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Indybay Feature

Fight California's anti-rave bill

by amigo de Dancesafe
People are working hard to make AB1941 a permanent part of
California law. This bill would have a chilling effect on the
rave community as a whole, as well as DanceSafe's ability to educate and
save lives.

AB1941 passed the California Assembly on May 28th, 2002 with a 79-0 vote, and is currently making its way through the Senate.

The time to act is now!

What's wrong with AB1941?

  • AB1941 saddles the promoter of any event featuring electronic music and dancing with civil liability for any harm to a participant as a result of illicit drug use. What this means is that, in the unfortunate event that someone were to be injured or die as a result of their own voluntary drug use, the promoter could be sued by a person such as a parent for wrongful death, negligence, etc. This makes the promoter legally responsible for actions beyond his/her control.

  • This legislation will effectively ban harm reduction organizations such as DanceSafe from all permitted events. It will be impossible for a promoter to certify that no illegal drug use will take place at an event, while simultaneously allowing entry to an organization that attempts to educate patrons in making any drug use that does happen safer.

  • The passage of this bill would turn a patron who is under the influence of drugs into a liability for the promoter. Paradoxically, it would be more legally prudent for a promoter to evict a patron who is suspected of having consumed illegal drugs, leaving them to drive home intoxicated, than to allow them to remain in the presence of emergency services personnel and others who might know how to care for them in the case of an adverse event.

  • This law targets raves and events featuring electronic music in a discriminatory fashion. Electronic dance music events should not be singled out for a higher level of scrutiny and a more difficult permit process. Other events, such as a rock concert or a swing dance, would not trigger the same higher level of scrutiny and difficulty.

  • AB 1941 results in a vague, standardless process, a process which opens the door to abuses. It requires that promoters of a rave party "present evidence before the issuance of the permit showing that the promoter is sufficiently knowledgeable about illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia..." This requirement is so vague and broad that it gives no clear standard or guidance to the government officials granting permits, thus opening the door to arbitrary decisions and abuses.

  • The end result of this legislation will be to criminalize and dilute the electronic dance community. Many promoters will stop holding events for fear of litigation. The ones who remain will take their events underground. These underground events will often lack many of the services that are essential to keeping participants safe, such as running water, good ventilation, harm reduction services, and emergency medical care.

What can I do about it?

  • Write your senator! If you live in California, write a letter to your state senator. You can find out who your senator is by using this form on the Senate's website. If you don't have time to mail your letter, you can fax or email it. If a fax number isn't listed on your senator's page, you can call his/her office to request it.

    When writing, feel free to base your letter on some of the concerns above, or any others that you may have. Personalized letters will have a greater impact, and paper (US Mail or Fax) is better than email.

    If you don't have time to write a personalized letter, the ACLU of Southern California has put together an action alert from which you can send an email to your senator with two clicks of your mouse.

    However you choose to get in touch, be sure to include your full name and address, so that your senator knows that you are a member of his/her constituency. If you'd like, send a copy of your letter to us at ab1941@dancesafe.org and we'll put it up on the web for other people to see.

    The important thing is to make your voice heard!
  • Tell your friends! We've prepared an email that you can send to people who you think might be interested in this issue. Just cut-and-paste into your mail program, and away you go!

  • Distribute flyers! Print this flyer [PDF, 32k, double-sided], and pass it out at parties and other events. Or make your own! Send us a copy, and if we like it, we'll distribute it from this page.

Questions and Answers:

Q: How is that possible? Aren't people responsible for their own actions?

A: The bill requires the promoter of any "electronic music dance event" which might be attended by more than 500 people to obtain a permit 30 days before the event. In order to receive this permit, the promoter must present evidence that s/he "is sufficiently knowledgeable about illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia to recognize their presence at the event." Furthermore, the promoter must, "acknowledge in writing that he or she or his or her agents will not permit, condone, or ignore violations of state and local laws regarding the presence, possession, sale, or use of drugs and drug paraphernalia at any event covered by the permit."

These requirements would result in the promoter taking responsibility for the prevention of drug use at his/her party. If the promoter then failed to prevent the use of drugs, and someone came to harm as a result of that, the promoter would be liable for that harm.

Q: What impact does this bill have on Harm Reduction organizations like DanceSafe?

A: Though the language of the bill doesn't specifically target Harm Reduction efforts, its supporters have said that it would prevent HR groups such as DanceSafe from doing their work at permitted events. It would be extremely difficult for a promoter to convince the court that they had made every effort to keep their event drug-free, while simultaneously allowing entry to a group that educates patrons on safer drug use. Furthermore, DanceSafe's onsite pill-testing program depends on amnesty from law enforcement and the acceptance of promoters. In a post-AB1941 world, this program would become a thing of the past.

Q: Why can't promoters just keep drugs out of their events?

A: Drugs are small. It's difficult to search every patron for even a tiny pipe and a small quantity of marijuana without being extremely invasive, let alone a 4mm x 8mm ecstasy pill, or a 3mm square of LSD blotter paper.

Even if every promoter could have a pack of trained drug-sniffing dogs at the ready, they would be useless in identifying those who had taken their drugs somewhere else, and then showed up at the event.

It is not illegal to be under the influence of drugs (it is only illegal to posses them), and it's impossible to prove conclusively whether someone has used drugs without extremely invasive measures such as a urine or blood test. Therefore, calling the police on a patron suspected of illicit drug use is not a viable option. Promoters will be left with no choice but to protect themselves by evicting partygoers who they suspect of having used drugs, often leaving those people to drive home while under the influence.

Further Information:

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