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Judge James Gray J �r �
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About The Author
Cited on numerous occasions for his work in the areas of both social reform and civic philanthropy,
Judge James P. Gray currently presides over the civil trial calendar for the Superior Court of Orange
County.
Judge Gray was appointed to the Santa Ana Municipal Court in 1983 by Governor George Deukmejian,
and in 1989, Deukmejian elevated Gray to his post with the Superior Court.
Throughout his 25-year career within the legal and judicial community, Jim Gray has not only donated
hundreds of hours of volunteer time to existing community service-oriented activities, he also has
created and implemented a number of innovative programs of his own, each one a success story in
itself.
For instance, it was Jim Gray who introduced Orange County to the Peer Court System, where juvenile
defendants travel to a school outside their district to have their actual cases tried by other teenagers.
Gray, who also has worked closely with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, helped form a MADDDUI panel
in 1987 whereby defendants were made to listen as victims of drunk driving told their heartbreaking
stories. This program is ongoing and has been recognized as one of the most effective within the
MADD organization and the court system. Along these lines, as a member of the California Department
of Alcohol and Drug Program's Drinking Driving Program Advisory Committee, he recommended
treatment programs to combat the DUI problem. To that end, he helped establish a program whereby
youthful offenders of drunk driving laws were sentenced to visit the Western Medical Trauma Center.
Still today, these youngsters are made to witness the devastating injuries of drunk driving victims. This
program is also cosponsored by the Volunteer Center of Orange County, where Gray has served as a
board member.
Other such related efforts include his work as a co-founder of"Drive Alive"--along with the Orange
County Health Care Agency and MADD--a promotional publicity campaign for students who were
invited to compete in writing Public Service Announcements to deter their fellow teens from drunk
driving. Students, who win prizes for their efforts, also produced bumper stickers and other promotional
materials aimed at the same theme.
Other civic contributions include his work with the"Stay In School" program at both Willard Intermediate
and Santa Ana High Schools. Not long ago, Gray was also lauded for his contributions as a co-founder
of BLAST(Bert Bylevens Leagues, After School Time) --a program providing children with after school
athletics and recreation through the Garden Grove School District, the Garden Grove Police
Department, the Orange County Probation Department, and the ministry of the Crystal Cathedral.
Other organizations Judge Gray has helped to found include: the Association of Former U.S. Attorneys,
which is a group that meets yearly to share ideas and present keynote speakers; and the William P.
Gray/Legion Lex Inn of Court in conjunction with USC Law School, which was founded to increase
ethics, education, and professionalism for judges and lawyers.
The son of a highly regarded federal judge, "Judge William P. Gray", Gray was raised in the Los
Angeles area and attended schools in both La Canada and Pasadena. He received his undergraduate
degree from UCLA in 1966 and a Juris Doctor from USC in 1971.
Gray served in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica for two years and also served as a staff judge advocate
and criminal defense attorney for the U.S. Navy JAG Corps in both Guam and Lemore, California. He
was awarded a National Defense Ribbon, a Vietnam Service Ribbon, and a Combat Action Ribbon
during his tour of duty. He also worked as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's office in Los
Angeles, where he received numerous letters of commendation from federal agencies, and in private
practice in civil litigation in Newport Beach for five years.
Judge Gray has won a host of awards over the years, including "Judge of the Year" in 1992 from the
Business Litigation Section of the Orange County Bar Association, and in 1995, was given that same
honor by the Orange County Constitutional Rights Foundation. He has also received the Drug Policy
Foundation's prestigious"Justice Gerald Le Dain Award"for achievements in the field of law.
Gray has also received letters of commendation from the Orange County Board of Supervisors for his
creation of a successful drinking-driver sentencing program, and from the Judge Advocate General of
the Navy for his work in handling claims resulting from a Medivac airplane crash in the Marshall
Islands.
Additionally, Judge Gray has been a member of the California Judicial Council, as well as the California
Judicial Council's Advisory Committee on Juvenile Law, the Alcohol Advisory Board to the Orange
County Board of Supervisors, the Advisory Board of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs, the Republican Finance Committee of Orange County, and the Orange County Law Library.
He has also been a member of the Board of Councilors of the USC Law School.
Although Judge Gray has championed many causes, none has been more bold than his work to combat
the illegal drug problem in America. Gray continues to mobilize civic leaders, government officials,
corporations, non-profit organizations, the media, and the public around the country to join him in
exploring alternate solutions to reduce this chronic problem.
In addition to his ongoing civic activities and philanthropic work, Jim Gray has been an adjunct
professor at Chapman University, the College of Trial Advocacy for new Orange County attorneys, and
the Continuing Legal Education of the Bar.
Jim Gray is the father of three children: Bill, 25; Jennifer, 21; and Ky, 25, the latter of Vietnamese
descent whom Gray adopted as a 13-month old. Gray resides in Newport Beach, California with wife,
Grace Walker Gray, and her son Morgan. Gray is also a member of the Garden Grove Methodist
Church.
ENDORSEMENTS
Judge Gray's thorough and scholarly work, based as it is on his personal experience, should
help considerably to improve our impossible drug laws. [His]book drives a stake through the
heart of the failed War on Drugs and gives us options to hope for in the battles to come."
—Walter Cronkite
"However harmful the ingestion of drugs are to their users, the attempt to prohibit drugs has
made matters far worse, threatening our basic rights to life, liberty and property. That is Judge
Gray's thesis in this important book and he cites overwhelming evidence to support it. His
proposals to improve the situation do not go as far as I would like, but they are all feasible and in
the right direction. If adopted, they would produce a major improvement."
—Milton Friedman, Hoover Institution
"The war on drugs cannot be a war on discussion of this problem. We can fight drug use and
abuse and still explore viable options. Judge Gray illuminates options and in the process will
promote necessary discussion of them."
—George A Shultz, Distinguished Fellow, Hoover Institution and author of the Turmoil and
Triumph: My Years as Secretary of State
"It's all here! A stinging indictment of today's drug strategies and a rallying cry around new
strategies for tomorrow."
—Gary E. Johnson, Governor of New Mexico
"It has been said that in public policy development we must distinguish between ideas that
sound good and good ideas that are sound. In this book, Judge Gray provides sound ideas for
a more effective national drug control policy. He recognizes that the War on Drugs needs new
thinking for this new century."
—Kurt L. Schmoke, former Mayor of the City of Baltimore
"This book is a powerful indictment of our failed war on drugs, Jim Gray not only communicates
the devastation wrought by a war he witnessed from the frontlines as a trial judge and federal
prosecutor, but he displays in these pages the moral courage it takes to cry out that the emperor
wears no clothes."
—Arianna Hufngton, syndicated columnist and author of How to Overthrow the Government
i
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GRAY MATTER-
Judge Gray, author of
Whv Our Druq Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It
answers questions about fighting the War on Drugs, how our policies
can change, and what hope he—and his book—can offer.
Q. Your book is called Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed. What characterizes the failure of our drug laws?
A. Our policy of Drug Prohibition has failed from every standpoint imaginable: unnecessary prison growth,
increased taxes, increased crime and corruption here and abroad, loss of civil liberties, decreased health, diversion
of resources that are needed to address other problems in society. I could go on and on...
Q. If that is the case, why do we continue with a policy that so many prople agree has failed?
A.There are numbers of practical reasons: We are fighting decades of rhetoric which incorrectly assume that the
answer for drug use and abuse is prison. And scores of politicians get elected and re-elected each year by
posturing about the need to get"tougher"on drugs. Another big reason for the perpetuation of this failed policy is
money-both legal and illegal. The profit motive to sell small amounts of drugs for large amounts of money simply
overwhelms all efforts to restrict those sales. In addition, our policy is fueled by the"runaway freight train"of federal
money-every federal agency we have is addicted to its drug war funding, and they do not want to give it up.
Q. You are taking a pretty controversial position for a.Superior Court Judge. Do many other judges feel the same
way you do about this?
A.Yes. But, like with most public officials, there is a difference in what they say privately as opposed to what they
will say in public. However, my book quotes comments from more than forty judges nationwide about their
experiences and recommendations for change, and many of these judges are speaking publicly about this issue for
the first time.
Q. Considering your position, then, can you offer any optimism?
A. I agree that people are discouraged under our present policy. But I bring good news: there is hope. We have
viable options, and they are working in numbers of places around the world. My book gets very specific about those
options.
Q.But these drugs are dangerous. Shouldn't dangerous things be illegal?
A. Many things in our society are dangerous, but making them illegal is not the answer. Does anyone really believe
that making tobacco illegal would reduce the harm it causes?What about glue, gasoline, chain saws and high
cholesterol foods? Further, if you think about it, we have at least some controls with regard to the sales and use of
alcohol and tobacco, because they are regulated by the government. We have no controls at all with these illicit
substances, because they are controlled by the mob.
Q. But doesn't a change in policy send the wrong message to our children?
A. I answer that by asking you what you think is the right message?We have more people in prison in our country
than anywhere else in the world. People, including many children, have died from drug overdoses because of
unknown strength and purity of these substances, and because their"friends"did not seek prompt medical
attention for them fearing-legitimately-that they would get into legal trouble if they came forward. And, far from
protecting our children, our present policy is actually recruiting them to a lifestyle of drug usage and drug selling.
Q. That sounds like you are advocating drug use. Are you?
A. I hate these drugs so much that I want to change our policy so that we can reduce drug usage and the other
harms these dangerous drugs are causing. These drugs could not be made more available than they are under our
present system-we can't even keep them out of our prisons, much less off our streets. But change will come as
soon as people realize one simple truth: Just because we discuss drug policy, or just because we realize we have
options to it, or just because we choose to employ one or more of those options does not mean that we condone
drug use or abuse. As soon as people understand that simple fact, we will move forward to a more effective policy,
because what we are doing now cannot stand the light of day.
Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project
and
American Civil Liberties Union
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Superior Court Judge �
for the State of California
A spirited presentation about his new book with ideas and
solutions on how to approach drug use in American society.
why The Drug War Has Failed
and What We Can Do About It
A Judicial Indictment of the War ou Drugs
"Judge Gray's thorough and scholarly work, based as it is on his personal
experience, should help considerably to improve our impossible drug laws.
His book drive's a stake through the heart of the failed War on Drugs and
gives us options to hope for in battles to come." - WALTER CRONKITE
junda , Nov. 18at4n30pmY
Cathedral City Ubrary '=W
33-520 Date Palm Dr One block north of Dinah Shore at
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7fo?7 6 07 9 92 0 5 5 mail: PO Box 739, Palm Springs CA 92263
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IbC P63 VOrk VMCO - October 31, 2001
�mS. CRACKS DOWN ON MEDICAL
4ARIJUANA IN CALIFORNIA
3y GREG WINTER
.OS ANGELES, Oct. 30 —Armed with a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court, the Bush administration has begun its
3rst major crackdown on the distribution of marijuana for medical purposes,Justice Department officials say.
n the last month, federal agents in California have uprooted a marijuana garden run by patients, seized the files of a doctor
and lawyer who recommended the drug for thousands of sick clients and raided one of the state's largest cannabis clubs, in
Kest Hollywood, where more than 900 people with ailments like cancer and AIDS bought the drug with the blessing of city
-)fficials.
The sudden rush of enforcement, coming three years after the last federal raid on a "medical marijuana" club in Oakland,
represents the Justice Department's renewed attempt to impose federal drug laws in states that have legalized marijuana use
for people who are sick or dying.
Basing its efforts on a unanimous Supreme Court decision last May, which effectively rendered the distribution of marijuana
through large cooperatives illegal, the Justice Department said that more actions would probably follow, despite its current
focus on fighting terrorism.
"The recent enforcement is indicative that we have not lost our priorities in other areas since Sept. 1 I," said Susan Dryden, a
spokeswoman for the department.
"The attorney general and the administration have been very clear: We will be aggressive," Ms. Dryden said, adding that the
department did not differentiate between medical marijuana and other illegal drugs.
The recent raids have enraged local officials, who not only support medical marijuana clubs but also sometimes help to set
them up. The City of West Hollywood, for example, co-signed the mortgage for the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center
that was raided last week and helped to get the club listed as a member of the local chamber of commerce.
"This was a serious effort to provide relief for people who were ill," said Steve Martin, a councilman in West Hollywood.
"The Bush administration is forcing sick people to become criminals."
Some medical professionals are equally concerned about the recent seizure of medical records and legal files from a doctor
and her husband, a lawyer, who run a clinic of sorts in Cool, northeast of Sacramento. The pair, federal agents say, coached
their patients how to evade arrest and supplied them with marijuana grown in their home and a greenhouse out back.
"Federal and state law enforcement authorities have no business interfering with the doctor-patient relationship," said Peter
Warren, a spokesman for the California Medical Association, which supports using medical marijuana when other treatments
have failed. "It's especially shocking in this time of national crisis that federal agents are out there tossing doctor's offices."
Federal officials did not specify why they have focused their efforts on California, as opposed to seven other states that have
passed similar initiatives, saying they did not want to compromise investigations taking place elsewhere.
Some of those investigations, federal officials acknowledge, may be taking longer than anticipated, in part because the
interest in cracking down on distributors of medical marijuana is not equally shared throughout the Justice Department.
Still, local politicians and advocates argue that California is a natural target for enforcement, since it has far more marijuana
clubs than other states,with many more patients buying from them.
The recent enforcement actions have not yet resulted in any criminal charges, which would give rise to jury trials. In the past,
the Justice Department has sought injunctions from judges, rather than face jurors who might be sympathetic to the idea of
supplying those suffering from debilitating or terminal illnesses with marijuana. In a nationwide poll in March by the Pew
Research Center, 73 percent of respondents said they supported allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana.
Justice Department officials said criminal charges might be forthcoming, and certainly were a part of their policy to thwart
the illegal distribution of drugs, including medical marijuana. Even short of bringing charges, though,the recent enforcement
actions have had their impact. Left without medical records to verify legitimate patients and, perhaps most important, devoid
of any marijuana to pass out,the cannabis club in West Hollywood,for example, is effectively shut down.
In response, advocates of medical marijuana say they are looking at ways of bringing states directly into the business of
distributing the drug, something the Supreme Court ruling did not specifically prohibit.
The constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana in Nevada last year, for instance, specified that the state must
make sure that patients there can obtain the drug legally. As a result, the state is asking the federal government to supply it
with marijuana for those in need,providing a model that advocates would like to duplicate in future ballot measures.
Tf these initiatives passed, then how would the administration enforce federal law? By arresting the governor?" asked Bill
Zimmerman,executive director of the Campaign for New Drug Policies,which helped draft the eight medical marijuana
measures that have passed. "it would produce too much of a crisis."
MARIJUANA ANTI-PROHIBITION PROJECT -- 760-799-2055
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