Coverage by BBSNews

BBSNews - 2003-06-12 -- On May 5th, 2003 Ethan Straffin wrote for BBSNews "[Sen. Joseph] Biden is about to reap the whirlwind of outrage that will begin to build just as soon as that fateful first rave, concert, or (let's just hope) Democratic fundraiser is shut down by the feds because The Organizers Should Have Known That There Might Be Drugs There.

And if a few more conservatives also wake up and notice -- as the editors of the National Review did many years ago -- that our draconian drug laws are being used to advance the implementation of the very big-government police state that so many Republicans claim to oppose? So much the better."

It's happened. According to the Drug Reform Coordination Network on June 6th, 2003:

May 3rd, 2003 - Despite wind and rain, a group of around fifty Missoula citizens marched from the University to the Missoula Courthouse on Saturday to demand the end of the failed public policy of cannabis (marijuana) prohibition. The march was organized by the Montana chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Photo by Montana NORML.

"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 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.

While the Billings event was advertised as a benefit concert for two local groups interested in drug law reform -- not as a drug-taking orgy -- it still attracted the attention of the DEA. On May 30, the day the event was set to take place, a Billings-based DEA agent showed up at the Eagle Lodge, which had booked the concert. Waving a copy of the RAVE Act in one hand, the agent warned that the lodge could face a fine of $250,000 if someone smoked a joint during the benefit, according to Eagle Lodge manager Kelly, who asked that her last name not be used.

"He freaked me out," Kelly told DRCNet. "He didn't tell us we couldn't have the event, but he showed me the law and told us what could happen if we did. I talked to our trustees, they talked to our lawyers, and our lawyers said not to risk it, so we canceled," she said. "I felt bad. I knew the guys in the bands."

According to the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization Biden apparently hates with a passion, the bands were also threatened. "The bands - most of which regularly played at the venue - were also approached and warned that their participation in the event could result in a fine."

In response to Straffin's article, Chip Unruh, Senator Biden's spokeman, carefully denied that First Amendment rights were under assault and he denied that Senator Biden's sneaked in Rave Act (as a rider to the very popular Amber Alert bill) would be used against legitimate venues:

"Senator Biden fully recognizes that there will always be certain people who will bring drugs into musical or other events and use them without the knowledge or permission of the promoter or club owner. This is not the type of activity that the Biden bill addresses. The purpose of the legislation is not to prosecute legitimate law-abiding managers of stadiums, arenas, performing arts centers, licensed beverage facilities and other venues because of incidental drug use at their events. In fact, when crafting this legislation, Senator Biden took steps to ensure that it did not capture such cases ("KNOWINGLY" and "FOR THE PURPOSE OF" are incredibly high legal bars!!!). The bill would help in the prosecution of unscrupulous, rogue promoters who not only KNOW that there is drug use at their event but also hold the event FOR THE PURPOSE OF illegal drug use or distribution."

Those three exclamation points Unruh issued his denials with have now been trumped with a question mark. How could Unruh makes such claims for Senator Biden when the original Rave Act had been so roundly trounced when it was on its own that it had to be snuck in as a rider with an extremely popular childs bill to get it passed? And now the cat is out of the bag. Biden's First Amendment trashing and sneaky, politically maneuvered Rave Act, has now been used by the DEA to stop a perfectly legitimate political fund raising function. Just as everyone who lobbied so vigorously against the Rave Act feared.

On Tuesday May 27th, 2003 the Billings Gazette carried a community event notice outlining what the NORML/SSDP event was to be about:

"The Billings chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy will host a benefit concert featuring End Ever, Loopian Zu, Smash Division, and Dimensional Care Unit.

The event will be Friday at the Eagles Lodge in Billings Heights. Proceeds will go toward future campaigns to decriminalize medical marijuana in Montana in addition to continuing the broadcast of NORML TV on Community Seven..."

Clearly Biden's sneaky Rave Act is going to be used to stifle primary First Amendment rights. Can Joe Biden really be surprised that his under-handed legislation is not now being used against "unscrupulous, rogue promoters" as claimed but against legitimate and clearly necessary political speech?

John Masterson from Montana NORML in Missoula reported to BBSNews that "as for our planned response, a national legal team is currently researching the prospects of action on two fronts - DEA's interference with a legitimate business relationship (between the Eagles Lodge and NORML), and a federal injunction regarding the RAVE Act."

The Democrats better hope so. If President Bush's poll numbers start dropping enough, it may be only a matter of time before some unscrupulous Republican political operative uses this ill-conceived law to break up a Democratic fundraiser.

Michael Hess is the Editor of BBSNews in Charlotte, NC. Write to the editor here. Not all submissions are published. Or visit the completely new BBSNews Blog and Forum on our front page - Please Participate in BBSNews!