BILL TARGETS ILLEGAL DRUG USE AT RAVES

A bill introduced Thursday would help authorities crack down on drugs at
all-night dance parties. Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley co-sponsored the bill
that targets so-called raves, which have been associated with the drug Ecstasy.

Under the bill, promoters and hosts would be fined if prosecutors can prove
they knew drugs would be used or sold. The key words in the bill are
"knowingly and intentionally," said Kimberly Cass, Grassley's press secretary.

"If drugs happen to show up, and the location owner thought it was truly
drug-free and alcohol-free, it couldn't be thrown at them," Cass said.

Some people worry the bill targets the wrong crowd.

Albert Ichelson, 24, of Des Moines, has been a rave DJ in the Midwest for
five years. The problem, he said, is with the people who come to raves.

"It's not the rave promoters you're looking for, it's the irresponsible
children," he said. Matt Denner, 21, of West Des Moines, said security
guards at the central Iowa raves he's been to have searched ravers for drugs.

"There are people who are high and stoned, but they do that before they
show up," he said. Still, LeMar Koethe said he would never allow another
rave at his facility, 7 Flags Fitness and Racquet Club in Clive.

Last year, he rented his building out for two raves.

At both, he fielded noise complaints, and the second rave was shut down by
police on noise and drug complaints.

No one was arrested on the property, and everyone was searched before
entering, Koethe said. Still, opening the club for raves isn't worth the
hassle and risk of prosecution, he said. Grassley, a Republican, and Sen.
Joe Biden, a Delaware Democrat, introduced the legislation to the U.S.
Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. A vote is scheduled for next
Thursday. The new federal policy would closely mirror current Iowa law,
said Dale Woolery, Iowa's associate drug policy coordinator.

"I think the message here is, "It's not enough for landlords or property
owners to look the other way," " Woolery said. "They have to be responsible
for what's going on on their property." A new federal law may serve to get
people's attention, he said.

"It never hurts to send the message and make sure that everybody knows that
if you go into a situation that you knowingly allow this to happen, you can
be held accountable," he said. But Denner, who said he'd never used illegal
drugs, said raves are about music, not drugs. A preconceived notion that
raves are all about drugs makes the legislation inefficient, he said.

"When Senator Grassley says he's only targeting raves used as fronts, it's
more likely an attack . . . to eliminate all raves," he said.