Illinois Bill Criminalizes Marijuana Information on the Internet 4/9/99

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(reprinted from the NORML Weekly News, http://www.norml.org)
April 8, 1999, Springfield, IL: The state House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation that would impose criminal penalties on those who transmit information pertaining to marijuana on the Internet if they "know that the information will be used in furtherance of illegal activity."

NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq. noted, "Under this measure, someone could legally transmit information about potentially violent activities like building bombs, but face criminal prosecution for posting messages about the documented medical uses of marijuana. This is an attempt to circumvent the first amendment guarantee of free speech by turning the transmission of certain factual information via the Internet into a 'thought crime.' Proponents of this type of legislation are the equivalent of modern day book-burners."

House Bill 792, introduced by Rep. Gerald Mitchell (R-Rock Falls), seeks to make the transmission of "information about cannabis by the Internet" a Class A misdemeanor if the provider is aware the information could be used for an illegal activity. The Senate Judiciary will hold hearings on the proposal next Wednesday. The House approved the measure 114 to zero.

To read more about H.B. 792 or additional pending state marijuana legislation, visit the NORML website at http://www.norml.org/laws/stateleg1999.html.

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Issue #86, 4/9/99 Driving While Non-White | Search and Seizure Protections Weakened | 53 Year-old Grandmother Robbed, Beaten While Trying to Buy Cannabis for Her Arthritis | California's Y2K (+1) Crisis | Illinois Bill Criminalizes Marijuana Information on the Internet | Report: Crises of the Anti-Drug Effort, 1999 | New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition -- ACTION Alert | Leaders of South American Indigenous Peoples Challenge US Ayahuasca Patent | EXHIBIT: Human Rights and the Drug War in Virginia | Gore 2000 or Gore 1984? | Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics | Cato Forums: Jesse Ventura, Prosecutorial Abuse, Forfeiture Reform | Editorial: There Oughta Be a Law: Protecting the Masses from Themselves

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