The DEA Uses RAVE Act to Suppress Free Speech In Montana

An agent from America's Drug Enforcement Agency threatened civil liberties activists from respected marijuana reform organisation NORML week, with the RAVE act this week, to intimidate them from staging a planned benefit concert in Montana.

"This confirms all our fears about the RAVE Act," said Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance.

"This isn't about drug parties or raves, it's about having a club to hold over people's heads, whether its hemp festivals, circuit parties, dances, whatever. The RAVE Act is being used to suppress political speech."

Marijuana Policy Project chief Bruce Mirken agreed, pointing out "the RAVE Act's sponsors said repeatedly it was to crack down on people knowingly allowing open drug use."

"If laws, no matter how wrongheaded, aimed at drug use and distribution are used to intimidate efforts to discuss reform or raise money for reform, we are getting really Orwellian."

According to reports on the web, Montana's ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) are looking into the case.

http://www.norml.org
http://www.drcnet.org
http://www.drugpolicy.org
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