ARNOLD S. TREBACH

President, The Drug Policy Foundation

and

Professor, The American University

Washington, D.C.

at the first conference of the

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF CITIES ON DRUG POLICY

November 16-17, 1993

Baltimore, Maryland

Mayor Schmoke and honored guests:

We are making history. This is the first international conference of officials during recent years in which the major purpose is to explore new methods of dealing with drugs - as distinguished from conferences that sought desperately to shore up the existing system of rigid prohibition. Of course, not every official here is convinced of the need for dramatic changes in drug policy, but have attended simply because they want to gather information. They are welcome; in a sense we are all seeking information. Yet, it is fair to say that virtually every person in attendance is convinced

that some type of far-reaching action must be taken in order to save modern societeis, particularly the cities, from being torn apart by seemingly senseless crime and violence, by racial hate, bu vicious drug-traffickers, and by rampant disease, especially AIDS.

A few days ago, The Washington Post reported that over the previous nine days there had been 17 killings in the nation's capital city, and no arrests so far in part because homicide detectives are so overwhelment with the workload. There is nothing terribly unusual about this story, except in this case the lead story on the front page is that the president made a major emotional speech against crime.

Based upon past data, it is likely that approximately half of those killings were related to the virulent illegal drug trade in Washington. The relationship between the drug trade, the war on drugs, and Ameruican deaths is a strong one. Indeed, I would estimate that since 1980 between 80,000 to 100,000 of my brother and sister Americans may have died preventable deaths due to the failures of our drug strategies -- perhaps 40-50,000 in drug trade violence and another 40-50,000 from AIDS that was originally transmitted by intravenous drug use. Such grisly realities are seen most strongly in urban areas and are making many of our cities virtually uninhabitable.

Certainly, our president would agree with the concerned city officials gathered here from over 20 countries that the current path leads only to more disaster. But what new paths should we explore? I am saddened to have to report that while Mr. Clinton and his Administration deserve high marks for the improvement they have made in the overall tone of drug policy, they are largely paralyzed in terms of concrete positive action in the drug field. They are now in a state of internal conflict. Their collective heart seems to say "we must do something effective quickly to stop the drug-trade killings and the deaths from AIDS or we will be untrue to our own better angels" while their collective head seems to say "we have enough political trouble with gays in the military, with the new health plan, and with NAFTA -- and thus we cannot risk being seen as soft on drugs and soft on crime". Within the past few weeks, Drug Czar Lee Brown has gone so far as to heatedly declare that this Administration will not consider a

ny dramatic changes in drug policy, certainly not medicalization which he lumped with full legalization.

Yet, of all the possible new paths for any city or nation the most practical, sensible, and effective is medicalization or, as it is now frequently called, harm reduction, according to a growing consensus of experts across the political spectrum. The essence of harm reduction is the acceptance of the enduring reality of drug use, the absurdity of even attempting to create a drug-fee society, and the need to treat drug users and drug abusers as basically decent human beings. In return, we must demand that they behave responsibly and refrain from crime. While this approach may seem to some as soft or permissive, in fact it has proven to be much more effective in terms of controlling drug abuse, crime, and AIDS than the current harsh war on drugs.

The best examples harm reduction I have seen over the years were in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The latter country was particularly praiseworthy in my eyes because it persisted in the most enlightened and effective national drug policy in the world despite intense criticism from its continental neighbors. Such perssure came especially from Germany, the dominant nation in Europe and the one seemingly most committed to imitating the failed drug policy of the most powerful nation in the world where we meet today.

It is both ironic and wonderful that Germans, especially German city officials, are now in the forefront of effective drug policy change. The principles of the pioneering Frankfurt Resolution, signed in the German city that bears its name in 1990, offer the greatest hope of starting to solve the crisis affecting so many cities. In the drug field, that resolution ranks in importance with the British Rolleston Report of 1926 in terms of its compelling clarity and the practical guidance it provides for those who seek to solve the riddle of drug abuse.

The work of the European Cities on Drug Policy, the organization created in the wake of the signing of the Frankfurt Resolution, demonstrates that cities must move forward to carry out enlightened drug control and treatment programs in the face of indifference or even hostility from their respective national governments. This is difficutl, to be sure, without political and economic support from higher levels of government, but the cities are in terrible condition and courage is a necessary commodity in modern urban government. The ECDP has also demostrated that courageous and effective action in the cities can sometimes convince regional, provincial, and national governments to change. Thus, every city official here should contemplate just how far he or she can move the local government forward even though the national government is now unhelpful.

American officials have a special burden. Those officials must admit, openly if they can find the heart to do so, that the future of drug policy is to be fhound in Europe and other countries, in the Frankfurt Resolution and in the ECDP and not in any official America law, position, or document. We are first in computers, first in space, first in military power, first in wealth, first in the vitality of our sports -- and dead last in drug policy. It hurts to admit this but it will hurt us all more is we do not.

American officials should ask their friends and collegagues in the national government to stop the practice of criticizing the attempts of European or other government officials to experiment with new approaches to save their peoples from the ravages of rigid prohibition. More than that, leading officials in Washington should be asked by officials in attendance here to lend active support, even the granting of foreign aid when appropriate, to those countries whose cities display the courage to explore the new frontiers of drug treatment and control.

Now, a few words of praise to those who helped make all of this happen. During last year's drug Policy Foundation conference in Washington, Luigi Del Gatto and Antonio Contardo of the International Antiprohibition League and the Radical Party -- two related organizations remarkable for their feistiness and growing effectiveness - told me how much they respected the work of the Franckfurt Resolution group of cities and suggested that DPF should work with the group more closely. Even thought we must turn down most suggestions for additional work because of limited resources, I responded positively and suggested that perhaps we in the Foundation could spread the European network of cities to this country. Moreover, I threw out the thought that perhaps the first meeting of the American network could be in Baltimore just before the 1993 Foundation annual meeting. I suggested Baltimore because I view Mayor Kurt Schmoke as the most important American drug policy pioneer now in office, but I had no idea how he woul

d react to the concept.

The rest is a happy chapter in history. My colleague Kevin Zeese took a major role in developing the idea. Mayor Schmoke reacted quite positively to a letter we sent raising idea of a meeting and a related network of cities. This historic meetinc could never have happened without the enthusiastic support of Kurt Schmoke and of his devoted staff, especially Lee Tawney and Howard Lavine. Nor could it have occurred without the generous support of the funders listed in the program, who provided grants tot he Drug Policy Foundation allowing us to cover most of the costs of this conference.

Positive reactions to the idea of the conference and the expanded network also came from Paul Vasseur, the Drug Policy Coordinator of Amsterdam, and from Werner Schneider, who holds a similar position in Frankfurt -- and later from Ueli Locher and Horst Bossong who hold the same positions in Zurich and Hamburg. A meeting with these officials and with representatives of many of the ECDP cities in Rotterdam in March solidified the new working relationship for reform. During that meeting, Kurt Schmoke announced through his representative that he intended to sign the Frankfurt Resolution during this event in Baltimore.

My hope is that every city official here will consider how his or her city can benefit from adhering to the principles of harm reduction as embodied in the Frankfurt Resolution. Attempt to implement as many of its features as possible in your city. For example, appoint a drug policy coordinator as one first step forward. If you feel it is appropriate and if you can secure the proper approvals, sign the resolution for you city. If not, do not consider that a defeat. While 15 European cities have signed, another 35 have affiliated themselves with the ECDP network even though they have not yet signed the resolution. Whatever you do, continue to work with us, to attend future meetings, to share information, and to help create a movement that will truly make a difference.

Mayor Schmoke has announced his intention to implement many of the principles of that resolution in this city, partly due to the recommendations of his own Mayor's Working Group on Drug Policy Reform which he created this year. Thus, we meet in the city that could become the model of urban peace and security for this nation. It is our job at this conference and in our future work together to help make that dream come true for Baltimore, for our nation, and for all of the people of the world.

Thank you