> FESTIVALS & SHOWS IN DANGER
>
> Festivals and many of the shows we all love to go to
> are in danger! THIS IS
> NO JOKE!
>
> A bill is quietly working its way through Congress
> garbed as an
> anti-methamphetamine measure containing a stealth
> provision that could lead
> to prison sentences for promoters of events where
> illegal drug use occurs.
>
> The questionable language of this bill is in section
> 305, and if passed,
> would be inserted in section 416 (21 USC 856) of the
> Controlled Substances
> Act. The questionable language reads, "Whoever
> knowingly promotes any rave,
> dance, music, or other entertainment event, that
> takes place under
> circumstances where a promoter knows or reasonably
> should know that a
> controlled substance will be used or distributed in
> violation of federal law
> or the law of the place where the event is held,
> shall be fined under Title
> 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more
> than nine years, or both."
>
> For more information, check out MethBill
>
> According to The Electronic Music Defense and
> Education Fund (EMDEF.ORG), a
> group created to defend the industry against attack
> from politicians unable
> or unwilling to differentiate between the rave
> culture and drug use said,
> "this law could be used to prosecute the promoters
> of any well-attended
> entertainment event, whether it be a rave, a
> concert, a major league sports
> game, or even a high school dance." We can easily
> add FESTIVALS to that list!!
>
> Now, this is not about drug use at shows or
> festivals. This affects all of us
> who like to go to concerts, sporting events, and
> festivals, whether we
> believe drugs are bad, or whether we use drugs
> ourselves. This is about
> sending innocent individual who organize
> entertainment events to jail because
> someone who happened to attend the event also
> happened to use drugs. Why
> should event promoters suddenly become drug war
> officers? They are paid to
> promote events, not to play mommy!
>
> The passing of this bill could severely limit the
> jamband scene! If this bill
> passes, then current festival promoters will think
> twice about hosting
> festivals. And, the bands whose fans are known to
> partake in illegal
> substances will have a hard time booking venues.
> Let's be honest. We have all
> been to plenty of shows, and we are all well aware
> of people smoking pot, and
> this could lead to bands that we love not being
> booked!
>
> The jamband community MUST fight this! The easiest
> and fastest way will be to
> send your congressman an email. Please join me in
> this email campaign!
>
> If you don't know who your congressman is, go to
> House.Gov.
>
> Here is a copy of a letter I wrote you could use or
> modify (Thanks to
> Upstream Team member Paul for posting his letter...I
> based mine on his). Feel
> free to copy and paste it into the email to your
> congressmen.
>
>
> Dear Honorable Sir,
> I am writing to urge you to oppose
> H.R.3782--Clean-Up Methamphetamine Act of
> 2002.
>
> As I'm sure you are aware, the bulk of this bill is
> devoted to tightening the
> screws on methamphetamine producers by increasing
> penalties against
> laboratory operators and providing grants to law
> enforcement for training and
> equipment acquisition for clean-ups. I am by no
> means against any of that,
> and I do not condone the production or use of
> methamphetamine. However, I
> take particular offense at section 305.
>
> Section 305 doesn't even mention methamphetamine;
> instead it refers to "a
> controlled substance," meaning that even marijuana
> use at rock concerts -- a
> commonplace occurrence since the mid-1960s -- could
> be enough to indict and
> convict promoters under the bill. While the bill
> explicitly targets the rave
> culture, opportunities for prosecutions under the
> bill could well extend to
> county fairs, NBA games, high school proms, and just
> about any music event.
>
> The suggestion that event promoters are subject to
> fines and possible prison
> time for the actions of individuals who attend said
> events is outrageous. It
> is my belief that no one person is legally
> responsible for the irresponsible
> habits of another, especially when the irresponsible
> parties aren't even
> known to the promoters. These "events" are sometimes
> attended by tens of
> thousands of individuals. How could a promoter be
> held responsible for all
> attendees' actions?
>
> In addition, this bill could have a negative impact
> on on-site harm reduction
> efforts, such as those done by DanceSafe
> (Dancesafe.org), a group that
> provides pill-testing and safety information to
> rave-goers. This legislation
> would make event promoters less likely to allow drug
> prevention organizations
> and harm reduction groups to distribute their
> information inside an event for
> fear of self-incrimination.
>
> In closing, I'd like to reiterate that as a voting
> resident in your district,
> I am highly against this bill. I strongly call for
> your opposition to this.
>
> I thank you for your time and humbly request that
> you stand behind the
> promoters' and event-goers on this issue.
>
> Sincerely yours,
>
>
>
> Please be sure to sign your name and include your
> mailing address. Your email
> will not be taken seriously without your signature.
> Please pass this email on to any jamband lists you
> may be on, or to any other
> kind souls who love the music and festival scene. We
> CAN make a difference if
> we all fight together!
>
> Jenny Brown
--------------------
Growing anything is good for the soul
|
First off, it is a witch hunt, started by the specter of "losing our youth to drugs" Unfortunatly this seems to be a majority opinion thru one route or another, and so the gov't is getting the power to do as it pleases in any matter even remotely involving drug use. Secondly, there is a rather large economy in the law enforcement industry that is based solely on the pursuit and confiscation of illegal chemicals and plants. I dont have the info on hand, but i bet if you look back before the start of the "war on drugs" back with nixon, and look now, the court system is much larger and pays many more people, not to mention the labs that do the testing. Put these two together, and voila! you've got your current situation.
Now, as i see it, there are two clear cut ways that people go about living under this shadow of persecution. one is to cut back on the said activity, and attempt to change to law of the country thru our "god given rights" and basically bother our elected officials into voting the way we want them to by threatening to not reelect them. The second, and in my opinion much more vital one, is to go to our mythical underground. This is a place that is defined not so much as place but by the vitality and drive of its participants. This is what is keeping the rave scene alive in many places in the us, and even here in detroit. Granted, it is a pain in the ass to find, and most often takes place in the midst of other gatherings, but it is the heart and soul of the rave community. They cant really break that apart, due in part to the existance of clubs and the close availability of canada (at least here), but they will try to demoralize by taking away our ability to throw a festival. I say fight the good fight on both fronts, and dont ever live your life by a set of words on paper written by someone you've never met, and quite possibly didnt vote for.
I seriously doubt that they'll be able to pull this one off however...they've tried before. Raise hell and make sure it doesnt tho!
--------------------
"..all those molecules thrashing their kinky little tails, hot for destiny and the street." Gibson
Nuke baby seals for Jesus!
(This has been a +1 production.)
|
Thats not all this insanely facist, bull shit bill is trying to do. If the Bill passed, sites like the shroomery, and erowid would be shut down for good. There would also be no more High Times, or Cannabis Culture. If this Bill ever passed, the response would be enormous.
However such a response could in fact benefit the drug culture in many ways, because it would cause concert goers to make a stance against the drug war.
|
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