INTRODUCTION

Law serves many functions in contemporary drug policy. Its major role is to establish channels for legitimate production and distribution of psychoac-tive drugs and to prohibit drug-related activities out-side the prescribed channels. But the legal system also serves less tangible purposes: it is employed in conjunction with efforts to channel persons into drug treatment programs; the existence, modification or repeal of statutory language pertaining to drugs often serve compelling symbolic functions; indeed, the evolution of this nation's drug policy has been pri-marily the periodic alteration of statutory detail.

This volume contains research and opinion on the efficacy of the legal system in prescribing and enforc-ing conditions of availability, and on the response of the criminal justice system to the consumption of controlled substances outside the prescribed chan-nels. As a prelude to the empirical and analytical contributions in subsequent Parts, the materials in this Part address the statutory framework itself. Be-cause the legal status of drug-related activities is complicated by the interplay of international, federal and state law, the five monographs which follow per-tain to specific aspects of the statutory matrix.

The first monograph is a comprehensive analysis of "The International Drug Control System" by Adolph Lande, a specialist on the role of interna-tional law in drug control. After an informative history of international drug law, he analyzes the contemporary documents: the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), the major drug treaty cur-rently in force; the Protocol of 1972, which amends the Single Convention; and the Vienna Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971), which is de-signed to control those drugs not covered by the Single Convention.

Lande's prime contribution, however, is his com-mentary on the political, economic, social and diplomatic context within which international drug Conventions are ratified and implemented. He describes the inherent limitations of international drug law, as well as the specific defects and weaknesses in each treaty. Finally, he recommends that these trea-ties be amended to eliminate, or at least ameliorate, their major deficiencies, particularly their failure to deal with the illicit traffic in controlled drugs and to address the issue of treatment, rehabilitation, preven-tion and education of drug users and drug-dependent persons.

In "Compilation and Analysis of Foreign Drug Laws," Cowan, who has represented the United States in international drug treaty negotiations, has compiled from over 125 countries the latest penal provisions applicable to drug violations. A country-by-country summary and a reference chart are provided. This monograph should be especially sig-nificant to persons who travel abroad: it presents a detailed description of the rights of U.S. citizens ar-rested abroad, of the treatment available to them, and of the terms and conditions of imprisonment in foreign countries.

Sonnenreich, Roccograndi and Bogomolny, who participated in drafting the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970—com-monly called the Federal Controlled Substances Act —have prepared a detailed section-by-section "Com-mentary on the Federal Controlled Substances Act." Among the more important sections reviewed are those which represent dramatic departures from the approach of the 50 or so pieces of federal drug legis-lation repealed by the Act. Specifically, the authors discuss the new classification scheme of controlled drugs according to five schedules; the elimination of minimum mandatory sentences, except for one limited exception—the criminal enterprise; first of-fender treatment, which permits the court to dis-charge from the criminal process those who are convicted of or plead guilty to simple possession; and the classification of simple possession of any controlled drug as a misdemeanor. Highlights of the Act's legislative history, including excerpts from hearings and floor debates, provide an enlightening perspective on the reasoning and philosophy under-lying the Act's new approaches.

Corcoran and Helm's "Compilation and Analysis of Criminal Drug Laws in the 50 States and Five Territories" complements the preceding analysis of federal law. Since 1970, the vast majority of states have adopted the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, which is patterned after the 1970 Federal Act. This compilation is the most accurate, up-to-date presentation and analysis of state laws now in existence. It describes the role of criminal sanctions in con-trolling the availability and consumption of opiates, cocaine, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens and tranquilizers. Both a state-by-state analysis and sev-eral reference charts portray the penal provisions applicable to possession, distribution and sale, dis-tribution and sale to a minor, cultivation or manu-facture, possession with intent to commit any of these acts, as well as to such "ancillary" consumption-related offenses as maintenance of a place where controlled drugs are used, presence at such a place and possession of drug paraphenalia. Conditional discharge or "first offender treatment" as an alter-native to the imposition of a criminal sanction is also discussed.

In "Evolution of American Narcotic Controls," Musto offers a capsule version of the history of the nation's legal and medical response to opiate, cocaine and marihuana use. The author, who is both a phy-sician and a historian, emphasizes the social and political attitudes underlying this response, one re-flected in the imposition of criminal sanctions for all consumption-related activities beginning with the Harrison Act (1914) and continuing under today's Federal Controlled Substances Act (1970). He also discusses the changing view of the medical profession toward the treatment of opiate dependence. Par-ticular attention is paid to maintenance of opiate-dependent persons, a central focus of debate through-out this nation's drug control experience. Dr. Musto emphasizes the folly of permitting political consid-erations to dominate these legal (controlling avail-ability) and medical (treatment of opiate-dependent persons) issues. Too often, according to the author, the political response has dealt not with the actual problems of drug use but with the public perception and fear of such problems. He warns us that the emerging national strategy employing the legal/ medical approaches must resist the temptation to resort to the political "solution."