RAVE ACT SILENCES FREE SPEECH

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 DEA 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.

Marc Sierra

Moline