By Guest · Jan 2, 2004 · ·
  1. Guest

    Pacifiers, glow sticks and similar accessories favored by electronic music
    fans are drug paraphernalia, said Elgin officials, who are taking the first
    step toward an unusual law that would ban such items from nightclubs
    catering to the under-21 crowd.

    On Wednesday, the Elgin City Council backed an ordinance for underage
    events at nightclubs such as The Mission, a downtown club that most nights
    draws an adult crowd. The regulations, which would be required of any
    establishment intending to hold an event for people younger than 21, would
    ban several club toys.

    Besides pacifiers and glow sticks, city officials also want to ban
    lollipops, dust masks and vapor rub. Law-enforcement and drug experts say
    possession of the items they want to ban is often a sign of Ecstasy use.

    The City Council, which supported the plan 5-1, must vote on the ordinance
    next month.

    "Obviously, not everyone that has these items is on Ecstasy, but it would
    be helpful to keep these things out of the club," said Rick Kozal, Elgin's
    assistant city attorney.

    Ecstasy users often chew on pacifiers or lollipops to prevent grinding
    their teeth, a common side effect of the drug, which is synthetic and
    classified as a hallucinogen and a stimulant. Glow sticks and dust masks
    rubbed with mentholated products such as vapor rubs are said to heighten
    the Ecstasy high.

    On a trial basis, city officials gave owners of the club permission last
    year to hold alcohol-free parties for people between 17 and 21. The
    practice ended in April. Patrons had to become members of the club to
    attend the underage nights.

    During the trial period, police made eight arrests for sale of Ecstasy or
    lookalike drugs at the club, authorities said.

    Kozal said city officials want to give The Mission's owner a chance to
    revive the young-adult night, but they say it's necessary to change things
    to ensure the safety of patrons.

    Banning items that might be deemed drug paraphernalia by club proprietors
    is common, but a government ban is unheard of, say club owners, city
    officials and civil liberties advocates.

    Mario Malek, owner of the teenage dance club Zero Gravity in Naperville,
    said that when Ecstasy started becoming popular in the suburbs in 1999, he
    banned pacifiers and dust masks and stopped selling glow sticks.

    "We were really hard-core," Malek said. "If a kid brings in a glow stick
    now, we're not going to throw him out, but it does make you take a second

    Civil liberties advocates say a ban such as the one Elgin plans could
    violate 1st amendment rights.

    Graham Boyd, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's drug policy
    litigation project and a chief opponent of a ban on club toys in New
    Orleans, said twirling neon glow sticks is one way some clubgoers express

    Many of the other items, such as pacifiers, are part of the aesthetic of
    devotees to the electronic music scene and are not illegal, he said.

    In the New Orleans case, managers of a club were charged with organizing a
    rave in 2001 that authorities claimed was a venue for the distribution and
    use of drugs. In a plea agreement, the managers agreed to confiscate glow
    sticks and pacifiers and other items at future events.

    Boyd was successful in fighting the ban on grounds that it violated
    patrons' 1st Amendment rights. That ruling was overturned last year when
    the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a judge cannot stop
    prosecutors from enforcing a condition of a plea agreement. The 1st
    Amendment issue wasn't dealt with, Boyd said.

    Boyd said the Elgin ordinance could also violate 1st Amendment rights of
    patrons. Unlike the New Orleans case, Elgin's ban would be imposed by a
    government and apply to all the city's clubs holding young-adult nights,
    Boyd said. The Mission is the only club in Elgin that holds such events.

    "It's one thing if the venue's operators decide to ban certain legal items
    on their own," Boyd said. "It's another thing when the government is
    calling for such a ban."

    John Walters, an Elgin council member who supports the ordinance, said he
    doesn't think the ban will create any legal problems.

    "If you want to come to the club, you have to be a member," Walters said.
    "If you want to be a member, you have to agree not to bring these items to
    the club. If you don't want to do it, no one is going to stop you from
    sitting at home and waving a glow stick in front of your face."

    questioned how effective such a ban would be.

    "Banning pacifiers and glow sticks at a rave is like banning tie-dye
    T-shirts at a rock concert to stop people from smoking marijuana," Piper said.

    The proposal is scheduled to come before the council Jan. 14.

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  1. sands of time
    Hahaha, personally, ravers and such piss me off but this is just to funny! What are they trying to do here?!
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