In the wake of tragic deaths at festival over the past year or so, a 12 year old law drafted by Vice President Joe Biden is coming under fire. The RAVE Act, as its known, is actually called the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act. Anybody who follows dance music festivals would have seen the common criticisms lobbied at the law. From DanceSafe to Pasquale Rotella, dance music’s loudest voices frequently condemn the law as draconian and responsible for many of the deaths that occur.
The founder of DanceSafe now works with Amend the RAVE Act, which aims for reforms. As Insomniac’s Pasquale Rotella has often noted, the law is written in such a way that scares festivals into banning any pro-active drug safety measures. This is why testing kits are not allowed at festivals and occasionally organizations like DanceSafe are barred as well. Those things appear to condone drug use in the eyes of The RAVE Act, so festivals deflect responsibility onto the festival goers and continue a zero-tolerance policy.
Amend the RAVE Act has the goal of changing the law so harm reduction education and information can be openly provided at festivals without fear of repercussions. While we’ve seen extremely tough reactions from the city of LA in the wake of deaths at this summer’s HARD festival, its refreshing to see an alternative reaction that may someday achieve real progress. Although, we somehow doubt this issue will make its way into any Election 2016 discussions. You can read the entire article below to learn more about the reform effort.
Source: Redlands Daily Facts
