anabolic frolic

Censorship is Latest Drug War Tactic as Government
Seeks to Put "Rave" Dance Music Promoters in Prison

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 7, 2001

NEW ORLEANS, LA--A local music promoter and a concert hall manager who face up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines simply for staging the
electronic dance music events known as "raves" said today that the charges against them amount to censorship and have asked a federal court here to
dismiss the case.

"The prosecution by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is part of a novel -- and entirely unconstitutional -- strategy to curtail use of the drug
Ecstasy, which has been associated with raves, by using federal 'crack house' laws," said Arthur Lemann, a local attorney who is representing one of the
defendants.

Youth culture expert Douglas Rushkoff as well as music industry professionals are speaking out against the prosecution of rave organizers as an unfounded
attack on a vibrant music culture. The American Civil Liberties Union has also said that it opposes such prosecutions on constitutional grounds.

"Holding club owners and promoters of raves criminally liable for what some people may do at these events is no different from arresting the stadium
owners and promoters of a Rolling Stones concert or a rap show because some concertgoers may be smoking or selling marijuana," said Graham Boyd,
Director of the ACLU's Drug Policy Litigation Project.

Today's case marks the first time that the government has used the "crack house" law to prosecute organizers of raves. Prosecutors around the country are
watching the case and have already publicly announced an interest in applying the same strategy in their districts, Boyd said.

"If the government is successful in shutting down raves," he added, "what's to stop them from applying this tactic to other music genres, such as hip-hop,
heavy metal and jazz, where drug use is known to exist?"

At a hearing today in federal district court, James D. Estopinal -- known to worldwide fans of electronic music as "Disco Donnie" for his legendary rave
parties -- and Brian Brunet, a manager of the State Palace Theater here, will enter "not guilty" pleas and seek a dismissal of the case.

Lawyers for Brunet and Estopinal are charging a violation of their clients' basic constitutional rights to free speech and due process. Their clients, they said,
"have been targeted because of the genre of music that they promote and the unsubstantiated association of that genre with rampant drug use."

New Orleans attorney Lemann, who will appear in court tomorrow with Brunet and Estopinal, noted that both men had fully cooperated with "Operation
Rave Review," a joint investigation by the New Orleans police department and the DEA.

But under pressure from the media and the public, according to the brief, "the DEA has revised its strategy, ignoring drug dealers, and instead prosecuting
electronic music concert promoters, whom the government does not accuse of providing drugs, assisting anyone in providing drugs, or of being directly
involved with drugs in any way whatsoever."

Passed by Congress in 1986 to combat crack cocaine, the federal "crack house" law was designed to punish the owners or operators of houses used for the
manufacture, storage, distribution or use of illegal drugs.

Yet Congress specifically rejected using the crack house tactic last year when it passed the Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act. Passed in October 2000, the
Act strengthened penalties for those caught trafficking in the drug and provided money for educational programs. Significantly, however, lawmakers
eliminated a controversial provision that would have limited speech about ecstasy and other drugs.

Raves are a legitimate cultural event just like rock concerts, art exhibitions and film screenings, and can be an important outlet for young people, according
to journalist and youth culture expert Douglas Rushkoff, a Professor of Media Culture at New York University and author of "Coercion: Why We Listen to
What 'They' Say."

"In a world where most every authentic expression of youth culture is commodified by a media conglomerate and sold back to teens at the mall, rave
culture stands as one of the few, relatively uncorrupted outposts for America's kids," he said.

Grassroots organizing has already sprung up in response to this latest government censorship threat: the newly established Electronic Music Defense and
Education Fund (EMDEF), is spreading the word to rave enthusiasts and music industry professionals.

William Patterson, an EMDEF activist, said that concert promoters are concerned about drug use in their community and have taken proactive steps to
alleviate problems of drug use by some patrons. The Lindesmith Center, a drug policy organization working to broaden and better inform the public debate
on drug policy and related issues, sponsors the group.

The legal brief is online at http://www.aclu.org/court/brunet.pdf.

The International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM) has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Brunet and Estopinal, which is online at
http://www.aclu.org/court/brunet_amicus.pdf.

~*kErbiE*~

Operation Rave Review? Buahaha.

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karlene.

monstercan-D

This is serious shit, the kind of stuff that more people on the Hullaboard should be concerned about.

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Make it one to remember, folks.

Markavelli

Monstercan is right, this stuff is VERY important!
It not only affect whether or not we will be able to continue to rave into the future, but it could also affect every successive generation under us in a massive way. It will become a convenient avenue whereby the Government will be able to shut down any even which it opposes, and jail those who run the event. Once the Government is given the power to infringe upon our rights to freedom of speech and assembly there is nothing to stop them from clumsily weilding this power, irresponsibly taking out any citizen group whom the police, dea, or atf deem unworthy to be heard! We must show the government that we do NOT approve of their unconstitutional behavior and, if given the chance, stand up and fight (or just VOTE!) for our rights as citizens!!

__________________
I hope that when I die I reincarnate as an MDMA test rat.

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
-Albert Einstein