We can become more effective activists by educating ourselves on the scholarly work done on drug policy. The overwhelming weight of scholarly evidence on supports decriminalization; these are the most important studies of drug policy ever conducted:

• The Laguardia Committee Report, commissioned by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia of New York, published 1944.
• The Baroness Wootton Report, commissioned by the government of the United Kingdom, published 1967.
• The Report of the Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, publish 1969.
• Dealing With Drug Abuse: A report to the Ford Foundation, published 1972.
• * The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs, published 1972; an excellent introduction to the subject.
• The Report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, commissioned by President Nixon, published 1973.
• The Nation's Toughest Drug Law: Evaluating the New York Experience, published by the Joint Committee on New York Drug Law Evaluation, of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 1977.
• The Facts About Drug Abuse, published by the United States Drug Abuse Council, 1980.
• An Analysis of Marijuana Policy, published by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, 1982.
• The Report of the California State Research Advisory Panel, published by the State of California in 1990.

Thanks to Clifford Schaffer for this valuable bibliography.

Hot off the press -- two outstanding new books on prohibition:

1. America's Longest War: Rethinking Our Tragic Crusade Against Drugs
   By Steven Duke of Yale Law School & Attorney Albert Gross
   Published by Tarcher/Putnam, ISBN 0-87477-541-8; $26.95
2. Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine
   By Lester Grinspoon, M.D. & James Bakalar, or Harvard Medical School
   Published by Yale University Press; ISBN 0-300-05435-1

TREE FREE -- We could stop cutting down our forests for paper, if only the government would let us grow hemp -- even the non-psychoactive varieties. Tree Free Eco Paper, in Portland, imports tree-less paper, 50% hemp and 50% straw, from China, naturally acid-free, and more environmentally sound than the best recycled paper. Call (800) 775-0225 for a free sample.

The National Coalition Against Prohibition (NCAP -- also called Save Our Liberties), is promoting the "Hoover" Resolution and working for creation of the drug policy commission for which it calls. NCAP will help anyone stage a "freedom rally" in their area; contact Eric Harlow at 187 Acalanes Dr. #14, Sunnyvale, CA 94086-5520, (415) 964-3655. NCAP also will provide END THE DRUG WAR stamps ($5/sheet of 30 or $10/3 sheets), t-shirts ($18), buttons ($2), and stickers ($2).