The chill is on: fighting raves, squelching speech.

• Author: Sullum, Jacob
• Position: Citings

WHEN SEN. JOSEPH Biden (D-Del.) introduced his anti-rave legislation, critics warned that it could have a chilling effect on unpopular speech, especially criticism of the war on drugs. They were proven right barely a month after President Bush signed Biden's Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, a.k.a. the Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy (RAVE) Act.

In Billings, Montana, a May 30 rock concert sponsored by two drug policy reform groups was canceled on the day of the show after a local representative of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) told the venue's owners they could be liable under the new law if anyone smoked pot at the event. The RAVE Act prohibits "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." Violators are subject to $250,000 or more in civil penalties, a criminal fine of up to $500,000, and a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

The manager of the Eagles Lodge in Billings, where the National Organization for the Reform of...