Illicit Speech Anti-Proliferation Act

Joe Biden's Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, which holds venue owners responsible for drug use on their property, seems to have claimed its first victim: a fund-raising event for two drug policy reform groups. The Drug Reform Coordination Network reports that the Drug Enforcement Administration used the law to intimidate the owners of the Eagle Lodge in Billings, Montana, into canceling a concert that would have benefited the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.

On May 30, the day the event was set to take place, a Billings-based DEA agent showed up at the Eagle Lodge, which had booked the concert. Waving a copy of the RAVE Act [the law's original name] in one hand, the agent warned that the lodge could face a fine of $250,000 if someone smoked a joint during the benefit, according to Eagle Lodge manager Kelly, who asked that her last name not be used.

"He freaked me out," Kelly told DRCNet. "He didn't tell us we couldn't have the event, but he showed me the law and told us what could happen if we did. I talked to our trustees, they talked to our lawyers, and our lawyers said not to risk it, so we canceled," she said. "I felt bad. I knew the guys in the bands."…

DEA Denver regional office spokesman Bill Wyman confirmed to DRCNet that an agent had visited the Eagle Lodge to warn of possible RAVE Act violations and their consequences…

Clearly, the chilling effect of this law is not limited to unconventional music. Just as opponents of the measure predicted, the government is using it to silence critics of the war on drugs.

[Thanks to Ted Sampsell-Jones for the link, via Don Watkins.]