Police had all the 'luck' in club raid (War on Drugs):

[Earth_First]

Police had all the 'luck' in club raid
Rave bust

FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
By Ken Palmer and Bryn Mickle
[e-mail] • 810.766.6313

FLINT - The rave was called "Getting Lucky."

But the 130 people who attended Saturday night's party at Club What's Next were feeling anything but lucky when police officers swept in and arrested everybody early Sunday.

"A lot of the people were so stoned, they didn't even know the police were there," said a Flint sergeant who coordinated the raid and asked to be unnamed because he works undercover. "We had to convince them we were really police officers."

Seventeen people - including promoter Jell-Oh of Dancing Jell-Oh Productions - were arrested on felony drug charges and lodged in the Genesee County Jail pending formal charges, police said.

The other partygoers were cited and released for misdemeanor drug possession or frequenting a drug establishment.

Continued: http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-27/1111508580310650.xml

Drug Policy Alliance Response/Action:

2004 -- Racine, Wisconsin -- Hundreds of music fans were ticketed for being in a crowded nightclub where a few people used drugs. Those ticketed had no drugs on them. The police didn’t even have any evidence that they had ever used drugs. Their only “crime” was dancing at a nightclub where other people who used drugs were arrested.

Although only three drug arrests were made, police issued citations to 445 innocent attendees with a penalty of $968 each for being "patrons of a disorderly house." The citations were ultimately dismissed.

Now, it has happened again; this time in Flint, Michigan. On Saturday the local police raided a popular nightclub, Club What’s Next, and ticketed music fans who were attending a dance night known as “Getting Lucky” (the DJs included Halluci-Nate, Sparkimus Prime, White Rabbit, Captain Cheddar and California's Dj Primo.) While some people were arrested for possessing or selling illegal drugs, most people were ticketed for “frequenting a drug establishment,” a misdemeanor offense.

That’s right. In Flint, Michigan (and many other cities) if you go out dancing on a Saturday night and the police happen to arrest other people at the club for drugs, you could be charged with a drug crime even though you had nothing to do with drugs. These innocent party-goers now face up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. They also face a criminal record with all the legal and social barriers that brings. Several people at the club that night told us club-goers were also subjected to strip searches, including full cavity searches – even though they had nothing to do with drugs.

The raid on Club What’s Next was conducted by Flint's Special Operations and Crime Area Target Team units, along with the Flint Area Narcotics Group and the Genesee County Sheriff's Posse. We’re looking into whether or not federal Byrne grant money helped finance the raids.

http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=25203&MS=flintrave-aa

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

1. Ahhh, the wonders of collective guilt. How totally Soviet. (nt)

[SheepyMcSheepster]

2. that's really disturbing.

i just don't understand this at all.
how can this be legitimate?

[Earth_First]

4. "The Rave Act"

Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) forced the controversial legislation, commonly known as the "RAVE" Act, through both houses of Congress as an attachment to an unrelated child abduction bill. The "RAVE" Act, also referred to as the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2003, was introduced as an addition to the Child Abduction Protect Act of 2003, widely recognized as the AMBER Alert bill (S151). The "RAVE" Act had not passed a single committee this year. In addition, it was so controversial when it was introduced during the 107th Congress that two Senators withdrew their sponsorship.

The "RAVE" Act makes it easier for the federal government to prosecute innocent business owners for the drug offenses of their customers - even if they take steps to stop such activity. This is a threat to free speech and musical expression while placing at risk any hotel/motel owner, concert promoter, event organizer, nightclub owner or arena/stadium owner for the drug violations of 3rd parties - real or alleged - regardless of whether or not the promoter and/or property owner made a good-faith effort to keep their event drug-free. It applies not only to electronic-music parties, but any type of public gathering: theatrical productions, rock concerts, DJ Nights at your local club or tavern, and political rallies. Moreover, it gives heightened powers and discretion to prosecutors who may use it to target events they personally don’t like, such as Hip-Hop events and gay and lesbian fundraisers.

The "RAVE" Act was passed despite the fact it did not have a public hearing, debate or vote in Congress this year. It is important to note that because of overwhelming opposition to the "RAVE" Act, legislators were forced to remove some of the most egregious language before it passed. For example, the word "rave" was removed from the version of the bill attached to the AMBER Alert. Eliminating such blatant discrimination is a victory for our continued freedom of speech. Also, the original bill suggested that prosecutors should view the sale of water and the presence of glow-sticks or massage oil as evidence of drug use. These ludicrous "findings" were completely removed due in large part to activists who sent nearly 30,000 faxes this year alone to their Senators urging them not to support the dangerous legislation. The AMBER Alert bill with the "RAVE" Act attachment must be singed by President Bush before becoming law.

When it was first introduced there was widespread belief that the "RAVE" Act would move through the legislative channels quickly with no revision. Instead, it took 10 months, a change of power in the United States Senate, backroom policymaking, and substantial changes to the bill before it was passed - and even then it did not pass via "normal" legislative procedures.

The "RAVE" Act gives the government even more power to harass and arrest innocent musicians, promoters, venue owners, and fans - all in the name of the War on Drugs. Law-enforcement agencies already target certain types of musical and cultural events and the nightclubs that host them. The Drug Enforcement Administration is prosecuting nightclub owners and promoters that organize electronic dance music events and the military is using drugs as a pre-text to close down gay nightclubs. In Wisconsin, local officials recently raided a popular nightclub and fined every customer - simply for being in proximity to a drug arrest on the premises. In addition, drug laws are often enforced unevenly against African Americans and Latinos. Hip Hop could easily become a target.

The "RAVE" Act was originally introduced during the 107th Congress by Senator Joe Biden. A House version was introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX). Drug Policy Alliance with the help of activists and supporters stopped any movement on these bills last year. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) sponsored "RAVE" Act legislation in the House this year and Senator Biden reintroduced the "RAVE" Act in the Senate.

http://www.drugpolicy.org/communities/raveact/

[Earth_First]

5. S.151

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:SN00151:

[TheModernTerrorist]

3. oh Flint....

my hometown.... when will you learn? *shakes head*

[Earth_First]

6. Non-Shiavo oriented news kick...