Every generation of tired, cranky middle-aged nay-sayers feels it necessary to wage an unspoken war against their youngers, their future replacements. I can only assume its out of envy and an illogical fear of the vigor of youth. Each generation has its battlegrounds, differing from decade to decade, but the suspicion of youth is relatively constant. Today is no different. The new crimes of youth are techno music, raves, and ectasy. Political wind-testers are passing new big brother legislation to further criminalize ectasy and rave dances. The facts don’t bear out any evidence of perceived dangers. This is simply another attempt to crush any ‘counter-culture’. The Facts: The reported mortality rates were 1.5% to 3% for opiate users, 0.9% for tobacco users, 0.5% for alcohol users, and 0.0002% for ecstasy users.
The Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act of 2002 — or the RAVE Act — has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee and is on the consent calendar, meaning it could receive final approval without a roll call vote at any time. When he introduced the bill in June, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) said “most raves are havens for illicit drugs,” and congressional findings submitted with the bill label as drug paraphernalia such rave mainstays as bottled water, “chill rooms” and glow sticks.
The bill would expand the existing federal crack house law, which makes it a felony to provide a space for the purpose of illegal drug use, to cover promoters of raves and other events.
Another bill pending in the House — the Clean, Learn, Educate, Abolish, Neutralize and Undermine Production (CLEAN-UP) of Methamphetamines Act, introduced by Rep. Doug Ose (R-Calif.) — goes further. It would hold concert promoters in violation if they “reasonably ought to know” that someone will use an illegal drug during an event.
oh, brother! They even hijacked the word “RAVE” for the name of their bill. Yeah, I had heard a news item a while back about legislators trying to define glowsticks as evil pernicious ancillary drug papaphernalia. Sheesh!