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"It is time to admit the war on drugs has failed" is an open letter, signed by a wide-range of public interest organizations, which was sent to Congress as part of a series of spending recommendations. The entire set of appropriations recommendations can be reviewed by clicking here. This advertisement appeared in the National Review, the The New Republic, the Weekly Standard, The Nation, Reason Magazine, The Progressive and Mother Jones in September 1999. This ad is also available in printer-ready Portable Document Format (PDF).
It is time to admit the
War on Drugs has failed.
    Law enforcement has done its job well – with record seizures,
    arrests and incarceration. Despite this success, drugs are more
    available, less expensive and more potent. Law enforcement
    cannot solve the public health problem of drug abuse.
     It is time for an effective
     strategy that will:

  • Provide sufficient funding for after school programs and activity programs to meet the needs of America's youth.

  • Provide sufficient funding to make treatment on request a reality within the next three years. Treatment is the most cost-effective way of reducing drug abuse.

  • Provide sufficient funding to stem the health emergencies of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C. These epidemics threaten not only drug users but all Americans.

  • Evaluate current drug enforcement spending to ensure it is effective and provide sufficient funding for alternatives to incarceration for non-violent, low-level drug offenders.

  • Examine the racially disproportionate impact of current drug policy as well as its adverse effects on women, especially poor women and their families.

  • Hold international and domestic drug law enforcement funding at current levels until they prove their effectiveness. Law enforcement has had massive funding increases over the last two decades without any proof of success.

  • Undertake an examination of current drug policies to assess its impact and develop alternatives where necessary.
 Organizations Concerned with Impact of Drug Policy:
Advocates for Youth * Afrikan American Institute for Policy Studies and Planning * AIDS Policy Center for Children, Youth and Families * American Civil Liberties Union * American College of Nurse Midwives *  American Medical Student Association * American Medical Women's Association * American Psychological Association * American Public Health Association * Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs * Association of Reproductive Health Professionals * Association of Schools of Public Health * A Better Bronx For Youth Consortium * Campaign for Effective Crime Policy * Center for Women Policy Studies * Correctional Association of New York * Criminal Justice Policy Foundation * DC Prisoner's Legal Services Project * Disciples Advocacy Washington Network of the Christian Church * Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Division of Government Affairs * Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health * Institute for Policy Studies * Justice Policy Institute * Juvenile Law Center * Latino Commission on AIDS *  National Advocates for Pregnant Women, Women's Law Project * National AIDS Fund * National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health * National Association of People with AIDS * National Association of School Psychologists * NAACP * National Black Police Association * National Black Women's Health Project * National Center on Institutions and Alternatives * National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health *National LLEGO * National Mental Health Association * National Organization for Women Foundation * National Women's Health Network * Prisoner's Legal Services of New York * Rainbow PUSH Coalition * Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO * Unitarian Universalist Association * The United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society * US Student Association * Vocational Instruction Project * Volunteers of America * WAVE for Kids * Whitman Walker Clinic * Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual * YWCA of the USA

Drug Policy Specialists: Common Sense for Drug Policy * Drug Reform Coordination Network * DrugSense * Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii * Drug Policy Forum of Texas * Drug Policy Foundation * Drug Policy Reform Group of Minnesota * Family Council on Drug Awareness * Family Watch * Efficacy * Harm Reduction Coalition * Human Rights and the Drug War * The Lindesmith Center * Marijuana Policy Project * Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse * Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies * National Alliance of Methadone Advocates * National Association for Public Health Policy, Council on Illicit Drugs *  National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws * New Mexico Drug Policy Foundation * North American Syringe Exchange Network * November Coalition * Patients Out of Time * ReconsiDer Forum on Drug Policy * Research and Policy Reform Center * St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction

     Funding must be shifted
     away from interdiction
     and incarceration - towards
     treatment and prevention.
For a complete copy of the
recommendations of the National
Coalition for Effective Drug Policies
contact us at: 703-354-9050 or
info@csdp.org
Download PDF
https://www.csdp.org/publicservice/failed.pdf