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