Fortunately, no one on the set of an adult video production ever tokes up or snorts a line or two of any controlled substance – or pops a non-prescribed Viagra – before beginning his/her sex scene – or before picking up a camera, setting lights, moving scenery, or calling "Action!" But if they did, a new proposed amendment to the Controlled Substances Act could mean a world of trouble for some people.
Oh, not for the people that actually do the drugs; that's already illegal.
No; under H.R. 1528, the "Defending America's Most Vulnerable: Safe Access to Drug Treatment and Child Protection Act of 2005" introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), if anybody who sees another person using a "controlled substance", or even hears that it happened, fails to report such use or hearsay to the feds within 24 hours, that person could find him/herself staring down the barrel of a two to 10 year sentence in the federal pokey.
Though that section (425) of the proposed law is entitled, "Failure To Protect Children From Drug Trafficking Activities," it really has nothing in particular to do with children. While some of the sections cited as prerequisites to a violation under the Act refer to drug dealing and manufacture around schools, etc., no children are required to be involved – or even present – for this section to kick in.
Sec. 425's addition to the Controlled Substances Act reads, "(a) It shall be unlawful for any person who witnesses or learns of a violation of sections 416(b)(2), 417, 418, 419, 420, 424, or 426 to fail to report the offense to law enforcement officials within 24 hours of witnessing or learning of the violation and thereafter provide full assistance in the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of the person violating paragraph (a)."
"(b) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be sentenced to not less than two years or more than 10 years. If the person who witnesses or learns of the violation is the parent or guardian, or otherwise responsible for the care or supervision of the person under the age of 18 or the incompetent person, such person shall be sentenced to not less than three years or more than 20 years."
Don't skip over the part about "fail ... thereafter to provide full assistance in the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of the person." Even reporting isn't enough; you'd have to snitch out everything you knew about the user, his/her friends, business associates, etc. in order to avoid being busted (and serving major prison time) yourself.
But wait; it gets better! Although it's unlikely that anyone reading this knows someone who's ever been enrolled in a drug treatment program (or ordered by a court to enroll in one)—certainly, no one in the adult entertainment community would—but if that were the case, then Sec. 426(b) of Sensenbrenner's bill might apply:
"(b) Whoever intentionally offers, solicits, entices, persuades, encourages, induces, or coerces a person enrolled in a drug treatment program or facility, or who is under a court order to enroll in, or who has previously been enrolled in, a drug treatment program or facility, to purchase, receive, or possess a controlled substance, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall, except to the extent that a greater minimum sentence is provided for, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment which may not be less than 5 years or more than life and if death or serious bodily injury resulted from the use of such substance shall not be less than 10 years or more than life. If any person commits such a violation after a prior conviction under this subsection or after a prior conviction for any felony drug offense has become final, such person shall be sentenced to not less than 10 years and if death or serious bodily injury resulted from the use of such substance shall be sentenced to life. Penalties for third or subsequent convictions shall be governed by section 401(b)(1)(A)."
Interestingly, alcohol isn't a "controlled substance" under the Act, but voluntary treatment programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous apparently are "drug treatment facilities" and "drug treatment programs" under the proposed law, since they would fall under Sec. 426(c)(1)(B): "any location at which an individual or entity (other than a general medical care facility) provides drug abuse diagnosis, treatment or referral for treatment," and Sec. 426(c)(2)(B): "an individual or entity which provides drug abuse diagnosis, treatment or referral for treatment." So offering a controlled substance to anyone who's ever been in a drug treatment program or facility is good for at least five years in the federal slammer.
By the way, if there happens to be a gun involved in any way in the offense – lying on the coffee table nearby or whatever – the new statute would kick the base offense up eight levels. Although we don't have our copy of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines handy, we're pretty sure that makes the minimum punishment something close to drawing and quartering after electrocution and hanging.
There are some other interesting provisions, such as increasing various other minimum sentences from one year to 10 years, and setting minimum fines at $2,000,000 for individuals and $8,000,000 for corporations for manufacturing or storage of drugs where kids (or "incompetents") might get hold of them, but that stuff's just gilding the lily. It's the requirement to spy on your friends or spend your entire young adulthood in a federal stalag that's reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
As anyone who's been following politics knows, Sensenbrenner's a real piece of ultra-conservative work. He voted against a needle exchange program, legalization of medical marijuana and allowing gays to adopt in D.C.; voted in favor of making it harder to appeal death penalty cases (even as advances in DNA evidence are exonerating dozens of death-row inmates); voted against legalizing same-sex marriage; voted in favor of a flag burning amendment to the Constitution; voted for prayer in schools "during the War on Terror" (in other words, forever); and in favor of reducing the waiting period to buy a gun from three days to one. What a guy!
After introduction on April 6, H.R. 1528 was referred to both the House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, neither of which have yet reported on the bill.
