ABC News has a long piece today on the proposed federal RAVE Act. In case you aren't familiar with the Act, RAVE stands for "Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy."

The bill expands the federal "crack-house" statute, designed to prosecute anyone whose buildings are used as drug havens,including party promoters.

"Under the Senate bill, anyone involved with the planning of a rave who knows drugs are used, exchanged or made there could face criminal charges and be subject to a civil penalty of $250,000 or two times the gross receipts derived from each violation."

"The legislation's broad language may appear to encompass any nightclub or other venue where drugs may be present, but the act's title suggests that the real targets here are raves. "

We stand by our prevous description of the bill as "lunacy." And here is our earlier Action Alert if you want to make your opposition known.

Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) is a principal sponsor. The bill will likely be taken up by Congress in October.

For some organizations with lots of info on the Rave Act, check out DanceSafe. If you want more info on ecstasy, try Myths and Facts About Ecstasy with lots of links.