Reefer Madness in Illinois
A bill that would make it a crime to use the Web to transmit information about marijuana and other drugs is moving through the Illinois legislature.
The legislation passed the House last week and was presented to the Senate committee on Wednesday.
"It's bringing into the late 20th century existing laws" that apply to communication about drugs through the mail and other means, said Bill Mitchell, the Republican representative who drafted the bill.
Activists say it's also ushering in the potential for a serious abuse of the First Amendment.
"It's a nascent attempt to thwart free speech on the Internet," said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the NORML Foundation, an organization that lobbies to decriminalize marijuana.
"[The legislature] is at the vanguard of nit-wittery."
Not so, said Mitchell. "This would not infringe on First Amendment rights. It simply covers illegal solicitation of marijuana and other illegal drugs over the Internet."
In theory, the bill extends the existing Illinois Cannabis Control Act and Controlled Substances Act, which make it a crime to sell, deliver, or manufacture illegal drugs.
The problem, free speech advocates say, is that the legislation doesn't explicitly spell out exactly what would be deemed illegal online.
"It is a Class A misdemeanor to transmit information by the Internet about a controlled substance knowing that the information will be used in furtherance of illegal activity," reads the bill's text.
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