As judges and lawyers, we share with all Americans a deep concern about the threat that drugs pose to our children and our country. For more than twenty years, our nation's response to this threat has been a "war on drugs," enforced primarily through a criminal justice process which we administer and observe on a daily basis.
Though we differ in political orientation and career experience, we unanimously observe that neither drugs nor drug abuse has been eliminated nor appreciably reduced, despite massive spending on interdiction and harsh punishments. Attempts at enforcement have clogged the courts, filled the prisons with non-predatory offenders, corrupted officials at home and abroad, bred disrespect for the law in important communities, imperiled the liberties of the people, burdened the taxpayers, impeded public health efforts to stem the spread of HIV and other infectious diseases, and brought the nation no closer to abstinence. As Congress and state legislatures enact more punitive and costly drug control measures, we conclude with alarm that the war on drugs now causes more harm than drug abuse itself.
Accordingly, we join with our colleagues in calling upon our profession, elected officials, the media and the public to initiate a truly open and honest evaluation of the efficacy and consequences of our drug control laws. Only a public debate guided by mutual respect can yield better drug laws in which fear, prejudice, and punitive prohibitions yield to common sense, science, public health and human rights. As America must never "surrender" to drugs, neither must she surrender to inertia or fear that shuts off debate, suppresses critical analysis, dismisses alternatives to current policies, and vilifies those who express dissenting views.
Please add your name to the list of signatories. And, please circulate this page among colleagues. Thank you.
Signatories
Matthew R. Abel, Detroit, Michigan
Charles D. Adler, New York, New York
Justin Atkinson, London, England
J. Michael Bass, Valdosta, Georgia
Nancy Breslow, New York, New York
Michael J. Buchman, Schaumburg, Illinois
Jes Beard, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Walker L. Chandler, Zebulon, Georgia
Clay S. Conrad, Houston, Texas
Charles E. Cum, Denver, Colorado
Michael D. Cutler, Boston, Massachusetts
Joshua M. Dale, San Francisco Bay Area, California
Gregory T. Day, Grants Pass, Oregon
David L. DenHartigh, Salem, Oregon
Ezekiel R. Edwards, New York, New York
Richard D. Elrick, Barnstable, Massachusetts
Richard M. Evans, Northampton, Massachusetts
Peter D. Francis, Seattle, Washington
Leonard Frieling, Boulder, Colorado
Hon. Nancy Gertner, Boston, Massachusetts
Leonard C. Goodman, Chicago, Illinois
Steven F. Groce, Springfield, Missouri
Bill Habern, Riverside, Texas
Kenneth N. Hamilton, Ventura, California
Doug Hyldahl, Bellingham, Washington
Rankin Johnson IV, Portland, Oregon
Rachel E. Kurtz, Seattle, Washington
Chris Leibig, Alexandria, Virginia
Brian Leininger,Overland Park, Kansas
Margaret Lunevitz-Smith, Brookline, Massachusetts
Mary Lutz, Chandler, Arizona
Paige A. Martin, Columbus, Ohio
Andrew C. Materowski, Indianapolis, Indiana
David T. McDonald, Portland, Oregon
Jim McMonough, Englewood, Colorado
Jeralyn Merritt, Denver, Colorado
Bert L. Metzger, Seattle, Washington
Nathan Miller, Washington, District of Columbia
Michael C. Minardi, Stuart, Florida
Chad Moody, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
James P. Moriarty, Cresco, Iowa
Stephen A. Munkelt, Nevada City, California
William G. Panzer, Oakland, California
Daphne Pattison, Houston, Texas
Jan Eric Peterson, Seattle, Washington
Frederick A. Reese, Gloucester, Virginia
Gregory A. Reeves, Decatur, Alabama
James A. Rice, Brookline, Massachusetts
James F. Rogers, Audubon, New Jersey
John P. Rothschild, Seattle, Washington
Lisa Schreibersdorf, Brooklyn, New York
Joshua R. Schrimpf, Syracuse, New York
Jeri Shepherd, Greeley, Colorado
Eric Sterling, Silver Spring, Maryland
Richard K. Tardy, Noblesville, Indiana
Shaleen Title, Cambridge, Massachusetts
David A. Trieweiler, Seattle, Washington
Marc J. Victor, Chandler, Arizona
Donald Wirtshafter, Athen, Ohio
A. David Youssefyeh, Los Angeles, California
Kevin B. Zeese, Falls Church, Virginia
Celine Zwang, Lafayette, California
Other professional signatories:
Jeanne M. Black-Ferguson, Seattle, Washington
C. Mark Dalton, Seattle, Washington
Nicolas Eyle, Syracuse, New York
Charles Huffine, Seattle, Washington
David Jefferson, MSW, CDP, Bellingham, Washington
Pamela G. Lichty, MPH, Honolulu, Hawaii
Greg Logan, Seattle, Washington
Frank Randolph, Ph.D., P.E., Nashua, New Hampshire
Rev. Donovan L. Rivers, Seattle, Washington
Leslie Serebryakova, Vashon, Washington
Lindsey A. Schrimpf, M.D., Syracuse, New York
Kristy Trione, Carnation, Washington
Paul J. von Hartmann, McCloud, California
Wallace Wilkins, Ph.D., Seattle, Washington
