NCJ Number
128165
Date Published
1989
Length
627 pages
Annotation
The House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control convened a hearing in September 1988 to consider the impact and feasibility of legalizing illicit drugs.
Abstract
Statements made at the hearing focused on the pros and cons of drug legalization. Testimony was presented by several U.S. Congressmen, city mayors, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the national District Attorneys Association, The International Association of Chiefs of Police, George Washington University, American University, Princeton University, the National Drug Information Center, and others. Prepared statements discussed the impact of drug legalization on international drug traffickers, the Drug Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 1988, the issue of sanctioning drug use, the question of whether legalization can break the control drugs have on society, and the role of education in the war on drugs. Prepared statements also addressed the role of sports organizations in helping to curb drug abuse, resources spent on the war on drugs instead of on other components of the criminal justice system, drug-related crime, and the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers. Finally, prepared statements dealt with the link between drug use and AIDS; the need for a full-scale war on drugs that combines law enforcement, prevention, and treatment; health effects of illegal drug use; and drug control efforts in England and the Netherlands. references, notes, tables, and figures