June 16, 1999

Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the subcommittee:

Thank you for inviting me to testify before you on the successes and failures of our current policy of drug prohibition, and on possible alternatives.

Ours is a federal republic. The federal government has only the powers granted to it in the Constitution. And the United States has a tradition of individual liberty, vigorous civil society, and limited government: just because a problem is identified does not mean that the government ought to undertake to solve it, and just because a problem occurs in more than one state does not mean that it is a proper subject for federal policy.

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