical guidelines: If you choose to use drugs, here's how to be more
                          safe.

                          What would be a true public service message is to tell kids the following:

                          -Mixing Ecstasy with other drugs or alcohol  increases risk.

                          -Heatstroke is a major life threatening concern with Ecstasy. Stay cool,
                          take plenty of breaks from dancing, and drink water.

                          -Over hydration is another danger. Drinking too much water while on Ecstasy
                          can cause serious, potentially fatal complications. Only drink enough
                          fluids to replace what is lost through sweating. A pint an hour is plenty.

                          -"Less is more." Taking one tablet carries less risk than two, and so on.
                          This also goes for frequency of use.  People who use Ecstasy repeatedly
                          risk depression, panic attacks, or other psychiatric complaints. While
                          there are no studies proving causation, there are reports of correlation
                          between high dose repeated Ecstasy use and poor performance on memory
                          tests.

                          -Testing the contents of Ecstasy pills may reduce the risks associated with
                          impurities in tablets.

                          -As with all drugs: driving, operating machinery, or making important
                          decisions (such as whether or not to have sex) should be deferred until
                          sober.

                                  Many government agencies are wary that giving honest information
                          about drugs "gives the wrong message" to today's youth. But saying that a
                          drug is dangerous or forbidden is simply not enough, when dealing with
                          curious, novelty-seeking adolescents, who often see themselves as
                          invulnerable. Sex education has gone a long way toward reducing sexually
                          transmitted diseases and pregnancy among our nation's youth. Now it's time
                          to adopt X education --honest information about Ecstasy and other drugs
                          --to prevent more young people from dying.