Pubdate: Mon, 19 Jun 2000
Source: Michigan Daily (MI)
Copyright: 2000 The Michigan Daily
Contact:  420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327
Website: http://www.michigandaily.com/
Author: Josh Wickerham, HOW CONGRESS BANS INFORMATION AND OUTLAWS COMMUNITIES

How can our government ban information and outlaw communities? Very easily -
and under the law - if a bill makes its way out of House subcommittee
hearings.

This nasty bit of legislation, known as the "Methamphetamines
Anti-Proliferation Act of 1999," would ban the dissemination of all
information pertaining to the manufacture and use of methamphetamines and
all other controlled substances. This means that any discussion of drug use
in any form (email, web pages, books, etc) would be felonious behavior. The
Act has already passed the Senate.

In its original iteration, the Act was a well-meaning attempt to stop the
flow of dangerous drugs like methamphetamines. Whatever your stance on drugs
though, it has since turned into a malicious assault on civil liberties.

The Meth Act is at once both vague and all encompassing, leaving lots of
wiggle room for interpretation. The guidelines for judging illegal behavior
remain indistinct, although it outlaws any information "published with
intent" to break federal drug laws. In effect, any information, from the use
of cannabis for medicinal purposes, to instructions on the extraction of
codeine from Tylenol 3, could land a person in prison under the right
prosecuting circumstances. Even linking to drug-related information or
paraphernalia sites would be illegal.

Even scarier, an amendment to the Meth Act allows searches without issuing
public warrants. That means police (or Drug Enforcement Agents) can suspend
constitutional property rights to break into a person's space and search
their house, their business and their hard drives without telling them they
were there. The information they collect may be held without the person's
knowledge for up to a year.

The bill is also dangerous. The information it attempts to outlaw provides
people with absolutely necessary knowledge pertaining to correct drug dosage
and safety precautions. The Meth Act easily bans information discussed from
personal experience. Here, the positives and the negatives of drug use are
unbiasedly extolled. By making this information illegal, people interested
in experimenting with drugs - whether they can find life-saving knowledge or
not - could end up using dangerous illegal substances blindly. In short,
this bill attempts to criminalize a legitimate body of information that
saves lives.

Drugs may not be socially acceptable, but they are as much a part of the
human experience as sex. Congress, in effect, wants to burn vast libraries
of knowledge. Information treasure troves exist that attempt to explain the
significance of drugs in our history, like how they have shaped
civilizations or how they have affected the evolution of our brain.

Responsible members of the internet community contribute to this vast body
of knowledge as often as they throw out drug use tips or engage in
philosophical discussions. And this communication would be outlawed.

A real community is in jeopardy. A community of knowledgeable, responsible,
informed, and involved citizens faces peril at the hand of misguided
legislation. This community allows brave experimenters and respected elders
the means to openly communicate their understanding of altered states of
mind. These unconventional groups cannot be destroyed by our government's
fear of the mystery surrounding drugs. Such a flagrant, indefensible affront
to First Amendment freedoms cannot be allowed to go forward.

Of course, I hold out hope that the Supreme Court will kill the Meth Act.
Not that the constitutional right to freedom of religion provided any
protection for Native Americans who incorporated San Pedro Cacti as a
religious sacrament. That native plant is all but eradicated, along with the
body of knowledge surrounding its use.

And if this ludicrous act gets enacted into law? Well, then the Constitution
isn't worth the hemp it's written on.
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