Important

[scratchapella]

S2633 Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstacy (RAVE) Act

No nightclub owner, promoter, or event coordinator is safe. This bill could halt musical events such as raves.

The Senate is poised to pass legislation that would give federal prosecutors new powers to shut down raves or other musical events and punish innocent business men and women for hosting or promoting them. The bill, known as Reducing American's Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act (RAVE Act) was just introduced in the Senate on June 18th and has already passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is moving VERY rapidly and could be passed by the Senate as early as next week. Worse still, the Senate leadership considers this draconian drug war bill to be so uncontroversial that they are trying to pass it under "unanimous consent" rules, which will mean no debate and no real vote. It is ABSOLUTELY VITAL that your Senators here from you today. They need to know that this bill is a danger to civil liberties and is unacceptable.

ACTIONS TO TAKE:

--Call your Senators and tell them to stop S. 2633, the Reducing American's Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act from becoming law. Tell them that innocent business owners shouldn't be punished for the crimes of their customers. Tell them this bill has dangerous anti-civil liberties provisions that they need to be aware of, and this bill deserves serious debate.

You can contact your Senators through the Capitol Switchboard at

202-224-3121. To find out who your Senators are go to:

http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm

--Please forward this action alert to your friends and family. The Senate needs to know that voters find this bill unacceptable.

MORE ON THE BILL

S. 2633, sponsored by Senators Durbin (D-IL), Hatch (R-UT), Grassley (R-IA) and Leahy (D-VT), would greatly expand the so-called "crack house statute" and potentially subject innocent business men and women to enormous fines if customers sold or used drugs on their premises or at their events - even if they were not involved in the offenses in any way. If the bill becomes law, property owners, promoters, and event coordinators could be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars if they hold raves or other events on their property. This bill is a part of a Justice Department strategy to halt all musical events they don't like, such as raves. For more information on this bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and under "bill number" search for S2633.

(from the Drug Policy Alliance)

[vicman]

this sucks!!!

i guess i'll just have to start taking my rolls in new places...such as church, when i'm grocery shopping, while driving

once again, i vicman, have outsmarted the feds (dont ask me about the other times)

[therunner]

Originally posted by vicman

this sucks!!!

i guess i'll just have to start taking my rolls in new places...such as church, when i'm grocery shopping, while driving

Grocery shopping while rolling is kinda fun but you have to late at night, too many people there during the day. I wouldn't recomend it while driving because you get really paranoid and it can degrade your roll. And I don't think the choir music would be pumping enough for a church.

[malanee]

Ahhh, the stupidity of the "War on Drugs" never ceases to amaze me! Thanks for the info Scratch!

[spinsaikel]

Originally posted by therunner

And I don't think the choir music would be pumping enough for a church.

Hah! Obviously you've never heard th Mormon Tabarnacle on Phazon. Danny T is known to spin the "Latter day saints in heaven" remix of Kylie minogues #1 hit.

[scratchapella]

Legislation has been introduced in the Senate that would modify Title 21 U.S. Code Section 856 (aka the "crack house law") so that prosecutors could more readily use the statute against venue owners, managers, promoters, and others. Citing "mixed results" in the New Orleans case and other cases, Senator Biden introduced S.2633 "to tailor [the crack house] statute more precisely to the problem at hand" (i.e. target raves.) Biden's legislation would expand the definition of what is considered a criminal act under 21 U.S.C. 856 and add civil liability damages ($250,000 minimum) to the existing criminal penalties (up to 20 years prison and/or $500,000 fine.) This legislation could have a devastating effect on the electronic dance music scene.

Senate Bill 2633 has been put on the Legislative Calendar under General Orders thus bypassing the usual period of debate and comment. The full Senate could vote on the bill as early as Monday July 8th, 2002.

Act now and let your elected representatives know that you oppose this legislation. For more info on S.2633 - including how to write your Senators visit:

http://www.emdef.org/bills_us/2002/s2633_rave_act_2002.html

[scratchapella]

just to show you how ridiculous this shit is. . .the language/narrative of S2633 targets "rave" and "dance music events" (which could be interpreted to include your precious club venues as well)

RAVE Act (Introduced in Senate)

S 2633 IS

107th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 2633

Mr. BIDEN (for himself and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A BILL

To prohibit an individual from knowingly opening, maintaining, managing, controlling, renting, leasing, making available for use, or profiting from any place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act of 2002' or the `RAVE Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) Each year tens of thousands of young people are initiated into the drug culture at `rave' parties or events (all-night, alcohol-free dance parties typically featuring loud, pounding dance music).

(2) Some raves are held in dance clubs with only a handful of people in attendance. Other raves are held at temporary venues such as warehouses, open fields, or empty buildings, with tens of thousands of people present.

(3) The trafficking and use of `club drugs', including 3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy or MDMA), Ketamine hydrochloride (Ketamine), Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), and Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), is deeply embedded in the rave culture.

(4) Many rave promoters go to great lengths to try to portray their events as alcohol-free parties that are safe places for young adults to go to dance with friends, and some even go so far as to hire off-duty, uniformed police officers to patrol outside of the venue to give parents the impression that the event is safe.

(5) Despite such efforts to convince parents that raves are safe, promotional flyers with slang terms for Ecstasy or pictures of Ecstasy pills send the opposite message to teenagers, and in effect promote Ecstasy along with the rave. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, raves have become little more than a way to exploit American youth.

(6) Because rave promoters know that Ecstasy causes the body temperature in a user to rise and as a result causes the user to become very thirsty, many rave promoters facilitate and profit from flagrant drug use at rave parties or events by selling over-priced bottles of water and charging entrance fees to `chill-rooms' where users can cool down.

(7) To enhance the effects of the drugs that patrons have ingested, rave promoters sell--

(A) neon glow sticks;

( massage oils;

© menthol nasal inhalers; and

(D) pacifiers that are used to combat the involuntary teeth clenching associated with Ecstasy.

(8) Ecstasy is the most popular of the club drugs associated with raves. Thousands of teenagers are treated for overdoses and Ecstasy-related health problems in emergency rooms each year. The Drug Abuse Warning Network reports that Ecstasy mentions in emergency visits grew 1,040 percent between 1994 and 1999.

(9) Ecstasy damages neurons in the brain which contain serotonin, the chemical responsible for mood, sleeping and eating habits, thinking processes, aggressive behavior, sexual function, and sensitivity to pain. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this can lead to long-term brain damage that is still evident 6 to 7 years after Ecstasy use.

(10) An Ecstasy overdose is characterized by an increased heart rate, hypertension, renal failure, visual hallucinations, and overheating of the body (some Ecstasy deaths have occurred after the core body temperature of the user goes as high as 110 degrees, causing all major organ systems to shutdown and muscles to breakdown), and may cause heart attacks, strokes, and seizures.

[scratchapella]

SEC. 3. OFFENSES.

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 416(a) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 856(a)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking `open or maintain any place' and inserting `open, lease, rent, use, or maintain any place, whether permanently or temporarily,'; and

(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

`(2) manage or control any place, whether permanently or temporarily, either as an owner, lessee, agent, employee, occupant, or mortgagee, and knowingly and intentionally rent, lease, profit from, or make available for use, with or without compensation, the place for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance.'.

( TECHNICAL AMENDMENT- The heading to section 416 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 856) is amended to read as follows:

`SEC. 416. MAINTAINING DRUG-INVOLVED PREMISES.'.

© CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The table of contents to title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Prevention Act of 1970 is amended by striking the item relating to section 416 and inserting the following:

`Sec. 416. Maintaining drug-involved premises.'.

[scratchapella]

i don't know how exactly this will work, other than to shut down ALL parties. . .

senator grassley, of iowa:

The statute would only be applicable if the rave promoters or location owners "knowingly and intentionally" either use or allow to be used space for an event where drugs will be "manufactured, stored, distributed, or used." This legislation will not eliminate all raves. Provided rave promoters and sponsors operate such events as they are so often advertized[sic], as places for people to come dance in a safe, alcohol-free environment, then they have nothing to fear from this law. But this legislation will give law enforcement the tools needed to shut down those rave operators and promoters who use raves as a cover to sell drugs. Innocent owners or proprietors will remain exempt from prosecution.

[therunner]

Originally posted by scratchapella

But this legislation will give law enforcement the tools needed to shut down those rave operators and promoters who use raves as a cover to sell drugs. Innocent owners or proprietors will remain exempt from prosecution.

Come on now. How many RAVE promoters or operators really need to go out peddling E's to kids? If you have the money to get a Rave together I don't think you are the one who is going to be selling the drugs at the rave or even using it as a cover.

But I don't know if they are actually doing it on the larger level. But why would you have a rave where you know there is going to be law enforcement present and stage a major drug deal?