MEDIA ADVISORY:

SENATOR WEBB TO EXAMINE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF U.S. DRUG POLICY AT JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE HEARING

Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) will convene a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) to examine the economic consequences of the United States’ drug policy.  The hearing entitled, “Illegal Drugs: Economic Impact, Societal Costs, Policy Responses” will be held Thursday, June 19 at 10am in Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.  The panel will discuss the illegal drug economy in the United States, assess the costs of U.S. policy responses to combating drug use, and address the need for policy reforms.  Last year, Senator Webb and the JEC examined the economic implications of the steep increase in the U.S. prison population.

WHAT:      Joint Economic Committee Hearing: 
       "Illegal Drugs: Economic Impact, Societal Costs, Policy Responses"
WHEN:      Thursday, June 19, 2008 – 10:00am
WHERE:    106 Dirksen Senate Office Building
WHO:        Peter Reuter, School of Public Policy and Dept. of Criminology, University of Maryland
Anne Swern, First Assistant District Attorney, Kings County, Brooklyn, New York
Norma Fernandes, Community Coordinator, Kings County District Attorney's Office
John Walsh, Senior Associate for Drug Policy, Washington Office on Latin America
(Additional witnesses may be added)

The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policy.

www.jec.senate.gov
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