This is serious. Check this out, a bill was just introduced into the senate
that makes "RAVES" illegal, and the promoters will be liable for $250,000 or
twice the nights recipts per offense... a serious violation of MY personal
civil liberties and yours , as the wording is so vague as to constitute a
very real threat to ANY gathering or musical concert or event!
The worst part is that they are trying to make this a "unanimous" vote
effectively not even bringing the bill to an open debate or even a vote!!!!
This is not democracy, this is a violation of all of our rights and needs to
be stopped NOW!
write to your senators and tell them to stop this bill from becoming a law!
here is all the info I could get on the subject...
(the link to the senate search page to search for the bill or your local
senator... )
http://www.senate.gov/search/index.html
(the number of the bill to search for...) S2633
(the actual bill...)
Bill 1 of 2
There is 1 other version of this bill.
GPO's PDF version of this bill References to this bill in the
Congressional Record Link to the Bill Summary & Status file. Full
Display - 8,422 bytes.[Help]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RAVE Act (Introduced in Senate)
S 2633 IS
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2633
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.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 18, 2002
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;
(B) massage oils;
(C) 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.
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.'.
(b) 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.'.
(c) 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.'.
SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTY AND EQUITABLE RELIEF FOR MAINTAINING DRUG-INVOLVED
PREMISES.
Section 416 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 856) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
`(d)(1) Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be subject to a civil
penalty of not more than the greater of--
`(A) $250,000; or
`(B) 2 times the gross receipts, either known or estimated, that were
derived from each violation that is attributable to the person.
`(2) If a civil penalty is calculated under paragraph (1)(B), and there is
more than 1 defendant, the court may apportion the penalty between multiple
violators, but each violator shall be jointly and severally liable for the
civil penalty under this subsection.
`(e) Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be subject to declaratory
and injunctive remedies as set forth in section 403(f).'.
SEC. 5. DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE REMEDIES.
Section 403(f)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 843(f)(1)) is
amended by striking `this section or section 402' and inserting `this
section, section 402, or 416'.
SEC. 6. SENTENCING COMMISSION GUIDELINES.
The United States Sentencing Commission shall--
(1) review the Federal sentencing guidelines with respect to offenses
involving gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB);
(2) consider amending the Federal sentencing guidelines to provide for
increased penalties such that those penalties reflect the seriousness of
offenses involving GHB and the need to deter them; and
(3) take any other action the Commission considers necessary to carry out
this section.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR A DEMAND REDUCTION COORDINATOR.
There is authorized to be appropriated $5,900,000 to the Drug Enforcement
Administration of the Department of Justice for the hiring of a special
agent in each State to serve as a Demand Reduction Coordinator.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR DRUG EDUCATION.
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary to the Drug
Enforcement Administration of the Department of Justice to educate youth,
parents, and other interested adults about the drugs associated with raves.
A FINAL WORD:
Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Rick Torres
OVERSOUL 7
rick@ricktorres.com
http://www.ricktorres.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Wed Jul 10 2002 - 12:03:19 CEST