The documents in this record group detail the creation, development, organization, and work of the Ann Arbor Anti-Substance Abuse Task Force. Also featured are documents, which provide insight into the events leading to the formation of the organization, as well as materials that chronicle the immediate effects of their recommendations. These papers are divided into five series: Correspondence, Committees, Data Collection, Report to City Council, and Topical Files.
The Anti-Substance Abuse Task Force was established by the Ann Arbor City Council on May 16, 1988 in a resolution submitted by Republican council member Terry Martin. The task force was established in response to a perceived growth in drug use and abuse among residents, especially minors, of Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas, and as a reaction to a believed Ann Arbor drug "malaise." The organization collected data from a wide variety of sources before submitting a final report of recommendations to the Ann Arbor City Council and disbanding in 1990. Throughout its existence, the group, and Martin in particular, also pursued a number of policies to be put in place by the Ann Arbor City Government. Most notable among these, were attempts to amend the city's five-dollar "pot law," in response to feelings that Ann Arbor was too favorable environment for marijuana use.
