From: "John von Seggern"
quoted 4 lines I don't usually agree with the National Review, but check this out about
> I don't usually agree with the National Review, but check this out about
> the revival of the infamous 'crack house amendments':
> http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel013003.asp
> John von Seggern
Thank you for posting this link.
From the article:
<snip>
The Daschle bill extends the federal "crackhouse law" - which makes it illegal to maintain a
building for purposes of drug consumption - to cover musical performances and other events of a
temporary nature, and to make liable even those who make their premises available at no charge. The
idea is to make the promoters of musical events liable for drug consumption at those events - even
when the consumption is entirely incidental, and has nothing to do with any action by the
promoters. The legislation is, in effect, an admission of failure by the Drug Enforcement Agency:
Unable to control drug use, it's looking to force concert promoters and theaters to do it, on pain
of imprisonment.
As amended by Daschle, the "crackhouse law" would make it a 20-year federal felony to "manage or
control any place, whether permanently or temporarily, either as an owner, lessee, agent, employee,
occupant, or mortgagee, and knowingly and intentionally rent, lease, profit from, or make available
for use, with or without compensation, the place for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing,
storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance."
This language is broad enough to encompass not only rave promoters and disc jockeys, but also bar
owners, hotel or motel owners, concert promoters, tour bus or cruise ship operators - and even home
owners. Literally read, the statute would even apply to a homeowner whose teenagers occasionally
smoked marijuana on the property.
Frustrated by the failure to reduce Ecstasy use, federal bureaucrats and their congressional allies
are now looking to attack easy-to-find public targets. Some have even admitted that their real
target isn't drugs per se, but rather the "rave culture" - even though some earlier efforts at
prosecuting rave promoters have been enjoined
http://www.emdef.org/cases/nola_StatePalace/nola_plea_injunction.pdf
on First Amendment grounds.
<snip>
The Feds and the Music Industry: a good year for both to die: 2003.
.o0O}seeklektek{O0o.
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