DRUG BILL TARGETING RAVE SCENE NEARS PASSAGE DESPITE CRITICS

WASHINGTON - His controversial proposal to crack down on all-night dance
parties where illegal drugs are used or sold is on the brink of becoming
law, but Sen. Joseph Biden insists he's not out to stop the music.

At issue is a bill -- once known as the "RAVE Act" -- that has drawn fire
from civil liberties groups and grass-roots activists as an unfair attack
on the events, popular with teenagers and young adults, where the drug
"ecstasy" is a common ingredient.

The Delaware Democrat's proposal went nowhere last year in either the House
or Senate. But this year he renamed it the "Illicit Drug Non-Proliferation
Act" and slipped it into a larger crime bill during a House-Senate
conference. The bill cleared Congress last week, and President Bush has
said he would sign it.

"The reason I introduced this bill was not to ban dancing, kill 'the rave
scene' or silence electronic music -- all things of which I have been
accused," Biden told the Senate last week. "In no way is this bill aimed at
stifling any type of music or expression. It is only trying to deter
illicit drug use and protect kids."

Biden's maneuver was little-noticed when Congress overwhelmingly approved
the crime bill.

But some lawmakers, including members of Biden's own party, were upset at
the impending enactment of a measure that, by itself, had never been voted
on in either the House or the Senate.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a senior member of the House Judiciary
Committee, voted against the final version of the crime bill after having
previously supported it. Frank said he switched to protest Biden's provision.

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary
Committee, voted for the final bill but also expressed concerns. Biden's
measure, Leahy said, "has drawn serious grass-roots opposition. And I know
that I am not alone in hearing from many constituents about their serious,
and well-considered, objections to it." The measure should have been given
"a fuller hearing," Leahy said.

The Biden measure revises a 1986 law that holds owners of crack houses
criminally responsible if they knowingly allow their property to be used by
drug makers or dealers.

Under the new measure, the crack-house law would be expanded to include
properties used or rented for temporary or one-time events. Violators --
who could include event promoters and property owners or managers -- would
face prison terms or civil fines of $250,000 or twice the gross revenue of
an event, whichever is greater.

When he first introduced the bill in June 2002, Biden said he was targeting
"club drugs" such as ecstasy, which are often found at raves, concerts and
other events frequented by teenagers. The measure was co-sponsored this
year by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.,
Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Gordon Smith, R-Ore.

Biden said his measure sets a "high bar" for prosecuting offenses and does
not punish owners or promoters who follow the law.