[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2633 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 453
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2633
To prohibit an individual from knowingly opening, maintaining,
managing, controlling, renting, leasing, making available for use, or
profiting from any place for the purpose of manufacturing,
distributing, or using any controlled substance, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 18, 2002
Mr. Biden (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Leahy, and Mr.
Durbin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
June 27, 2002
Reported by Mr. Leahy, without amendment
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit an individual from knowingly opening, maintaining,
managing, controlling, renting, leasing, making available for use, or
profiting from any place for the purpose of manufacturing,
distributing, or using any controlled substance, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to
Ecstasy Act of 2002'' or the ``RAVE Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Each year tens of thousands of young people are
initiated into the drug culture at ``rave'' parties or events
(all-night, alcohol-free dance parties typically featuring
loud, pounding dance music).
(2) Some raves are held in dance clubs with only a handful
of people in attendance. Other raves are held at temporary
venues such as warehouses, open fields, or empty buildings,
with tens of thousands of people present.
(3) The trafficking and use of ``club drugs'', including 3,
4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy or MDMA), Ketamine
hydrochloride (Ketamine), Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), and Gamma
hydroxybutyrate (GHB), is deeply embedded in the rave culture.
(4) Many rave promoters go to great lengths to try to
portray their events as alcohol-free parties that are safe
places for young adults to go to dance with friends, and some
even go so far as to hire off-duty, uniformed police officers
to patrol outside of the venue to give parents the impression
that the event is safe.
(5) Despite such efforts to convince parents that raves are
safe, promotional flyers with slang terms for Ecstasy or
pictures of Ecstasy pills send the opposite message to
teenagers, and in effect promote Ecstasy along with the rave.
According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, raves have
become little more than a way to exploit American youth.
(6) Because rave promoters know that Ecstasy causes the
body temperature in a user to rise and as a result causes the
user to become very thirsty, many rave promoters facilitate and
profit from flagrant drug use at rave parties or events by
selling over-priced bottles of water and charging entrance fees
to ``chill-rooms'' where users can cool down.
(7) To enhance the effects of the drugs that patrons have
ingested, rave promoters sell--
(A) neon glow sticks;
(B) massage oils;
(C) menthol nasal inhalers; and
(D) pacifiers that are used to combat the
involuntary teeth clenching associated with Ecstasy.
(8) Ecstasy is the most popular of the club drugs
associated with raves. Thousands of teenagers are treated for
overdoses and Ecstasy-related health problems in emergency
rooms each year. The Drug Abuse Warning Network reports that
Ecstasy mentions in emergency visits grew 1,040 percent between
1994 and 1999.
(9) Ecstasy damages neurons in the brain which contain
serotonin, the chemical responsible for mood, sleeping and
eating habits, thinking processes, aggressive behavior, sexual
function, and sensitivity to pain. According to the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, this can lead to long-term brain
damage that is still evident 6 to 7 years after Ecstasy use.
(10) An Ecstasy overdose is characterized by an increased
heart rate, hypertension, renal failure, visual hallucinations,
and overheating of the body (some Ecstasy deaths have occurred
after the core body temperature of the user goes as high as 110
degrees, causing all major organ systems to shutdown and
muscles to breakdown), and may cause heart attacks, strokes,
and seizures.
SEC. 3. OFFENSES.
(a) In General.--Section 416(a) of the Controlled Substances Act
(21 U.S.C. 856(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``open or maintain any
place'' and inserting ``open, lease, rent, use, or maintain any
place, whether permanently or temporarily,''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
``(2) manage or control any place, whether permanently or
temporarily, either as an owner, lessee, agent, employee,
occupant, or mortgagee, and knowingly and intentionally rent,
lease, profit from, or make available for use, with or without
compensation, the place for the purpose of unlawfully
manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled
substance.''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--The heading to section 416 of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 856) is amended to read as
follows:
``SEC. 416. MAINTAINING DRUG-INVOLVED PREMISES.''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents to title II of the
Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Prevention Act of 1970 is amended by
striking the item relating to section 416 and inserting the following:
``Sec. 416. Maintaining drug-involved premises.''.
SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTY AND EQUITABLE RELIEF FOR MAINTAINING DRUG-
INVOLVED PREMISES.
Section 416 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 856) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d)(1) Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be subject to
a civil penalty of not more than the greater of--
``(A) $250,000; or
``(B) 2 times the gross receipts, either known or
estimated, that were derived from each violation that is
attributable to the person.
``(2) If a civil penalty is calculated under paragraph (1)(B), and
there is more than 1 defendant, the court may apportion the penalty
between multiple violators, but each violator shall be jointly and
severally liable for the civil penalty under this subsection.
``(e) Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be subject to
declaratory and injunctive remedies as set forth in section 403(f).''.
SEC. 5. DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE REMEDIES.
Section 403(f)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C.
843(f)(1)) is amended by striking ``this section or section 402'' and
inserting ``this section, section 402, or 416''.
SEC. 6. SENTENCING COMMISSION GUIDELINES.
The United States Sentencing Commission shall--
(1) review the Federal sentencing guidelines with respect
to offenses involving gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB);
(2) consider amending the Federal sentencing guidelines to
provide for increased penalties such that those penalties
reflect the seriousness of offenses involving GHB and the need
to deter them; and
(3) take any other action the Commission considers
necessary to carry out this section.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR A DEMAND REDUCTION
COORDINATOR.
There is authorized to be appropriated $5,900,000 to the Drug
Enforcement Administration of the Department of Justice for the hiring
of a special agent in each State to serve as a Demand Reduction
Coordinator.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR DRUG EDUCATION.
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary to
the Drug Enforcement Administration of the Department of Justice to
educate youth, parents, and other interested adults about the drugs
associated with raves.
Calendar No. 453
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2633
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit an individual from knowingly opening, maintaining,
managing, controlling, renting, leasing, making available for use, or
profiting from any place for the purpose of manufacturing,
distributing, or using any controlled substance, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 27, 2002
Reported without amendment