This arrived as an email, but i figured i'd post it here since it has some more information about that 'Crack House' case.

--------------


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
*** DanceSafe E-News ***
Issue No. 2, January 18-24, 2001
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

To SUBSCRIBE visit http://www.dancesafe.org
To UNSUBSCRIBE send e-mail to:
newsletter-subscribe@dancesafe.org
To read this issue on the web, visit
http://www.dancesafe.org/news/
See below for other important links
and contact information.

Please copy and distribute.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In this issue:

1. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES ANTI-RAVE
OFFENSIVE
2. New Pill Results Available
3. Future Tribe Project Thrives Under Pressure
4. Say What? Tips on Hearing Protection
5. Movie Review: Traffic
6. Ecstasy Conference Deadline Extended

Welcome to Issue #2 of DanceSafe E-News. If you
missed the first issue, you'll soon find it
archived at: http://www.dancesafe.org/news.html

If you're just tuning in, you're just in time.
The U.S. government has begun its assault on
the rave community in earnest, threatening the
health, safety, and liberty of everyone. We
urge you to read the story below and prepare to
take action.

Thanks,
DanceSafe E-News

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES ANTI-RAVE OFFENSIVE

CRACKDOWN COMING SOON TO YOUR CITY

DANCESAFE NEEDS YOUR HELP!

In New Orleans this week, a well-known rave
promoter, James "Donnie" Estopinal, 32, of New
Orleans club owner Robert J. Brunet, 37, of
Metairie, and his brother Brian Brunet, 33, of
Tampa, Fla. will turn themselves in to a federal
court after having been indicted under a 1986
federal "anti-crack house" law. The indictments
represent the beginning of what federal
authorities have indicated will be a nationwide
effort to shut down the rave scene in an effort
to reduce drug use among young people. By
equating raves with crackhouses, the government
is asserting that drug use is the primary purpose
for holding the events, and, in fact, is the
central focus of the rave culture itself. If
they are successful, it will be de facto illegal
to hold or promote an electronic music event
anywhere in America.

The defendants, who are not accused of any direct
involvement with illicit drugs, are nevertheless
facing 20 years in prison and $500,000 fines
SIMPLY FOR THROWING RAVES.

The case has received widespread media coverage
since the indictments were announced last week,
as, for the first time in a generation,
government forces have essentially declared war
on an entire youth culture. The outcome of this
case carries serious implications, not only for
the rave community, but for young people
everywhere. Eddie Jordan, the federal prosecutor
who brought the case, told ABC News that he has
already heard from US Attorneys around the
country who are hoping to use this same strategy
to arrest rave promoters in their own districts.

You can read the local New Orleans coverage of the
case at:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n076/a07.html?7132
http://www.nola.com/news/todaysnews...32548-0113natio
na l0

As shocking as they seem, however, the arrests
in New Orleans do not come as a complete
surprise. Nearly one year ago, the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) launched an
intensive anti-rave media campaign, which has
resulted in enormous coverage of raves and
ecstasy by the national media. Six months ago,
the DEA held a conference on "raves and club
drugs" in Washington DC, during which numerous
speakers claimed that raves were "nothing more
than crack houses." The seeds for this
crackdown, then, have been sown for some time.

You can read a report on the DEA Ecstasy
Conference at:
http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/reports/DEAconf.htm

The final justification, it seems, for this
offensive came less than one month ago when the
results of the latest National Household Survey
on Drug Abuse showed that ecstasy use among
young people had skyrocketed. Availability of the
drug was also shown to have risen sharply. Thus,
armed with enough statistics and rhetoric to
frighten American parents, and enough media hype
to push politicians to feed their budgets, the
federal drug war bureaucracy swung into action.

But the chosen strategy - trying to equate raves
with crackhouses - presents significant hurdles
for the DEA. According to the 1986 law against
crack house operators, a "crack house" is a place
"created or maintained for the purpose of"
conducting illegal drug activity. This may be
difficult for federal prosecutors to show in any
case. In New Orleans, it seems that the
promoter and club in question took standard
measures to prevent drug use from occurring. All
patrons were searched upon entering, and those
found with illegal drugs inside the club, or even
suspected of having illegal drugs on them, were
either ejected or arrested by the club's
security. These are standard practices within
the music industry, and hardly the actions of
someone whose purpose was to provide a venue for
people to use illegal drugs.

In singling out the electronic music events from
other music events where drug use takes place,
this indictment constitutes a serious violation
of the First Amendment rights of a community's
free expression and right to assemble. Music is
a constitutionally protected form of free speech,
and banning or"cracking down" upon the
gatherings of one form of music culture is
something that can and must be opposed.

Banning raves is unlikely to prevent youth drug
use, but such a move IS likely to increase the
risks of the use that does occur. In Florida,
for example, six young people died last Spring
when a batch of fake ecstasy tablets containing
PMA passed through the state. None of these
individuals who died purchased their pills at
raves. In fact, the deaths occurred in the wake
of "Operation Heat Rave," a concerted effort by
Florida law enforcement and the state's drug
czar's office to close down the rave scene
there.

Perhaps if the rave scene had been allowed to
continue, and the State of Florida worked with
the industry to implement safe settings
protocols and harm reduction measures, one or
more of these young people who died would have
come across a DanceSafe booth and learned to
identify and avoid the deadly PMA Mitsubishi
tablets going around.

Banning raves will not stop drug use, nor will
it prevent deaths from misuse and abuse, but it
will make it much harder for public health
organizations who do outreach to drug users to
get potentially life-saving information into the
hands of those who need it.

Check the DanceSafe website very soon for more
information.

DanceSafe, in conjunction with the American Civil
Liberties Union and a number of promoters around
the country, have been working intensely during
the last week to put together a plan of action,
which we will be launching shortly.

What can you do to help?

1. Sign up to DanceSafe's email list (if you
haven't already.)

2. Forward this story to friends and tell them
to sign up. We will need to have as man

djentropy

Frolic, you are on dancesafe?

hehehe.....it's a small world

-Ian Entropy
http://www.djentropy.com
http://www.ne-hardcore.com
http://www.sensd.org

bucky

he's probably just on the mailing list for the newsletter...

PaRtYKiD!

I just got back from New Orleans. I did speak to quite a few partiers down there and they are all quite disressed about the entire situation. I filled them in our history with problems in our scene, however it would seem as if the authorities are quite bent on putting an end to the party scene in New Orleans.

New Orleans has quite a large scene, but the problem is, the only big parties that take place are during actual Mardi Gras, thus they dont have a substancial constant base of weekend-type partiers to actually put up a fight.

But I dont think they are giving up anytime soon.

PaRtYKiD
Corey