NEWSBRIEFS

Once again, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York has taken the lead in investigating alternatives to America's war on drugs. The bar association —following up on the core recommendation of its 1994 report — convened public hearings that featured the research and arguments of some of the nation's top drug policy experts.

The bar's Special Committee on Drugs and the Law hosted the hearings on October 10, 11 and 12. The committee invited a range of experts to testify about "new approaches to drug policy, including legalization and regulation." Most speakers argued that the drug war should be toned down in part or dismantled altogether.

Speakers and organizations testifying before the committee included:

•    William F. BuckleyJr., National Review publisher and columnist;

•    Mary Cleveland, Partnership for Responsible Drug Information;

•    David Condliffe and Arnold Trebach, Drug Policy Foundation;

•    Mathea Falco, Drug Strategies;

•    Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Harvard Medical School;

•    Dr. Herbert Kleber, Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse;

•    Ethan Nadelmann and Marianne Apostolides, the Lindesmith Center;

•    New York State Supreme CourtJudge Alvin Schlesinger; and

•    U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet.

The bar established the special committee in 1986 to study the effects of drug prohibition. After eight years, the committee issued a 90-page report in June 1994 — "A Wiser Course: Ending Drug Prohibition" —wherein the committee opposed prohibition and favored a broader public discourse on drug policy reform, including legalization models (see "NYC Bar Association: End Drug Prohibition," The Drug Policy Letter, Fall 1994). Copies of the report are available for $6.50 from the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 42 W. 44th St., New York, NY 10036; (212) 382-6658.

The committee plans to publish a summary of the testimony in the bar's journal. For more information, contact the chair of the committee, Kathy Rocklen, Esq., at (212) 371-7090.

Two New York-based reform groups, the Lindesmith Center and the Partnership for Responsible Drug Information, arranged for each speech to be videotaped. Contact PRDI at 14 W. 68th St., New York, NY 10023; phone: (212) 362-1964.