Methamphetamine
Bill
Contains
Anti-Free-Speech
Legislation
8/13/99
Language in the anti-methamphetamine bill in the Senate, led by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), would forbid linking to Internet sites that include information on the manufacture or use of illicit substances or on how to acquire drug paraphernalia, if the reader might use the information to get high, according to an article in Wired News. Please read the Wired article online at http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/21152.html to learn more about this dangerous piece of legislation. Though DRCNet is a policy organization and does not provide information on drug production or paraphernalia, we are concerned that this bill could nevertheless interfere with our ability to educate the public on important drug policy issues. For example, we have just launched a major new web site devoted to the syringe exchange issue, Syringe Exchange Resources Online (http://www.projectsero.org). Would a link from our site to a needle exchange program's web site, that happens to include the program's schedule or contact information, subject us to prosecution under the bill's paraphernalia provision -- even though needle exchange is legal in many states and officially tolerated, even government-funded, in many others? Would a link to a site like High Times draw a penalty, even though High Times includes serious journalism in addition to drug culture information and advertisements? Violations of the paraphernalia provision could be punishable by a fine and prison term of up to three years. Violation of the prohibition on providing information on manufacture or use could draw a ten year prison term. If your Senator is one of the bill's eleven sponsors, please inform them that they are in "Contempt of Constitution": Orrin Hatch (R-UT), http://www.senate.gov/~hatchVisit your Senator's web site to find out the e-mail address or phone number. IMPORTANT: include your name and mailing address in your message, so they know that you are a constituent, and only write to your own Senator. Otherwise, they will delete your message unread. ALSO IMPORTANT: Please send us a copy of your correspondence or a note letting us know that you made a phone call, to [email protected].
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