Model State Drug Statutes.

MENU TITLE: Nat. Alliance for Drug Laws Fact Sheet
Series: BJA
Published: November 1995
5 pages
7,762 bytes

Bureau of Justice Assistance Fact Sheet

National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws

"We are a Nation of laws." This familiar statement
was the driving force behind the 1993 development
of comprehensive model drug legislation by the
President's Commission on Model State Drug Laws.
The bipartisan commission created by Congress was
composed of diverse State and local leaders,
including an urban mayor, a superior court judge, a
child advocate, a housing specialist, attorneys
general, police chiefs, State legislators,
treatment providers, and private practice lawyers.
The commission created 42 model drug laws.
When the commission completed its assignment in
1993, its members established the National Alliance
for Model State Drug Laws (the Alliance). Through a
grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Alliance
promotes the commission's model drug legislation
and educates State leaders about it. 

The Model State Drug Laws

The 42 model drug laws reflect the best thinking of
State substance abuse policymakers and
practitioners. The laws cover a host of substance
abuse topics, including money laundering;
wiretapping; nuisance abatement; driving under the
influence; prescription drug diversion; and a
multitude of treatment, educational, and community
issues. The topics can be grouped generally into
five subject areas--economic remedies; community
mobilization; crimes code; treatment; and drug-free
families, schools, and workplaces.

The model statutes strengthen law enforcement's
traditional methods of tackling the Nation's drug
problem. The model laws are designed to:

o Reduce crime.

o Reduce prison overcrowding.

o Close crack houses and turn boarded buildings
into useful real estate.

o Prevent the fraudulent distribution and
black-market sale of prescription drugs.

o Recapture illegally used or acquired property and
convert it to public use.

o Stop the laundering of billions of dollars in
illegal drug profits.

o Decrease alcohol and drug-related highway
fatalities.

In addition, complementary treatment, education,
and community mobilization statutes help prevent
drug and other violent crime. 

Each proposed model statute includes an analysis
that discusses its purpose and suggested use.
Highlights and summaries of key points are provided
to facilitate understanding of the statutory
language. Designed as working drafts upon which
State policymakers can build, the models serve as a
menu of options. Policymakers can select models
that best address a particular State's drug
problems and then implement them as State law.

The Model State Drug Laws Program

The Model State Drug Laws Program, created by the
Alliance in 1993, is funded by BJA. Through this
program, the Alliance provides technical assistance
and agency-specific educational written materials
and disseminates a five-volume compilation of the
model State drug laws to State legislators,
Governors, Attorneys General, and other State
officials. 

Technical Assistance. At this time, the Alliance
provides telephone technical assistance to State
officials at no cost. This technical assistance
supports States in the effective use of legislative
measures to help save the millions of dollars lost
to increasing criminal justice costs, skyrocketing
health-care costs, and decreasing workplace
productivity resulting from drug abuse. The
Alliance also serves as a resource center for State
policymakers interested in working with all, or
sections of, the model laws. Through its national
network of substance abuse experts, the Alliance
offers guidance on policy, legal, technical, and
substantive issues related to the model laws. It
provides a forum for the exchange of ideas from
other States and offers a variety of other types of
free assistance to State leaders. 

Currently, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas,
Utah, and California, among other States, are using
both the model laws and the Alliance's assistance
to develop more comprehensive, effective
legislative drug strategies.

Publications. A five-volume compilation of the
model State drug statutes is available through the
Alliance at no charge to State legislators,
Governors, Attorneys General, and other State
policymakers. Copies can be obtained of each model
statute, each volume, or the entire five-volume
set. 

In addition, policy papers and other educational
documents can be written for specific agencies
interested in the model laws.

Model State Drug Laws Five-Volume Series

The content of each volume is as follows:

Volume I: Economic Remedies
Commission Forfeiture Reform Act (CFRA)
Model Demand Reduction Assessment Act
Model Money Laundering Act
Model Financial Transaction Reporting Act
Model Money Transmitter Act
Model Ongoing Criminal Conduct Act

Volume II: Community Mobilization
Model Expedited Eviction of Drug Traffickers Act
Model Drug Nuisance Abatement Act
Model Crimes Code Provisions To Protect Tenants and
Neighbors
Model Anti-Drug Volunteer Protection Act
Model Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Policy and
Planning Coordination Act
Model Community Mobilization Funding Act

Volume III: Crimes Code 
Model Prescription Accountability Act
Model State Chemical Control Act
Uniform Controlled Substances Act (UCSA)(1990)--
Controlled Substance Analog Provisions
Model Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance
Control Act
Model Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and
Other Drugs Act

Volume IV: Treatment
Model Addiction Costs Reduction Act (ACRA)
Model Medicaid Addictions Costs Reduction Act
(MACRA)
Model Family Preservation Act
Model Managed Care Consumer Protection Act
Model Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and
Treatment Services Act
Model Health Professionals Training Act
Model Criminal Justice Treatment Act
Caregivers' Assistance Policy Statement

Volume V: Drug-Free Families, Schools, and
Workplaces
Model Underage Alcohol Consumption Reduction Act
Model Preventive Counseling Services for Children
of Alcoholics and Addicts Act
Model State Sensible Advertising and Family
Education Act
Model Revocation of Professional or Business
License Act
Model Tobacco Vending Machine Restriction Act
Model K-12 Substance Abuse Instruction Act
Model Intervention for Students With Substance
Abuse Problems Act
Model State Safe Schools Act
Model Drug-Free School Zone Act
Model State Ban on Tobacco Use in Schools Act
Model Alcohol and Drug-Free Colleges and
Universities Act
Truancy, Expulsion, and Children Out of School
Policy Statement
Model Drug-Free Private Sector Workplace Act
Model Drug-Free Workplace Workers' Compensation
Premium Reduction Act
Model Employee Assistance Professionals Act
Model Drug-Free Public Work Force ActModel
Drug-Free Workplace Act
Model Employee Addiction Recovery Act

For Further Information

To learn more about the 42 model laws or the
Alliance's State activities, or to obtain copies of
the model laws, contact:

Bureau of Justice Assistance
633 Indiana Avenue NW.
Washington, DC 20531
Tel: 1-202-616-3218

National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws
120 North Pitt Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Tel: 1-703-836-6100

For more information about the Model State Drug
Laws Program, contact:

Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse
P.O. Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849-6000
Tel: 1-800-688-4252
Fax: 1-301-251-5212
Internet: look@ncjrs.aspensys.com

U.S. Department of Justice Response Center
Tel: 1-800-421-6770