Pubdate: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 Source: Rutland Herald (VT) Copyright: 2003 Rutland Herald Contact: http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/892 Author: Nick Brown Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?231 (Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act (RAVE)) LAW THREATENS CIVIL LIBERTIES What if you threw a party and nobody came? Under a new federal law known as the RAVE Act, this exception may become the rule for organizations promoting any viewpoints the federal government doesn't like. Recently, a scheduled fundraising concert for a NORML/Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) affiliate in Billings, Mont., was shut down after the venue's management was informed by the Drug Enforcement Administration that they could potentially be fined $250,000 under the new law if any attendee was caught smoking marijuana. The law, formally known as the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2003, permits federal law enforcement to prosecute business owners if they knowingly make their property available for "the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance." Though the expressed intent of the RAVE Act is to target those who maintain known drug establishments such as crack houses, the DEA's recent action makes it apparent that police would rather use the law to target free speech and free assembly at gatherings promoting ideas that run contrary to federal opinions and policies. As such, the RAVE Act should be of concern to all Americans that value our nation's constitutional liberties. Left unchecked, the precedent here is both frightening and shockingly un-American. NICK BROWN Roxbury - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake