This volume presents the results of a three-year study of the impact of New York State's strict drug law, which was enacted in 1973. The study was undertaken by the Joint Committee on New York Drug Law Evaluation, established by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the Drug Abuse Council, Inc. The volume has three main sections. The first section explores the effects of the 1973 drug law on drug use, crime, cost to the state, incarceration of young people, recruitment of informants, and rate of commitments to state prisons. The second section attempts to account for the disappointing results of the 1973 drug law. The criminal justice process as a whole did not seem to increase the threat to the offender. Court delays also reduced the threat. The third section contains observations and lessons for the future. It examines the difficulties of implementation, what could have been done to improve implementation, and possibility for future improvement. (Author/JL)