From its earliest R&B roots, and especially since the 1960s, the pop music scene has been intertwined with the glamour and stigma of drug use. So consider the irony when a local radio station recently broadcast the latest headlines between its rock ‘n roll play mix, and announced that: “Recently enacted legislation could hold business owners and others, including event organizers, liable for participant’s illicit drug use.”
The newsreader was referring to a bill, passed in April, called the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, formerly known as the RAVE Act, that amends the 17-year-old Crack House statute making it a crime to knowingly maintain anyplace for the purpose of distributing or using illegal drugs.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) last January, was designed to go after crooked promoters who seek to profit from teen drug use, Biden’s office says.
But critics argue that the bill’s new language makes it easier to apply the law against legitimate bar, nightclub and stadium owners as well as event organizers and other promoters. “Basically, anyone who hosts or organizes a event,” says Bill Piper, associate director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, DC, which promotes drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights.
Two changes were made to the bill. The word “outdoor” was added when talking about where events were held and language was included to apply the law to single-night events as well as ongoing events.
“It clarifies that the law applies to outdoor locations rather than just enclosures and it applies to one-night events as well as ongoing events,” Chip Unruh, a spokesperson for Sen. Biden, says.
Piper argues that if the government brings a civil charge against the promoters of an event where people were arrested for selling or using drugs, it may not be that hard to convince a jury that it’s the promoter’s fault.
The Alliance is trying to amend or repeal the law. It hopes to work with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the government’s enforcement agency, to issue regulations around the act and to better define the act in terms of what is illegal and what is legal. It also hopes to define what steps property owners and event organizers can take to keep from being prosecuted.
“We’re trying to make sure that legitimate businesses that aren’t involved in the drug trade can’t be prosecuted simply because they can’t stop their guests from using or selling drugs on the property,” Piper says. “The government can’t even keep drugs out of its schools and prisons, but it is expecting bar and night club owners and concert promoters to keep drugs out of their events.”
Critics also say that because the bill was tacked on as an amendment to the Amber Alert bill there was no chance for public comment. The Amber Alert bill, a popular bill to help rescue abducted children, passed quickly amid wide-spread pressure from constituents and others after a young girl, Elizabeth Smart, returned home in March after being abducted from her bedroom months earlier.
Violators of the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act are subject to civil penalties of up to $250,000 or two times gross receipts derived from each violation.
Biden’s spokesperson Unruh says the bill does not impose criminal liability on a concert promoter and does not apply to incidental drug use if, say a patron smokes a joint or pops a few pills in the bathroom. “Legitimate property owners or event promoters are not in violation of this law if a patron happens to engage in illegal drug activity at their event,” Unruh says. “The only way a promoter can be held accountable is if they knowingly and intentionally hold an event for the purpose of distributing drugs or setting up a drug den.”
Most industry event organizers and marketers running massive promotions in outdoor and indoor venues attended by young people take great pains to ensure the safety and security of their patrons.
Miller Brewing holds large open (public) and closed (invited guests) events attended by many who consume Miller beer products, and it takes its role as a beer company “very seriously,” says spokesperson Ronald Acosta.
And while the closed, self-contained events are easier to control, a high-level of security is present at both types of venues, as well as onstage reminders about drinking responsibly. Acosta admits that it’s tough to gain total control over an open venue.
“Just as we wouldn’t want someone to over-consume, we wouldn’t want them to use illicit drugs because it puts everybody at risk,” Acosta says. “If someone spoils the event, others are impacted. That’s the memory they take away, that something bad happened. That’s not a good thing and that’s not how you want your brand to be remembered.”
And while Biden says the law is not directed at “legitimate” promoters, a flag went up as so-called Rave parties, or large gatherings of young people, became widely popular. The parties, often held at temporary venues on the outskirts of towns and cities, are billed as all-night, alcohol-free dance parties featuring loud music, but are frequently known for the sale and use of Ecstasy and other illegal drugs.
The RAVE Act (Reducing Americans Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act) was first introduced by Biden in June 2002. He re-introduced the bill again in 2003 as the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act to help deter this illicit drug use and to provide federal prosecutors with the tools needed to combat the manufacturing, distribution and use of dangerous controlled substances among any promoters, not just Rave enthusiasts, Biden’s spokesperson, Unruh, says.
Kim Guggenheim, a partner at Hall Dickler, says the language in the Act holds no assurances that event marketers are exempt from legal action. “This act is intentionally focused on rave promoters and it’s clear that it is not intended to go after other types of activities such as general event promoters,” he says. “But there can’t be any iron-clad assurance that the Act couldn’t be used in that non-intended circumstance. That is why event marketers and their representatives are uncomfortable with the Act and would welcome a further clarification and narrowing of the application to clearly exempt event marketers and other unintended parties.”
Guggenheim’s advice: maintain a visible and professional police presence at venues where it’s likely that attendees might be selling drugs to others in the crowd or bringing drugs in.
“Give [clients] a defense in case drugs are sold on the site,” he says. “They can’t be held more responsible for stopping drug traffic than the police that are already there.”
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