Home : Drug Policy : Search and Seizure

Feds Seek to Shut Music Clubs (05/03/2001)
WASHINGTON -- The federal government is seeking to shut down "rave" music and dance clubs in an effort to wipe out the drug MDMA, which is known as ecstasy, Reuters reported. 

ACLU of New Mexico Sues School District Over Use of Drug Sniffing Dogs to Search Students (05/02/2001)
ALBUQUERQUE --The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico today filed a lawsuit against Lordsburg school officials to stop them from using drug-detecting dogs to randomly sweep students for illicit substances in Lordsburg elementary, middle and high schools.

After Bitter Battle, Texas School Agrees to Drop Mandatory Student Drug Testing Policy (04/30/2001)
LOCKNEY, TX -The American Civil Liberties Union and the Lockney Independent School District today announced a settlement in the mandatory student drug testing dispute that has pitted one man's convictions against an entire town. 

Continuing National Trend, Appeals Court Rejects Oklahoma School Drug Testing Policy (03/22/2001)
DENVER--In the latest in a series of federal and state court victories, an appeals court here struck down as unconstitutional an Oklahoma school district's urine drug testing policy, signaling a growing reluctance to permit such invasive searches of students. 

Censorship is Latest Drug War Tactic as Government Seeks to Put "Rave" Dance Music Promoters in Prison (03/07/2001)
NEW ORLEANS, LA--A local music promoter and a concert hall manager who face up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines simply for staging the electronic dance music events known as "raves" said today that the charges against them amount to censorship and have asked a federal court here to dismiss the case.

Texas Court Strikes Down First-Ever Mandatory School Drug Testing Policy (03/02/2001)
LUBBOCK, TX--A federal judge here has struck down a school district's mandatory drug testing policy -- the first of its kind in the nation to apply to every student -- in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a father and his 12-year-old son.

CT Court is First in Nation to Protect Needle Exchange Program from Police Harassment (01/19/2001)
BRIDGEPORT, CT--In a national test case challenging the illegal harassment and arrest of participants in a Needle Exchange Program, a federal court in Connecticut has ruled that police may not interfere with a public health initiative that effectively combats disease through education and prevention.

Citing Student Privacy, Court Blocks Random Drug Testing at New Jersey High School (01/04/2001)
NEWARK--Saying that "students should not have to surrender their right to privacy," a New Jersey judge today blocked a local high school's random drug testing policy in a challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on behalf of three area families.

High School Volleyball Player Fights Urine Testing With Aid of Oregon ACLU (10/31/2000)
EUGENE -- A 15-year-old high school student and her parents are going to court today to challenge her removal from the Oakridge High School volleyball team for refusing to consent to random urinalysis drug testing, in case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.

Racial Discrimination Charged by ACLU in Notorious Drug Bust Scandal (09/29/2000)
AUSTIN, TX--The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas today filed a lawsuit charging racial discrimination and conspiracy in an undercover drug bust that led to the arrest of almost 10 percent of the African American population of Tulia, a rural farming and ranching community of about 5,000.

Government Cannot Punish Doctors Who Recommend Medical Marijuana, CA Court Says (09/08/2000)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The American Civil Liberties Union today hailed a federal court ruling saying that federal authorities cannot revoke the licenses of California doctors who recommend the medical use of marijuana to their patients.

Citing "Dangerous Precedent," Federal Judge Blocks MI's Plan to Drug Test Welfare Recipients (09/05/2000)
DETROIT, MI -- A federal district judge today blocked the country's first-ever law requiring welfare recipients to undergo drug testing, saying that the policy, enacted by Michigan last year, sets a "dangerous precedent" under the Constitution.

ACLU Challenge Ends Student Drug Testing in Maryland Schools (08/17/2000)
EASTON, MD -- In a national first, Maryland school officials who removed 18 high school students from final exam review classes and forced them to have their urine tested on the stage of their school auditorium agreed last night to cease all student drug testing in county schools and pay damages to the students, effectively conceding that the harms of school drug testing outweigh the benefits.

With ACLU Help, Parents and Students Fight Drug Testing Policies at NJ High School (08/14/2000)
NEWARK, NJ -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today filed a lawsuit challenging Hunterdon Central High School's expanded drug testing policy, which requires that students participating in athletics, extracurricular activities and those parking on campus submit to random drug tests.

ACLU Urges Federal Court to End Government Persecution Of Doctors Over Medical Marijuana (08/03/2000)
SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Civil Liberties Union today urged a federal court to permanently block the federal government from censoring or criminally prosecuting California doctors who recommend medical marijuana to their patients.

In a National First, Governor of Hawaii Signs First Legislative Medical Marijuana Bill (06/14/2000)
HONOLULU--The American Civil Liberties Union was one of the groups applauding today as Governor Ben Cayetano signed into law a measure that removes state-level criminal penalties for seriously ill people who grow, possess, and use marijuana with their doctors' approval.

Latest Drug War Tactic An Attack on All Americans (05/24/2000)
"This is not your garden variety expansion of the so-called war on drugs," said Marvin Johnson, a Legislative Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington National Office. "The legislation would vastly expand the government's power to search private homes and would shut down a vital source of information about topics like medical marijuana and hemp production by threatening web site and book publishers with jail time." 

Students and Parents Challenge "Rumor Mill" Drug Testing at Maryland High School (05/02/2000)
BALTIMORE, MD -- In what is believed to be the first legal challenge to student drug testing in the state, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and a private law firm filed suit here today in federal district court on behalf of a group of Easton High School students and their parents.

Court Rejects Michigan's Attempt to End ACLU Challenge to Urine Testing of Welfare Recipients (04/18/2000)
DETROIT, MI -- Rejecting Michigan's attempt to end a lawsuit challenging drug testing of welfare recipients, a court today ruled that the action brought by the American Civil Liberties Union must go forward.

City of Hollywood Urine Drug Testing Policy Declared Unconstitutional by Federal Court (04/13/2000)
MIAMI -- A court today struck down the as unconstitutional a City of Hollywood policy that required that all new city employees to undergo urine screening for drugs, the American Civil Liberties Union said.