SCHOLARS URGE UN TO REVIEW DRUG WAR

At least 10 Stanford or Hoover scholars are among a group of prominent
Americans signing an open letter to the United Nations secretary general
urging him to initiate a critical review of the international drug war when
the General Assembly holds a special session on drugs June 8-10 in New York.

"We believe that the global war on drugs is now causing more harm than drug
abuse itself," the signers, organized by Hoover Institution Research Fellow
Joseph McNamara, say.

The letter, to be published in national newspapers before the General
Assembly meeting, is signed by, among others, Donald Kennedy, president
emeritus of Stanford and professor of biological sciences; Roger Noll,
professor of economics and director of the public policy program; John
Ferejohn, professor of political science and senior fellow at Hoover;
sociologist Alex Inkeles, senior fellow emeritus at Hoover; economists
Melvin Krauss and Thomas Moore, both senior fellows at Hoover; Miguel
Mendez, professor of law; political scientist William Ratliff of Hoover; and
Dr. Mark Vierra, assistant professor of surgery.

McNamara said he was seeking more signers for the letter, which also has
been signed by former Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif.; federal judges Robert
Sweet of New York and John Kane of Denver; and San Francisco District
Attorney Terence Hallinan. McNamara, whose own research is focused on the
drug war, has organized several conferences to bring together politicians,
law enforcement officers, medical doctors and social scientists to discuss
more effective policies for reducing the harm of drug addiction and marketing.

The letter urges U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to lead a "frank and
honest evaluation of global drug control efforts." It points out that U.N.
and government policies on drug control have focused on criminalization and
punishment without much success.

"U.N. agencies estimate the annual revenue generated by the illegal drug
industry at $400 million, or the equivalent of roughly 8 percent of total
international trade. This industry has empowered organized criminals,
corrupted governments at all levels, eroded internal security, stimulated
violence and distorted both economic markets and moral values. These are the
consequences not of the drug use per se, but of decades of failed and futile
drug war policies," the signers assert.

Because the signers include prominent people with differing political and
professional backgrounds, McNamara said he hopes the letter "can influence
the U.N. to at least do more than run a program fixed by the DEA [U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration]. The publicity surrounding the ads may well be
the first step in forcing a debate on an irrational and essentially
un-American policy which we all know can never work."

A full text of the letter follows:

Dear Secretary General,

On the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on
Drugs in New York on June 8-10, 1998, we seek your leadership in stimulating
a frank and honest evaluation of global drug control efforts. We are all
deeply concerned about the threat that drugs pose to our children, our
fellow citizens and our societies. There is no choice but to work together,
both within our countries and across borders, to reduce the harms associated
with drugs. The United Nations has a legitimate and important role to play
in this regard - but only if it is willing to ask and address tough
questions about the success or failure of its efforts.

We believe that the global war on drugs is now causing more harm than drug
abuse itself.

Every decade the United Nations adopts new international conventions,
focused largely on criminalization and punishment, that restrict the ability
of individual nations to devise effective solutions to local drug problems.
Every year governments enact more punitive and costly drug control measures.
Every day politicians endorse harsher new drug war strategies. What is the
result? U.N. agencies estimate the annual revenue generated by the illegal
drug industry at $400 billion, or the equivalent of roughly eight per cent
of total international trade. This industry has empowered organized
criminals, corrupted governments at all levels, eroded internal security,
stimulated violence, and distorted both economic markets and moral values.
These are the consequences not of drug use per se, but of decades of failed
and futile drug war policies.

In many parts of the world, drug war politics impede public health efforts
to stem the spread of HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. Human
rights are violated, environmental assaults perpetrated and prisons
inundated with hundreds of thousands of drug law violators. Scarce resources
better expended on health, education and economic development are squandered
on ever more expensive interdiction efforts. Realistic proposals to reduce
drug-related crime, disease and death are abandoned in favor of rhetorical
proposals to create drug-free societies.

Persisting in our current policies will only result in more drug abuse, more
empowerment of drug markets and criminals, and more disease and suffering.
Too often those who call for open debate, rigorous analysis of current
policies, and serious consideration of alternatives are accused of
"surrendering." But the true surrender is when fear and inertia combine to
shut off debate, suppress critical analysis, and dismiss all alternatives to
current policies.

Mr. Secretary General, we appeal to you to initiate a truly open and honest
dialogue regarding the future of global drug control policies - one in which
fear, prejudice and punitive prohibitions yield to common sense, science,
public health and human rights.