CLUB OWNERS HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT ANTI-DRUG LEGISLATION

Area club owners and music promoters are worried they could be
punished by legislation aimed at curtailing use of club drugs such as
Ecstasy.

The new law was tucked into a child safety package signed Wednesday by
President Bush that includes provisions to improve kidnapping alert
systems.

Nightclub owners have nothing against Amber Alerts, they say, but
think lawmakers sneaked through drug legislation that previously
failed in Congress.

The Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act is based on the federal "crack
house" statute, which allows prosecution of people who knowingly allow
their private residences or businesses to be used for the buying and
selling of drugs. The new provision expands the statute to include
places rented for temporary or one-time events, such as nightclubs,
concerts and raves.

"I just think they are tagging on some baseless laws to really put a
damper on dance music," said Siamack Zahabi II, co-owner of Kabal
nightclub, 503 Walnut St.

Zahabi worries that he could be prosecuted if someone is caught using
drugs at Kabal, even though the business stresses a no-tolerance
stance toward the use of illegal drugs.

"You can't even keep drugs out of prisons," he said. "I can't search
the pockets of everybody who comes through the door."

The bill signed Wednesday includes legislation originally introduced
as the RAVE Act - or Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act
- - that was aimed at club drugs like Ecstasy.

An earlier version targeting drugs found at raves, concerts and other
venues frequented by young people failed to pass Congress last year,
after complaints that the bill unfairly painted all raves and concerts
as havens for illegal drug use.

Lawmakers modified the bill to take out its original focus on raves,
renamed it and attached it to the Amber Alert bill.

Kansas City Police Sgt. Brad Dumit, of the department's vice unit,
said that innocent nightclub owners, promoters and organizers should
not worry.

The bill is aimed at protecting young people, he said. Police will go
after people who rent out a house or building for raves or other
events and "allow anything just to get the money," Dumit said.

Besides, property owners already are liable in civil courts, Dumit
pointed out.

"Civilly, you're always liable for what happens on your property," he
said, using an example of an injury during a fall on a sidewalk.
"Criminally, it gives us another tool."