For Immediate Release:
Censorship is Latest Drug War Tactic as Government Seeks to Put "Rave" Dance
Music Promoters in Prison
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 commodi fied 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.
# # #
For more pressinformation please contact Susan Mainzer at Green Galactic,
323-466-514 or susan@greengalactic.com
www.aclu.org
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