Drug Policy Alliance
Encyclopedia
The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is a New York City-based non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, led by executive director Ethan Nadelmann
Ethan Nadelmann
Ethan Nadelmann is the founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a New York City-based non-profit organization working to end the War on Drugs. Described by Rolling Stone as, "the point man for drug-policy-reform efforts," Ethan Nadelmann is known as a high profile critic and...
, with the principal goal of ending the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
"War on Drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
". The stated priorities of the organization are the decriminalization of responsible drug use, the promotion of harm reduction
Harm reduction
Harm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...
and treatment in response to drug misuse, and the facilitation of open dialog about drugs between youth, parents, and educators.
Overview
The Drug Policy Alliance was formed when the Drug Policy Foundation and the Lindesmith CenterLindesmith Center
The Lindesmith Center was an Open Society Institute project which has conducted research related to drug reform. It was founded in 1994 by Ethan Nadelmann with financial support from George Soros...
merged in July 2000.
The organization has offices in five states as well as a national affairs office in Washington, D.C., which lobbies for federal reform. Administrative and media headquarters are located in New York City, NY. The office for legal affairs is located in Berkeley, CA, with two additional state offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The remaining three state offices are located in Trenton, NJ, Santa Fe, NM, and Denver, CO.
Veteran journalist Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
spoke out against the War on Drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
in support of the DPA. He appeared in advertisements on behalf of the organization and wrote a fundraising letter, which was also published in the Huffington Post.
In the letter, Cronkite wrote: "Today, our nation is fighting two wars: one abroad and one at home. While the war in Iraq is in the headlines, the other war is still being fought on our own streets. Its casualties are the wasted lives of our own citizens. I am speaking of the war on drugs. And I cannot help but wonder how many more lives, and how much more money, will be wasted before another Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
admits what is plain for all to see: the war on drugs is a failure."
Mission
"The Drug Policy Alliance envisions a just society in which the use and regulation of drugs are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights, in which people are no longer punished for what they put into their own bodies but only for crimes committed against others, and in which the fears, prejudices and punitive prohibitions of today are no more.Our mission is to advance those policies and attitudes that best reduce the harms of both drug misuse and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies."
Cannabis
The DPA believes that cannabisCannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
should be legal for medicinal purposes of severely ill individuals. They are working state-by-state to educate and inform governors and the people about their beliefs on medicinal marijuana. They present their success with the compassionate use bill which brought medical marijuana access to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
in 2007.
The Failed Drug War
The DPA believes that the War on Drugs in America has failed. They present the argument that the United States has spent billions of dollars on making the country drug free but many illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and many others are purer and more prevalent than ever before.Overdose
The DPA presents the fact that 26,000 lives were lost in the U.S to the accidental overdose of drugs. They also present the fact that this is the highest it's ever been. They present the Drug Overdose Reduction Act as their solution.Parents, Teens, and Drugs
The DPA believes that we need to give our young people access to credible information regarding decisions and information on drugs. They believe that open and honest dialogue is the key and with this idea started the Safety First Project.State By State
The DPA presents the argument that all drugs are different and pose different risks. So, their response is to create policies for individual specific drugs rather than bundling them. They believe that successful harm reduction plays a pivotal role in this topic.Health Approaches
The DPA believes that harm reduction is the best solution to drug abuse and argues that it is not a source for the promotion of drug legalization, rather a movement to reduce the harm of drug abuse in our society.Police and Courts
The DPA believes that many of the arrests for drug possession have been conflicting with many areas of our constitutional rights as Americans. They have been fighting for these rights through their Office of Legal Affairs.Communities Affected
The DPA believes that the war on drugs does not affect all of our population the same way. They believe that the following four groups suffer the most: Women, Minorities, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender, and Dance, Music and Entertainment.Drug Policy Around The World
The DPA states that many countries around the world are approaching their own war on drugs in a different way than the United States does and that many of the countries can lead as examples for many new approaches in the U.S.Achievements
The DPA was the guiding force behind California's Proposition 36. "Prop 36" and the formation of the Drug Courts gave non-violent drug offenders the opportunity to seek treatment in drug rehabilitation programs rather than serve lengthy jail sentences. The Drug Courts also removed unlicensed drug rehabs as options for fulfilling probation requirements, a bold move as unlicensed rehabs were plentiful in California (like Futures Foundation, Inc., in San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
.)
The DPA was primarily responsible for 1996 with California’s landmark medical marijuana law, Proposition 215, which made cannabis available to seriously ill patients as well as reduced criminal penalties for possession. The DPA continued their achievements with Proposition 215 in by Alaska in 1998, Oregon in 1998, Washington in 1998, Maine in 1999, Colorado in 2000, Nevada in 1998 and 2000 and New Mexico in 2007.
In 2000, DPA helped push California’s landmark treatment-not-incarceration law called Proposition 36. It replaces jail time with substance abuse treatment for first and second time nonviolent drug offenders. More than 84,000 people were removed from jail and graduated from treatment, thus saving 1.5 billion dollars of taxpayer’s money.
In 2006 DPA got the “Blood-borne Pathogen Harm Reduction Act,” signed into law. It allows up to six cities to establish syringe access programs. This helps prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
The DPA has worked across the country to pass the “911 Good Samaritan Immunity Laws”. These laws are to help encourage overdose witnesses to call 911. They reduce drug possession charges for those who seek medical help. The DPA lead a campaign in New Mexico to pass the law and were successful in 2007.
The DPA is also working to eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing and racially biased crack/cocaine sentencing schemes at the state and federal levels.
DPA awards
The DPA gives annual awards to "honor advocates, elected officials and organizations for their courageous work in reforming drug laws.". These include- Edward M. BrecherEdward M. BrecherEdward M. Brecher was a well-known American science writer and book author, best known for his contributions in addiction research, human sexuality, and for his advocacy of rights for people who choose to commit suicide.-Works And Awards:...
Award for Achievement in the Field of Journalism - Richard J. DennisRichard DennisRichard J. Dennis, a commodities speculator once known as the "Prince of the Pit," was born in Chicago, in January, 1949. In the early 1970s, he borrowed $1,600 and reportedly made $200 million in about ten years. When a futures trading fund under his management incurred significant losses in the...
Drugpeace Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Drug Policy Reform - Alfred R. LindesmithAlfred R. LindesmithAlfred Ray Lindesmith was an Indiana University professor of sociology. He was among the early scholars providing a rigorous and thoughtful account of the nature of addiction....
Award for Achievement in the Field of Scholarship - Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action
- Norman E. ZinbergNorman ZinbergDr. Norman E. Zinberg was a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist whose research into addiction is seen as a great influence on current clinical models and greatly influenced the work of addiction treatment specialists such as Stanton Peele.Zinberg studied recreational heroin users over a ten year...
Award for Achievement in the Field of Medicine - H.B. Spear Award for Achievement in the Field of Control and Enforcement
- Justice Gerald Le DainGerald Le DainGerald Eric Le Dain, CC was a Canadian lawyer and judge, who sat on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1984 to 1988....
Award for Achievement in the Field of Law - Dr. Andrew WeilAndrew WeilAndrew Thomas Weil is an American author and physician, who established the field of integrative medicine which attempts to integrate alternative and conventional medicine. Weil is the author of several best-selling books and operates a website and monthly newsletter promoting general health and...
Award for Achievement in the Field of Drug Education
See also
- War on DrugsWar on DrugsThe War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
- Arguments for and against drug prohibitionArguments for and against drug prohibitionArguments about the prohibition of drugs, and over drug policy reform, are subjects of considerable controversy. The following is a presentation of major drug policy arguments, including those for drug law enforcement on one side of the debate, and arguments for drug law reform on the other.-...
- Decriminalization of marijuana in the United States
- Harm reductionHarm reductionHarm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...
- Prison reformPrison reformPrison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
- Freedom of thoughtFreedom of thoughtFreedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints....
External links
- Drug Policy Alliance website
- Global Commission on Drug Policy
- The International Drug Policy Consortium
- Global Drug Policy Program
- Americans for Safe Access
- Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
- National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
- Marijuana Policy Project
- Students for a Sensible Drug Policy