|
Congress:
House
Bill
Would
Let
"Victims"
Sue
Drug
Dealers,
But
Only
if
They
Snitch
5/27/05
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/388/snitchsuits.shtml
A bill in the US House of
Representatives sponsored by Reps. Tom Latham (R-IA), Randy Kuhl (R-NY),
Frank Wolf (R-VA), Mark Kennedy (R-MN), Ed Case (D-HI), and Michael McCaul
(R-TX) would allow people who were somehow harmed by illegal drug use to
sue the people who made or sold the drugs in question -- but only if they
reveal to authorities all of their drug sources. Introduced May 13,
the Drug Dealer Liability Act of 2005 (HR2348) would:
-
Amend the Controlled Substances
Act to make individuals who manufacture or distribute a controlled substance
in felony violation of the Act, liable in a civil action for any harm that
resulted from use of the controlled substance.
-
Allow any party who was harmed
either directly or indirectly by use of the controlled substance to bring
suit against the illegal manufacturer or distributor.
-
Prohibit individual users of
a controlled substance from bringing a civil lawsuit for injury caused
by their drug use unless the individual personally discloses all they know
about their sources of illegal controlled substances to narcotics enforcement
authorities.
"It is time that drug dealers
pay for the destruction they cause," said lead sponsor Rep. Latham in a
press release touting the bill. "This legislation is a strong signal
to drug dealers and the manufacturers of illegal drugs that Americans have
had enough," said Latham. "And when this bill becomes law we are
going to make them pay for the pain and destruction they so carelessly
have caused."
Latham is a member of House
Speaker Dennis Hastert's Task Force for a Drug-Free America and touts his
drug warrior credentials. His bill would make drug dealers pay some
of the costs of drug use, he said. "This bill will allow us to shift
the cost of our nation's drug problem back to the very people who fuel
it. I hope that by imposing the real threat of losing everything
that they own will make some drug dealers have second thoughts about their
activities," said Latham.
The bill has been referred
to the House Energy and Commerce and Judiciary committees.
-- END --
|
Issue #388
-- 5/27/05
Editorial:
Reasonable
Standards
|
Feature:
Federal
Bill
to
Rein
in
Anti-Drug
Task
Forces
Introduced
in
Response
to
Tulia
Scandal
|
"Drug
Tourists"
Provoke
Competing
Cries
for
Regulation,
Repression
in
Holland
|
Chances
of
Medical
Marijuana
Passage
in
Statehouses
Now
Focused
on
Northeast
|
Announcement:
DRCNet/Perry
Fund
Event
to
Feature
US
Rep.
Jim
McDermott,
June
1
in
Seattle
|
Weekly:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
|
Marijuana:
Maine
Governor
Wants
to
Increase
Fines
to
Pay
for
Narcs
|
Congress:
House
Bill
Would
Let
"Victims"
Sue
Drug
Dealers,
But
Only
if
They
Snitch
|
Southwest
Asia:
Azerbaijan,
US
Sign
Anti-Drug
Agreement
Despite
Human
Rights
Abuses
|
Europe:
Swiss
Panel
Says
New
Drug
Policy
Should
Include
Alcohol,
Tobacco,
Opt
for
Pragmatism
|
Asia:
Thai
Drug
War
Now
Targets
Cocaine
|
Update:
Schapelle
Corby
Sentenced
to
20
Years
|
Weekly:
This
Week
in
History
|
Job
Listing:
Outreach
Coordinator,
Coalition
for
Higher
Education
Act
Reform
(DRCNet)
|
Weekly:
The
Reformer's
Calendar
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
|
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