Sign the Resolution for a Federal
Commission on Drug Policy Sign the Resolution for a Federal
Commission on Drug Policy
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DRCNet Library | Schaffer Library
We, the Mayors of the United States of America, believe that drug abuse is one of the most critical problems facing our cities, and that it is inextricably linked to crime and violence. Cutting across all cultural, racial and economic lines, illicit drugs impair millions of Americans. Drug use and addiction contribute to the breakdown of our families, the abuse of adults and children, the spread of HIV/AIDS, school dropouts and the declining quality of education, homelessness, urban decay, high health care costs, and low economic productivity that compromises our ability to compete in the global marketplace. We must reduce the number of people who use drugs and the number of people with the disease of addiction to significantly improve the most pressing domestic issues we face. Drug use is a preventable behavior and drug addiction is a treatable disease.
1. We, the nation's mayors, reject all proposals to legalize illicit drugs. This is not the answer to the drug problem in our cities. We reject legalization, and other simplistic forms such as decriminalization, because it is morally reprehensible to consider an action that would a) simultaneously erode our children's anti-drug attitudes of perceived risk and social disapproval and b) make harmful and addictive drugs far more accessible to far more people. We support the medical use of any drug that research proves is safe and effective under guidelines established by the Food and Drug Administration. While we support attempts to reduce harm, we believe that the way to decrease such problems is to prevent drug use from starting and to help those who are already in trouble with drugs.
2. Prevention works: We have achieved real progress in decreasing drug use and in understanding what works. Since 1979, dramatic increases in public attitudes of perceived risk and social disapproval toward illicit drugs produced a decline of nearly 50 percent in the number of first-time users and nonaddicted users through all segments of the population. Throughout the nation, drug prevention efforts came together at the community level-in families, schools, the media, law enforcement, youth groups and workplaces-to establish nonuse as the behavioral standard and social norm. This progress in prevention has also significantly reduced the numbor of people who would have become addicted.
3. However, diminishing resources and public focus now threaten future success. The gains so preciously earned in anti-drug attitudes and declining use are now threatened. Since the early 1990s there has been decreased attention to the drug issue and increased pro-drug and pro-legalization publicity. This has contributed to a reversal in the attitudes of perceived risk and social disapproval that distinguish nonusers from users, and significant increases in the number of young people using illicit drugs. Finally, and despite increasing evidence of the cost-effectiveness of drug treatment, we have made little progress in reducing the number of people already addicted. This reflects a current system that can treat only one-fifth of the estimated 6 million people in trouble with drugs.
4. We must provide significantly greater resources and leadership-from governmental, corporate and nonprofit sectors at national, state and local levels-for the demand reduction efforts of prevention, intervention, treatment and research. Effective drug policy requires investment in both supply and demand reduction, but our nation is not providing enough funding for prevention or treatment. These are proven, cost-effective solutions for reducing both drug use and addiction and their impact on other critical domestic problems. Initial drug use is a matter of choice, and with sufficient resources, we can influence that choice positively. When addiction overtakes choice, we can treat addiction for those who require it. Our focus must combine efforts to reduce both the number of people who use and the number of people who are addicted to illicit drugs.
a) Preventing drug use by young people, and by all who influence them, must be the cornerstone of national, state and local drug strategies and resources if we are to build safe and healthy families and communities. We must reestablish and affirm the individual choice to remain drug-free. We must consistently reinforce the message that drug use is harmful and unacceptable. This message is vital to preventing drug experimentation and reducing drug use before it becomes addiction. We must effectively influence the decisions our young people make about illicit drugs by providing drug education at home and in school and by involving local law enforcement officers and judges, the faith community, health care professionals, the media, employers, and other community resources. Comprehensive community prevention programs significantly reduce adolescent drug use. We support the recently created National Prevention League, designed to coordinate prevention efforts and to emphasize the need for prevention as the first priority in reducing substance abuse.
b) We must make treatment more available, more effective and more accessible if we are to reduce the impact of drugs in our cities. Treatment is critical to reducing the social pathology conveyed by those already addicted to drugs. Most acute is the lack of treatment for those who are least able to function or whose drug involvement has profound implications for themselves, their families and society at large. People in the criminal justice system, pregnant women and women with children, the homeless, and those infected with HlV/AlDS face intolerable shortages of treatment slots. Early intervention in the drug abuse process, aimed especially at adolescents but including adults as well, decreases harm and increases rehabilitation.
c) Law enforcement must remain a strong component of, and be better linked to, demand reduction efforts. On the national, state and especially the local level, law enforcement and the judicial system are critical to the success of preventing and treatingdrug abuse. We need to increase cooperation among law enforcement agencies and between law enforcement and prevention and treatment programs within the community.
d) Research is critical to understanding, replicating and improving the effectiveness and cost efficiency of demand reduction efforts. Research, not ideology, must provide the foundation for drug policies and practices. More research is needed to improve our understanding of the ways drugs affect the brain and change behavior, of the reasons for reversing drug attitude and use trends, of the importance of community-based prevention programs, and of why particular treatment approaches are more successful than others.
e) Worldwide cooperation in reducing illicit drug abuse will not only help the international community, but also will reduce the flow of drugs into our cities. The spread of illicit drugs throughout Europe and other parts of the world imperils our ability to reduce drug abuse in our cities. We support European Cities Against Drugs, which organized last year to fight the legalization movement abroad. Today, we announce the formation of American Cities Against Drugs to support our sister organization in Europe and similar organizations that may form throughout the world.
We believe that reducing drug abuse is essential to the most important things all Americans care about: our children and families, our safety, our neighborhoods and communities, our health, our economy, our freedom to grow and prosper and our obligation as citizens to help each other build healthy families and communities. We must maintain our public will. We must elicit leadership from all segments of society, especially from individuals and communities. We must recognize that each of us has a role to play in the solution and all of us have a stake in the outcome. Drug abuse is a preventable behavior and drug addiction is a treatable disease. We, the Mayors of the United States of America, commit ourselves to reducing drug abuse by mobilizing our citizens and concentrating our resources to prevent this behavior and treat this disease.
Mayor Bill Campbell
Atlanta, Georgia
Mayor Victor Ashe
President, U.S. Conference of Mayors
Knoxville, Tennessee
Alabama
Mayor Richard Arrington
Birmingham
Mayor Alfred Saliba
Dothan
Mayor Larry Langford
Fairfield
Mayor James Atkinson
Homewood
Mayor Frank Skinner
Hoover
Mayor Lillian Howard
Hueytown
Mayor Jesse M. Norwood
Prichard
Mayor Alvin P. DuPont
Tuscaloosa
Mayor Johnny Ford
Tuskeegee
Arizona
Mayor Jay Tibshraeny
Chandler
Mayor Christopher J. Bavasi
Flagstaff
Mayor William Arnold
Goodyear
Mayor Ken C. Forgia
Peoria
Mayor Neil G. Giuliano
Tempe
Mayor George Miller
Tuscon
Mayor Marilyn R. Young
Yuma
Arkansas
Mayor Fred B. Hanna
Fayetteville
Mayor Patrick Henry Mays
North Little Rock
California
Ralph J. Appezzato
Alameda
Mayor Leonard K. Herendeen
Antioch
Mayor Barbara Loux
Apple Valley
Mayor Randy Bomgaars
Bellflower
Mayor Shirley Dean
Berkeley
Mayor Donald R. Burr
Campbell
Mayor Michael I. Mitoma
Carson
Mayor Jeffrey P. Bennett
Corona
Mayor Sid Hollins
Escondido
Mayor Marge Tandy
Hemet
Mayor Cathie Brown
Livermore
Mayor Elihu M. Harris
Oakland
Mayor Dick Lyon
Oceanside
Mayor William M. Paparian
Pasadena
Mayor Rosemary M. Corbin
Richmond
Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge
Riverside
Mayor Claire L. Mack
San Mateo
Mayor Harriet Miller
Santa Barbara
Mayor Jo Anne Darcy
Santa Clarita
Mayor Albert Robles
South Gate
Mayor Anthony John Intintoli, Jr.
Vallejo
Mayor Steve Herfert
West Covina
Colorado
Mayor Wellington Webb
Denver
Mayor Ray Emerson
Loveland
Connecticut
Mayor Joseph Ganim
Bridgeport
Mayor Paul Audley
Fairfield
Mayor Delores E. Hauber
Groton
Mayor Stephen T. Cassano
Manchester
Mayor Linda A. Blogoslawski
New Britain
Delaware
Mayor James Sills
Wilmington
District of Columbia
Mayor Marion Barry, Jr.
Washington
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Mayor Carol G. Hanson
Boca Raton
Mayor Roger G. Butter
Cape Coral
Mayor John Sommerer
Coral Springs
Mayor Thomas Lynch
Delray Beach
Mayor Jim Naugle
Fort Lauderdale
Mayor Raul I. Martinez
Hialeah
Mayor Mara Giulianti
Hollywood
Mayor John F. Festa
Key Bescayne
Mayor Arthur J. Bross
Margate
Mayor Joe Mullins
Melbourne
Mayor Vicki Coceano
Miramar
Mayor Frank R. Satchel, Jr.
Mulberry
Acting Mayor Gerald K. Ergle
Ocala
Mayor Glenda Hood
Orlando
Mayor Girard L. Clemons, Jr
Panama City
Mayor John R. Fogg
Pensacola
Mayor Cecil W. Bradbury
Pinellas Park
Mayor Robert E. Minsky
Port St. Lucie
Mayor David Fischer
St. Petersberg
Mayor Norman Abramowitz
Tamarac
Mayor Thomas R. Mariani
Titusville
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Mayor Paul A. Keenan
Albany
Mayor Patsy Jo Hilliard
East Point
Mayor David L. Carter
Macon
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Mayor Robert W. Towse
Alton
Mayor Thomas G. Shaughnessy
Berwyn
Mayor Jesse R. Smart
Bloomington
Mayor Roger C. Claar
Bolingbrook
Mayor Richard M. Daily
Chicago
Mayor Greg Sparrow
DeKalb
Mayor Gordon D. Bush
East St. Louis
Mayor Richard C. Weis
Freeport
Mayor Ronald L. Selph
Granite City
Mayor Raymond J. Geraci
Highland Park
Mayor Michael J. O'Malley
Hoffman Estates
Mayor Arthur Schultz
Joliet
Mayor Donald E. Green
Kankakee
Mayor Stanley F. Leach
Moline
Mayor Rita L. Mullins
Palatine
Idaho
Mayor Linda Milam
Idaho Falls
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Mayor Robert A. Pastrick
East Chicago
Mayor Thoams V. Barnes
Gary
Mayor Stephen Goldsmith
Indianapolis
Mayor Douglas B. England
New Albany
Mayor Roebrt E. Williams
Shelbyville
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Cedar Falls
Mayor Tom Hanafan
Council Bluffs
Mayor Robert E. Scott
Sioux City
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Mayor Edith L. Stunkel
Manhattan
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Bowling Green
Mayor Denny Bowman
Covington
Deputy Mayor William Summers
Louisville
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Alexandria
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Houma
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Kenner
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Monroe
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New Orleans
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Shreveport
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Mayor William D. Burney, Jr.
Augusta
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Portland
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W. Edward Bohrer, Jr.
Gaithersburg
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Mayor Charles Lyons
Arlington
Mayor Harold E. Tobey
Barnstable
Donna R. Kalikow
Chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen
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Mayor John R. Mitchell
Fall River
Mayor Jeffrey A. Bean
Fitchburg
Mayor James A. Rurak
Haverhill
Mayor Patrick J. McManus
Lynn
Mayor Thomas B. Concannon, Jr.
Newton
Mayor Robert T. Markel
Springfield
Mayor Raymond Mariano
Worcester
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Mayor Michael J. Buda
Bay City
Mayor Dennis W. Archer
Detroit
Mayor Ed Annen, Jr.
Kalamazoo
Mayor Billie M. Ireland
Rochester Hills
Mayor Beverly McAnally
Romulus
Mayor Jeanne M. Stine
Troy
Mayor Ronald L. Bonkowski
Warren
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Mayor Gary L. Doty
Duluth
Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton
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Mayor Chuck Winkelman
St. Cloud
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Mayor C. C. 'Frank' Self
Greenville
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Meridian
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Jefferson City
Mayor Emanuel Cleaver II
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Mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr.
St. Louis
Mayor Janet Majerus
University City
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Mayor Gayle Morris
Great Falls
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Mayor Jan Laverty Jones
Las Vegas
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Mayor Leonard P. Kiczek
Bayonne
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Bridgewater
Mayor Arnold Webster
Camden
Mayor Cardell Cooper
East Orange
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Mayor Sandra L. Love
Gloucester Township
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Hamilton
Mayor Timothy C. McDonough
Hope
Mayor Douglas H. Palmer
Trenton
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Vineland
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Mayor Richard A. Bucci
Binghamton
Mayor Sandra L. Frankel
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Mayor Anthony Masiello
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Mayor Richard A. Kimball, Jr.
Jamestown
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New York City
Mayor Bill Johnson
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Mayor Louis D. La Polla
Utica
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Mayor Russell M. Martin
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High Point
Mayor M.C. (Joe) Choate
Jacksonville
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Fargo
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Mayor Donald L. Plusquallic
Akron
Mayor Jimmy Dimora
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Mayor Richard D. Watkins
Canton
Mayor Greg Lashutka
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Kettering
Mayor Thomas L. Kruse
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Tulsa
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Mayor Alice L. Schlenker
Lake Oswego
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Mayor Barbara Bohannan-Sheppard
Chester City
Mayor Joyce A. Savocchio
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Harrisburg
Mayor Jack Salarrione
Norristown
Deputy Mayor John Wilder
Puerto Rico
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Hormigueros
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Humacao
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Mayor Rolland R. Grant
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Providence
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Mayor Bob Coble
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Mayor W. D. Workman, III
Greenville
Mayor Cheryll N. Woods-Flowers
Mount Pleasant
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Spartanburg
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Mayor Gene Roberts
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Mesquite
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Piano
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Tyler
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Salt Lake City
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Richmond
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Appleton
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Racine
CNNI
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Saipan
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