The commission called for in the Resolution for a Federal Commission on Drug Policy (popularly known as the "Hoover Resolution"), may soon be a reality. Incorporated into the Conference Committee's Crime Bill report is a commission on crime and violence which includes the language of H.R. 3100, the National Drug Policy Act of 1993, according to a source in the office of Congressman Don Edwards (D-CA). If the Crime Bill passes with this section unchanged, the commission will be written into law.

The Resolution for a Federal Commission on Drug Policy was formally launched on February 26, 1993, when a group of the world's most prominent citizens and experts on drug abuse gathered at Stanford's Hoover Institution to sign it. Since then, the Resolution has been signed by mayors, judges, police chiefs, religious organizations, medical organizations, and many others. On September 21, 1993, Don Edwards, vice-chairman of the House Judiciary committee, filed H.R. 3100, a bill that if passed would create the commission called for in the Resolution.

Not having been included in either the House or Senate versions of the Crime Bill, H.R. 3100 stood little chance of making it into the conference committee's version -- without Don Edwards, that is. Edwards, who is stepping down at the end of this term, thought that the other conferees would give him a retirement present -- and the Commission on National Drug Policy is what he asked for.

Original Signers of the Resolution for a Federal Commission on Drug Policy

Dr. Milton Friedman
Nobel laureate
Professor Emeritus of University of Chicago
Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford, CA

George Shultz
Former Secretary of State
Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford, CA (not present due to other commitments)

Kurt L. Schmoke
Mayor
City of Baltimore, Maryland (not present due to other commitments)

Dr. Joseph D. McNamara
Former Police Chief of San Jose
Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford, CA

Herbert Berger, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.C.C.P.
Internationally recognized authority on drug treatment
Staten Island, NY

Judge James P. Gray
Orange County Superior Court
Santa Ana, CA

Katherine H. Smith
Founder, Group Resolving Anti-Social Problems (GRAS)
Anaheim, CA

S. Clarke Smith, M.D., F.A.A.F.P.
Board of Directors
California Academy of Family Physicians
Anaheim, CA

Clifford A. Schaffer
Author
Computer Consultant
Canyon Country, CA

Frederick H. Meyers, M.D.
Professor of Pharmacology
University of California at San Francisco
Chairman of the California Research Advisory Panel on Drugs

Harvey L. Rose, M.D.
Author of California's "Intractable Pain Treatment Act"
Family Practice
Carmichael, CA

John J. McCarthy, M.D., A.B.P.N.
Psychiatrist, Executive Director
Bi-Valley Medical Clinic
Sacramento, CA

Gary Davis, M.D.
Diplomate in Psychiatry, A.B.P.N.
American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology
Citrus Heights, CA

Benson B. Roe, M.D.
Professor and Chief Emeritus of Cardiothoracic Surgery
University of California at San Francisco, CA

Stephen A. Fisher, M.D.
Diplomate in Psychiatry, A.B.P.N.
American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology
Berkeley, CA

Reverend Leonard B. Jackson
First A.M.E. Church of Los Angeles, CA

Reverend J. D. Moore
First A.M.E. Church of Los Angeles, CA

Donald McNamara
Investment Consultant, New York, NY

Richard Arthur
Educator
Former Principal of Castlemont High School
Oakland, CA
Author of "Gangs and Schools"
Richmond, CA

Richard "Gibb" Martin
Owner
Marbros Construction Co.
Garden Grove, CA

Howard Lavine
Office of the Mayor
Baltimore, MD

Clifford Schaffer will send a list of several hundred of the most prominent signers of the Resolution, free of charge, to anyone who sends him a large, manila, self-addressed, stamped envelope with $2 in postage. Cliff also has a strategy packet discussing effective techniques for talking about drug policy reform; this is available for a $5-$10 contribution.
Write to:

Clifford Schaffer
P.O. Box 1430
Canyon Country, CA 91386-1430