From: Jim Rosenfield <[j n r] at [igc.apc.org]>
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Date: 21 Sep 93 22:11 PDT
Subject: Edwards' HR3100 Press release

Congressman DON EDWARDS                      NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release 9/21/93                     93-40     
Contact Michael Vagnucci
Telephone: (202) 225-3072

EDWARDS CALLS FOR NEW DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY

Citing the failure of current federal drug control efforts,
Congressman Don Edwards (D-San Jose) today called for the formation
of a national commission to recommend a new, comprehensive drug
control policy.  The commission would be formed under the National
Drug Control Policy Act of 1993 (H.R. 3100), legislation introduced
by Rep. Edwards.

"In just over a decade, we've seen an almost ten-fold increase in the
amount of federal funds devoted to stemming the tide of drug abuse,
yet drugs continue to take an enormous toll on our society," Edwards
said.  "Simply spending more money is not the answer.  We have to
learn how to spend that money intelligently and get results."

Edwards noted that the United States cannot afford to wait any longer
for a solution to the drug crisis.  A 1992 study by the University of
Southern California School of Business estimated the cost of drug
abuse to the U.S. economy as at least $76 billion in 1991.  The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce puts the costs to society even higher, saying
drug abuse costs businesses $160 billion annually in lost
productivity, higher medical bills, absenteeism, theft and injury. 
Mandatory minimum sentencing, part of a strategy of setting severe
penalties for drug offenses, even for first time, nonviolent
offenses, has swamped the courts and overwhelmed our federal prisons.

H.R. 3100 would establish a 13-member Commission, composed of experts
who confront the drug problem everyday: physicians, law enforcement
officials, judges, district attorneys, educators, drug rehabilitation
workers, and community leaders.  The Commission would be bipartisan,
with members appointed by the President and the leadership of both
parties in the House and the Senate.  The Commission would have 18
months to conduct public hearings and make recommendations for
legislative and administrative action to the President and to
Congress.

"Commissioners could apply their hands-on experience to this issue
free from the political pressures faced by elected officials,"
Edwards explained.  "We have already tried what is politically
popular and the result has been ruined lives, devastated communities
and overcrowded prisons.  Now it is time to focus on policies that
will work, and the Commission on National Drug Control Policy can
tell us how to begin that effort."

Congressman Edwards is the Vice Chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional
Rights.  He also serves on the Subcommittee on Crime and Criminal
Justice.