Tuesday, October 5, 1999

The Cato Institute's F.A. Hayek Auditorium
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

More than 10 years ago, federal officials boldly claimed that they would create a "drug-free America by 1995." To reach that objective, Congress spent billions of dollars to disrupt the drug trade. Despite thousands of arrests and seizures, America is not drug free. Illegal drugs are as readily available today as ever before.

Drug prohibition has proven to be a costly failure. Like alcohol prohibition, drug prohibition has created more problems than it has solved. The drug war has destroyed the lives of inner-city residents, corrupted law enforcement, and distorted our foreign policy. Yet drug prohibition is still seen as a viable strategy by most police officers, prosecutors, and political leaders. Paradoxically, alternative drug policies—such as legalization—fall outside the parameters of serious debate in our nation's capital.

To further a more mature debate about drug policy, the Cato Institute will host Beyond Prohibition: An Adult Approach to Drug Policies in the 21st Century. Legal scholars, former law enforcement officials, and political and social leaders will gather to discuss the harmful consequences of drug prohibition and to assess alternative policies.

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