>> i am susan christian. good evening. thank you for coming tonight. i am probably the newest member, and it is an honor for me to serve on this commission for the city and county of san francisco. i just want to say a few words before we get going. first, we are here to listen. from a number of experts and from any public speakers interested in addressing the topic of this hearing. tonight we are not going to take up the question of whether drugs or narcotics should be legalized. what we want to look at is the affect of criminalization and the sanctions that have been placed on narcotics use and abuse. we want to hear what these things have done to our communities. i worked as a prosecutor in san francisco, and i feel privileged to do so, given the fact that i was hired by harris and that i continue to have the pleasure to work with the district attorney. both of these leaders have progressive visions about what crime is and how to deal with it in a community as diverse as san francisco. we are talking about a war on drugs tonight, and that is a feder