I have to admit, I've never been to a rave party. For me, not only have those days come and gone, they never were. I know about them, though. Rave parties are loud, raucous affairs, where young adults dance into the early morning to the pounding beat of electronic music. And there is often drug use, the methamphetamine known as Ecstasy to be exact. The trick in a free society, where cultural expression -- even the annoyingly unmelodic kind -- must be allowed to flourish, is to punish illegal behavior without disturbing the exuberance of art and expression. [continues 778 words]
Drug reformers and concert promoters united a year ago to block passage of Democratic Senator Joe Biden's Rave Act, which would have subjected promoters and club owners to prohibitive fines for any but the most incidental drug use at their events. This year, though, Biden--who said the law was needed to deter drug use and "protect kids"--attached it to the anti-child abduction AMBER Alert bill, which passed in April. It took about a month for reformers' fears to be realized. [continues 952 words]
There's a political storm brewing in Billings, one that encompasses the U.S. Senate, powerful Washington lobbyists and Americans' First Amendment rights. The nexus of the storm involves the unlikely combination of the Eagles Lodge in Billings and a 21-year-old camp counselor in Laurel. How these two became involved, what happened on May 30, and why it has become the stuff of national news is a little complicated. Here's the story: More than a year ago, Adam Jones, 21, a camp counselor for the Laurel YMCA, was arrested with one-half gram of psilocybin mushrooms and sentenced to five years in prison with three years suspended, Jones said. After serving more than two months in jail, the judge reduced his sentence to three years probation. [continues 1193 words]
Working under the premise that there's no smoke without a fire, in April Congress passed The Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, better know as the Rave Act. Tacked on to the Amber Alert bill by Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), the Rave act holds any concert promoter, nightclub owner or arena/stadium owner responsible for third-party drug violations at any host's event. Even modest benefit concerts are potential targets, as the Billings chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) learned last week. [continues 361 words]
A canceled Billings rock concert could provoke an early challenge to new national anti-drug legislation. A May 30 fund-raising concert for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws was canceled as bands were setting up for the show. The cancellation followed a warning from a federal drug agent that the Eagles Lodge could be fined up to $250,000 if illegal drugs were used at the event. The day before, the concert promoter was jailed for a probation violation. The organizer, Adam Jones, said afterward that he would drop his activities in the NORML chapter at Montana State University-Billings and in Students for Sensible Drug Policy as a result of the incident. [continues 1413 words]
The DEA used the new RAVE Act to shut down a May 30 benefit concert for two Montana groups advocating marijuana legalization, proving critics' fears that the law would not only be used to keep kids off ecstasy, but as a tool to silence drug war opponents. The concert, a joint benefit for the Montana chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and Students for Sensible Drug Policy, was called off by the manager of the venue after she received threats from a local DEA agent of a $250,000 fine if someone at the event smoked a joint, according to a report by Phillip S. Smith of DRCNet. [continues 247 words]
An agent of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) used threats of RAVE Act prosecutions to intimidate the owners of a Billings, Montana, venue into a canceling a combined benefit for the Montana chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (http://www.norml.org) and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (http://www.ssdp.org) last week. The RAVE Act, now known officially as the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, championed by Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), was ostensibly aimed at so-called raves, the large electronic music concerts often associated with open drug use, but was so broadly written that opponents argued it could be applied against any event or venue where owners or organizers did not take sufficiently repressive steps to prevent drug use. Opposition to the bill stalled it in the Senate last year, but this year Biden stealthily inserted it into the enormously popular Amber Alert Bill, which passed last month and was signed into law by President Bush. [continues 920 words]
A last-minute addition to the Amber Alert bill has caused belated disquiet among some members of Congress who voted for it. It could, in principle, mean that the owners of concert venues could have their property confiscated because of audience behavior - fighting, drug-taking - that no realistic level of security could prevent. What this measure has to do with missing children escapes us, but Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del, arranged to have a subcommittee tack it onto the Amber Alert bill, which duly passed anyway. [continues 61 words]
I'm responding to a recent letter in your paper by Rep. Howard Coble on the RAVE Act, which is factually inaccurate (April 22, "RAVE Act targets drugs, not parties"). Property owners have much to fear from Rep. Howard Coble's RAVE Act. Under the law, property owners can be fined and imprisoned for the drug crimes of their customers, even if they are not involved in drugs in any way -- and even if they take steps to stop drug offenses on their property. A series of legal cases, most recently United States v. Brunet and United States vs. Pfeffer, have ruled that the government can do this. Courts have argued that it doesn't matter what property owners intend; all that matters is what their guests intend. If they open their property to the public, and one or more people use drugs on it (even against the owners' will), the property owners can be fined and jailed. [continues 51 words]
Amber Alert Holds Liability Surprise A new law slipped into last month's Amber Alert bill is threatening concert promoters and club owners in Denver with huge civil and criminal liability. As a result, KTCL's Rave on the Rocks, one of the highest-profile electronic music shows in the nation, is on shaky legal ground. What used to be called the RAVE Act was renamed the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2003. The bill is similar to legislation that made it possible for cities to shut down crack houses as public nuisances. [continues 516 words]
The State Of America's War On Drugs It was November 6, just after last fall's election, and John Walters was crowing. Three ballot initiatives seeking to legalize or decriminalize marijuana in Arizona, Nevada and Ohio all went down in defeat. "These failed initiatives represent the high-water mark of the drug-legalization movement. Common sense has prevailed," he declared. Unlike his predecessor Barry McCaffrey, Walters -- director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy -- is not a military man. But this day, Walters sounded very much like a commander who seizes upon success in one skirmish to galvanize the troops: "From now on, the tide turns our way," he said. [continues 1380 words]
Area club owners and music promoters are worried they could be punished by legislation aimed at curtailing use of club drugs such as Ecstasy. The new law was tucked into a child safety package signed Wednesday by President Bush that includes provisions to improve kidnapping alert systems. Nightclub owners have nothing against Amber Alerts, they say, but think lawmakers sneaked through drug legislation that previously failed in Congress. The Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act is based on the federal "crack house" statute, which allows prosecution of people who knowingly allow their private residences or businesses to be used for the buying and selling of drugs. The new provision expands the statute to include places rented for temporary or one-time events, such as nightclubs, concerts and raves. [continues 280 words]
Legislation to crack down on club drug use is wrapped into the Amber Alert package, and critics worry that businesses whose customers use drugs without the proprietors' knowledge could face prosecution under the law. "You could have hotels prosecuted; you could have sporting events prosecuted, basically anything or anywhere you could expect someone to try and use drugs," said Marvin Johnson, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer. An earlier version of the legislation aimed at club drugs such as ecstasy failed to pass Congress last year, following complaints that the bill unfairly painted all raves and similar events as havens for illegal drug use. The new bill removed the focus on raves. [continues 92 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - Legislation to crack down on club drug use is wrapped in a popular child safety package, but critics worry that businesses whose customers use drugs without the proprietors' knowledge could face prosecution under the measures being signed into law Wednesday. ``You could have hotels prosecuted, you could have sporting events prosecuted, basically anything or anywhere you could expect someone to try and use drugs,'' said Marvin Johnson, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer. Bush was signing the Amber Alerts package, which has as its centerpiece a voluntary rapid-response network to help find kidnapped children, on Wednesday. [continues 454 words]
There is a dangerous force lurking in the forgotten corners of our nation's political shadows. It occasionally shows its head. More often, it's content to hangout on AOL Instant Messenger or plan its duct-tape garb for the prom. But it's still there, and I think it's ready to re-emerge. In 1992, a relatively unknown governor from Arkansas swept to two terms in the White House and taught the nation more than it needed to know about independent counsels. A significant part in Bill Clinton's rise to power was young voters. [continues 787 words]
Think only conservative religious sects outlaw dancing? Think again. Dancing, or at least clubs that offer dancing to electronic DJ music, could be in the fast lane to extinction thanks to an act of Congress. Last week it passed the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, also known as "the RAVE Act," as part of the larger PROTECT Act (a.k.a. the "Amber Alert" bill). The RAVE Act strengthens existing "Operation of a Crackhouse" legislation, under which owners of a property are held responsible for any drug use on their premises. Penalties for violating the Crackhouse statute can include fines of up to $500,000 for an individual or $2 million for a corporation, a potential 20-year prison sentence and asset forfeiture. [continues 417 words]
'Chilling Effect' On Circuit Parties Feared An anti-drug bill that gay and straight event promoters say could subject them to criminal prosecution for drug offenses committed by their customers passed in the House and Senate on April 10 by overwhelming margins. The legislation, formerly known as the RAVE Act and later renamed the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, sailed through Congress with little public notice and almost no debate after a House-Senate conference committee on April 8 attached the bill to the popular Child Abduction Prevention Act. [continues 903 words]
The Government's New RAVE Act Could Put Many Innocent People Out Of Business Milwaukee club owners may soon be responsible for more than managing long lines at the door. A revised version of last year's highly publicized Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy (RAVE) Act was approved on April 10 by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Now dubbed the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) tacked it on as an amendment to the proposed National AMBER Alert Network Act of 2003, which deals with child abduction laws, not drug policies. [continues 704 words]
Every summer, thousands of New Yorkers descend upon Central Park's Rumsey Playfield for the highly anticipated SummerStage concert series. Families stretch out in the cool grass lining the field's perimeter, while closer to the stage, a motley mix of club kids, hip-hop heads, and soccer moms feverishly dance. In the past, the eclectic programming has featured everything from old-school rappers Biz Markie and Doug E. Fresh to house-music outfit Basement Jaxx. To combat the sweltering heat, concertgoers cool off with overpriced bottles of water, and behind the stage, an ambulance stands by. But this year, dance community activists fear that concerts like those at SummerStage could be jeopardized. Equipped with a loosely worded law making venue owners and concert promoters responsible for their patrons' partying ways, overzealous prosecutors could target mainstream event organizers with stiff fines, jail sentences (up to 20 years), and property seizures. [continues 1516 words]
New Anti-Rave Legislation Threatens Concert Industry Raves today, Phish fests next? Dance clubs, concert halls and even outdoor festivals are in danger of being put out of business thanks to a new piece of legislation that passed in Congress on April 10th. According to the bill, any individual who owns or operates a venue where audience members are using drugs could be sent to jail or subjected to steep fines. Sponsored by senators Joseph Biden (D-Del.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), the bill was tacked onto the Amber Alert Act, concerning child abductions -- a move opponents say was intended to avoid close scrutiny. (The new law is a revision of an earlier proposal known as the RAVE Act, an acronym for Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy.) [continues 239 words]
