US Bill set to Ban Raves, AIDS Suffering Tenants & Drug Users at BBQ's

I thought this was more appropriate here than in social or law, as the implications are far reaching.
This email was sent to Harm Minimisation mail-out subscribers.
From the Drug Policy Alliance [email protected]
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ACTION ALERT: STOP THE SENATE FROM BANNING RAVES
Property Rights and Right to Dance Under Attack
(A Drug Policy Alliance and Dance Safe Joint Action)
Take Action at: http://ga1.org/campaign/rave
As you may know, a bill to give the federal government broad powers to shut down musical events they don't like is rapidly moving through the Senate, and could be voted on as early as this week. Many of our supporters have already called their Senators and asked them to oppose the bill, and we are very, very grateful. The second part of our campaign is to flood the Senate with faxes, and we need people just like you!
Take Action at: http://ga1.org/campaign/rave
IT IS URGENT THAT YOU ACT RIGHT AWAY. If the anti-rave Senate bill is enacted, businessmen and women could face severe fines and long prison sentences if they fail to prevent customers from using or selling drugs on their premises. Property owners may become too afraid to rent or lease their property to groups holding hemp festivals or putting on all-night dance parties, effectively stifling free-speech and banning raves and other musical events!! The new law also potentially subjects homeowners to enormous federal sentences if some of their guests use drugs at their party or barbecue.
ACTIONS TO TAKE
** Fax your Senators today. Go to
http://ga1.org/campaign/rave to find out more.
** Forward this alert to your friends, family, and co-
workers.
MORE INFORMATION
The Senate is considering legislation that would give federal prosecutors new powers to shut down raves or other musical events they don't like and punish businessmen and women for hosting or promoting them. The bill (S, 2633), also known as the Reducing
American's Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act (RAVE Act), is moving very rapidly and could be considered by the full Senate as early as this week. (A similar bill is also pending in the House.)
S. 2633, sponsored by Senators Durbin (D-IL), Hatch
(R-UT), Grassley (R-IA) and Leahy (D-VT), expands the so-called "crack house statute" to allow the federal government to fine or imprison businessmen and women if customers sell or use drugs on their premises or at their events. Property owners, promoters, and event coordinators could be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars or face up to twenty years in federal prison if they hold raves or other events on their property. If the bill becomes law, property owners may be too afraid to rent or lease their property to groups
holding hemp festivals or putting on all-night dance parties, effectively stifling free-speech and banning raves and other musical events.
The new law would also make it a federal crime to temporarily use a place for the purpose of using any illegal drug. Thus, anyone who used drugs in their own home or threw an event (such as a party or barbecue) in which one or more of their guests used drugs could potentially face a $250,000 fine and years in federal prison. The bill also effectively makes it a federal crime to rent property to medical marijuana patients and their caregivers, giving the federal government a new weapon in its war on AIDS and cancer patients that use marijuana to relieve their suffering.
Health advocates worry that the bill will endanger our nation's youth. If enacted, licensed and law-abiding business owners may stop hosting raves or other events that federal authorities don't like, out of fear of massive fines and prison sentences. Thus, the law would drive raves and other musical events further underground and away from public health and safety regulations. It would also discourage business owners from enacting smart harm-reduction measures to protect their customers. By insinuating that selling bottled water and offering "cool off" rooms is proof that owners and promoters know drug use is occurring at their events, this bill may make business owners too afraid to implement such harm-reduction measures, and the safety of our kids will suffer.
The RAVE Act punishes businessmen and women for the crimes of their customers and is unprecedented in U.S. history. The federal government can't even keep drugs out of prisons, yet it seeks to punish business owners for failing to keep people from carrying drugs onto their premises. If this bill passes, federal authorities will have the ability to scare business owners away from using or renting their property for all-night dance events, as well as any other "politically incorrect" event.
For more information on this bill, go tohttp://thomas.loc.gov/ and under "bill number" search for S2633.
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I only hope that Australia follows England's lead in matters of drug policy rather than the USA's !
Who is funding/backing this 'war' on drugs, anyway. Are there really that many people who are opposed to letting others have fun in their own way ?

Im not equating dangerous driving to drug use. What i was trying to say is that this bill is not to stop the 'drug' problem. People will still take drugs no matter where they are. Whether is at a party or at home.
Creating a law where property owners can be fined for people on the property taking drugs is a totally wrong approach on the governments part.
The speeding point i was trying to make was to enforce that the government is creating that law to provide a revenue source for themselves, not to help 'little johnny' stop taking drugs.
Fining 4 events for $250,000 is instantly giving the government a million dollars. That doesnt solve the problem. Hiding a speed camera somewhere and making $20,000 a day doesnt stop people speeding. The link i was trying to make was between the cameras and the fines, not the drug-use.
[ 13 July 2002: Message edited by: psycotik ]

Bushie jnr is just trying to make enough money out of his fellow countrymen to fund his own cocaine habit... whats the harm in that?
does that mean if you get caught taking drugs in a national park that the whole country gets fined? seriously, the USA is just going too far!
Andromeda

psycotik, re hidden speed cameras: don't go over the speed limit, ever, and you won't get fined. Simple.
This is nothing like being fined for smoking a spliff at a private party. This damages yourself only (unless you are driving), unlike speeding which has the potential to harm many others. I really hope you can see the difference.