Walking back from dinner, I heard trance music coming from -surprisingly enough- Capitol Hill. A DC-based organization, ROAR! (not an acronym), organized a 12-hour dance party to protest Democratic Senator Joseph Biden's Rave Act. The legislation was passed as a last minute addition to the Amber Alert Act this past spring, which makes me ask what the ROAR organizers plan since their website doesn't prescribe the next step nor has any legislator proposed undoing the act.

The Rave act makes it a crime for anyone to knowingly and intentionally "open, lease, rent, use, or maintain" a place where there is drug use or distribution. Those convicted can get up to 20 years in jail and pay $250,000 or more in fines.

On a related note, the NY Times reports that a highly controversial study which found that one night's dose of Ecstasy caused permanent brain damage has been retracted. The researchers had used speed (which is known to injure the dopamine system) instead of Ecstasy.