September 25, 2014 2:50PM 

# Joe McNamara, RIP 

By [Tim Lynch](https://www.cato.org/people/tim-lynch) 

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Joe McNamara was a former police chief and scholar at the Hoover Institution. He was an outspoken critic of the drug war and devoted much of his time to converting people within the law enforcement community.

Here is a talk that he gave at Cato’s 1999 conference, [Beyond Prohibition](https://www.cato.org/events/beyond-prohibition-adult-approach-drug-policies-21st-century):

[https://​www​.drop​box​.com/​s​/​u​c​f​t​s​g​f​r​t​s​h​r​7​j​k​/​M​c​N​a​m​a​r​a​.​m​4​v​?dl=0](https://www.dropbox.com/s/ucftsgfrtshr7jk/McNamara.m4v?dl=0)

Here is an [article](https://www.dropbox.com/s/ucftsgfrtshr7jk/McNamara.m4v?dl=0) he prepared for Regulation Magazine in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, “The Defensive Front Line.”

Joe McNamara, [RIP](http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/19/former-san-jose-police-chief-joseph-mcnamara-dies/)

##### Related Tags 

[Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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