---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 15:49:43 -0700
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: F8: RAVE act update
While proponents of the RAVE Act thought they could
quickly and quietly pass it through the Senate, they
were wrong. The Chief of Staff for Senator Biden
(sponsor of the RAVE Act) recently told the
Washington Post that, "we thought this would be an
innocuous bill that everybody would rally in support
of." Instead, this bill is now in the midst of
controversy. They greatly underestimated the strength
of the Drug Policy Alliance and our allies:
** The Drug Policy Alliance, in conjunction with
Dance Safe, has launched a fax campaign that
has sent almost 25,000 faxes to the Senate in
opposition to the RAVE Act. Additionally,
BuzzLife Productions, which coordinates dance
events in the DC area, gathered 10,000 on-line
signatures in opposition to the bill in only
five days and has personally delivered them to
the Senate. Thousands of voters have called
their Senators in opposition to this bill. Key
Senators are feeling the heat.
** The controversial RAVE Act and the campaign
against it have garnered national attention,
with news articles across the country, including
the Oakland Tribune and the Washington Post:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1347/a09.html?111.
Alliance employees have warned voters about the
RAVE Act and spurned them to action on radio
stations from California to New York.
** The Drug Policy Alliance is working with other
organizations to stop or modify this bill,
including the ACLU and business groups. We are
in the process of working with co-sponsors of
the bill to find ways to limit its application
and reduce the harm it will cause. In particular,
we are working to ensure that it doesn't
legislate raves and hemp festivals out of
existence. Ultimately, the Alliance wants to
defeat the RAVE Act - but if it's unstoppable,
we want to amend it to protect civil liberties,
free speech, and the right to dance.
If you have not taken the time to contact your senators about this bill,
it is $
Visit http://www.drugpolicy.org/action/RaveBill.html
This also might interest you all:
HAZARDOUS ECSTASY VARIANTS MAKE HEADLINES
At a time when Congress is seeking to shut down
dance clubs that allow third-parties to test pills,
law enforcement representatives are reporting an
increase in the number of dangerous drugs sold as
ecstasy. An ecstasy knock-off known as PMA, a very
powerful form of speed, has already claimed the
lives of dozens of youth who mistakenly believed
that had purchased a much milder drug. More
recently, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
issued an alert for two newer drugs, known as Foxy
and AMT. According to the Florida warnings:
Foxy, also called Methoxy Foxy (known chemically as
5-MeO-DIPT) is a hallucinogen that comes in tablets
and capsules. Users report diarrhea, nausea, severe
anxiety and a high or "buzzing" that can last 14
hours.
AMT, known chemically as alpha-methyltryptamine, is
a hallucinogen that usually comes in a capsule with
orange or off-white powder. Users experience
increased energy, empathy, visual patterns, nausea,
headaches, vomiting and jaw clenching.
Law enforcement representatives have a tendency to
exaggerate the negative side-effects of drugs,
leading skeptics to wonder why Americans spend
billions annually on illicit drugs that purportedly
do little other than cause severe physical illness
and death. However, even the objective experts at
DanceSafe have expressed concern over ecstasy-
variants. "About half the pills we test are not
(Ecstasy)," says Tim Santamour, executive director
of DanceSafe. "Drug dealers know there is a market
for Ecstasy right now, and they are willing to put
their customers at risk." Ecstasy users who end up
with Foxy or AMT are in for a "big surprise," he
says. "The high is nothing like that of Ecstasy.
It's a psychedelic trip."
If Congress passes the RAVE Act the harm reduction
pill testing of groups like DanceSafe and the life-
saving reality-based drug education they provide may
be forced underground. The resulting increase in so-
called drug-related deaths would likely be used to
justify more zero tolerance policies. While Europe
has all but abandoned the drug war in favor of harm
reduction, Congress is seemingly intent on maximizing
the harm associated with illicit drug use. Harm
reduction proponents contend that sacrificing more
children at the altar of the failed drug war in order
to "send a message" is not in America's best interest.
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