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We are the Drug Policy Alliance
The Drug Policy Alliance envisions a just society in which drug policies are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. We fight to advance those laws and policies that best reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition. We work to ensure that officials and the public respect and promote the inherent dignity of all individuals and their personal autonomy.
We have also been at the forefront of most of the major drug sentencing reforms over the past two decades, including the 2010 federal Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced the crack/powder sentencing disparity.
As a result of our efforts, there are tens of thousands fewer people behind bars and hundreds of thousands who either did not go to jail or prison, or who spent less time there. And there’s no telling how many lives we have saved.
Letter from the President and Executive Director
Making the most of this moment
The vast majority of Americans have long believed the drug war to be a failure, but now we’re finally seeing a palpable shift in the way these issues are discussed in mainstream politics. The overdose crisis, with its terrible human toll, is also sensitizing even more people to the need for policies that save lives and provide support, not punishment, to those who struggle with problematic drug use.
The challenge now is to build on this momentum with an ambitious and sophisticated agenda to take reform to the next level. That is our focus, and our commitment to you.
DPA is developing innovative state- and municipal-level campaigns with the goal of ending the criminalization of personal drug use and offering non-coercive health interventions when< drug use is problematic. This is a long-term proposition, but one that has the potential for dramatic impact: today, the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use is the single most arrested offense in the United States, with 1.4 million arrests a year. We intend to do for drug decriminalization what we did for marijuana legalization: bring it into mainstream discourse and turn it into effective policy.
We are doubling down on our efforts to counter the overdose crisis with a suite of policies that have been proven to save lives, instead of the empty rhetoric of so many U.S. leaders. We are fighting in D.C. to oppose the Department of Justice’s callous efforts to block the establishment of supervised consumption services pursuant to the anachronistic “crack house statute.” We are also leading the charge to expand access to medications for opioid use disorder, sterile syringes, and the overdose reversal medication, naloxone.
Despite the current administration’s attempts to weaponize the overdose crisis to stigmatize immigrants and other vulnerable groups, vast swaths of the public—in the U.S. and in countries around the globe—support ending the drug war policies that gave rise to this crisis.
When it comes to marijuana legalization, DPA is prioritizing legislative campaigns in states like New York and New Jersey that have some of the highest numbers of arrests in the country, as well as severe racial disparities in arrest rates.
Our goal is not just to add another state to the list of those with legal marijuana, but to maximize the real-world impact of those reforms. For the same reason, our ongoing state and federal marijuana legalization campaigns prioritize provisions to repair the harms of prohibition: automatic record clearing, reinvesting tax revenues in the communities that have suffered the most, and eliminating barriers to market access for small businesses in impacted communities. And we are spurring a debate within and beyond the marijuana industry about their own responsibility to ensure that legalization doesn’t compound or perpetuate the harms of prohibition.
We are keenly aware, even as drug policy reform is progressing most rapidly in the West and Northeast, that the drug war rages on in dozens of states that have persistently high rates of criminalization and incarceration, with minimal access to harm reduction. That’s why, even as we push the envelope in some states, we are also increasingly investing in reform efforts throughout the South and Midwest, including in Florida,
Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno
Executive Director
Ira Glasser
President
The war on drugs drives the
overdose crisis
We are the only policy advocacy organization with the expertise and national reach to effectively turn the tide on the overdose crisis. We played an instrumental role in the proliferation of 911 Good Samaritan laws and naloxone access laws, which have been implemented to varying degrees in nearly all 50 U.S. states over the past decade.
We’re now leading the national charge to establish the first supervised consumption services (SCS) site in the U.S. Nobody has ever died in any of the scores of SCS sites currently operating around the world, while thousands have been saved from overdose, HIV and hepatitis transmission, and other blood-borne illnesses.
DPA has drafted nearly every piece of state legislation in the country seeking to authorize SCS, including in California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont. In California we built support in both houses of the legislature, and successfully passed the first state-level SCS authorization bill. While former Governor Jerry Brown ultimately vetoed our bill in 2018, current Governor Gavin Newsom has publicly criticized the veto and spoken of his support for SCS. We have also made significant progress on bringing SCS to New York City, garnering the support of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who previously opposed SCS.
One of our main challenges is federal opposition to SCS. Last fall, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to prosecute anyone who opened an SCS under the “crack house statute.” Since then, the U.S. Attorney for eastern Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit to prevent Safehouse, an overdose prevention nonprofit, from opening an SCS in Philadelphia. DPA is working with Safehouse and other allies to respond to the lawsuit.
DPA is also working in D.C. to eliminate these obstacles. Last year, we worked closely with Senate Democrats behind the scenes to ensure that a potential federal funding ban on SCS was removed from an appropriations bill, a critical victory. Now, we need to go further and establish protections for SCS in the appropriations process, and secure a commitment from the Justice Department to end its persecution of groups trying to open such sites.
Shaping Federal Legislation
In the past year alone, DPA monitored more than 120 federal opioid and overdose bills, and successfully defeated some of the worst elements, such as penalty increases. At the same time, we fought to allow health organizations to use federal funds for naloxone; increase the number of patients to whom doctors can prescribe buprenorphine; improve access to methadone through Medicare; and mandate the DEA to permit doctors to offer medications for opioid use disorder through tele-health services.
Increasing Access to Drug Checking
Drug checking kits and fentanyl test strips can save lives by helping people make informed decisions about what they put into their bodies. Unfortunately, these tools are frequently banned under state drug paraphernalia laws. DPA successfully
legalized drug checking in Maryland and Washington, D.C., and created a pathway toward exemption for drug checking in California. In New Mexico, we led an effort that made it the first state to repeal criminal penalties for all drug paraphernalia.
Improving Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
People recently incarcerated are at 40 times greater risk of dying from an overdose. DPA continues to advance legislation in New Mexico and New York to give people in jails and prisons access to methadone and buprenorphine, considered the gold standard of opioid addiction treatment.
Working to Bring Cutting Edge Treatments to the U.S.
DPA is spearheading the effort to bring injectable opioid treatment, sometimes referred to as heroin-assisted treatment —which has been long proven successful internationally—to the United States. In the fall of 2018 in New York City, we hosted a landmark convening of globally renowned researchers to develop a strategy for the U.S., and are now building the action plan.
With your support, DPA can continue its renowned leadership in promoting harm reduction solutions, advancing meaningful reforms that save lives and, ultimately, end the overdose crisis.
Interview:
DPA Board Member Josiah Rich, MD
Josiah “Jody” Rich is a professor of medicine and community health at Brown University, who was elected to the National Academy of Medicine earlier this year.
What do you see as the unique value that DPA brings to your work? DPA has been ahead of the curve on so many issues—it’s often been a lone voice, quite strategic in bringing critical reforms from the margins to the mainstream. There’s no other organization connecting so many of the dots between mass criminalization and public health.
Why is it so significant that medications to treat opioid use disorder are now being offered in Rhode Island prisons and jails? People are at particularly grave risk for overdose immediately after they’re released from incarceration. But most prisons and jails force people to withdraw from medicated-assisted treatment when they enter the system, and most offer no medication upon release. I worked for over 15 years in Rhode Island to make medications to treat opioid use disorder available behind bars, and we finally were successful in 2016—we became the first state in the country to do this. Rhode Island now screens all incarcerated people for opioid use disorder and makes all three FDA-approved medications available to all those who need and want it. We’re reaching an extremely vulnerable population at an extremely vulnerable time with the best treatment available. This program decreased statewide post-release overdose deaths by 61%— numbers like this are virtually unheard-of. Now other states, like Massachusetts and Maine, are beginning to follow suit.
From a public health perspective, why is decriminalization important? Punishment does not work to treat addiction. What treatment capacity we do have isn’t utilized effectively because of criminalization. A lot of people who want help are scared to ask for it, because of the punishment and coercion associated with criminalization.
Ending marijuana prohibition
and repairing its harms
The advances we made toward ending marijuana prohibition and repairing its harms also include:
As the leading drug policy reform advocate in D.C., DPA has made significant progress in fostering momentum for federal marijuana legalization. We drafted and have secured widespread support for the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize marijuana and include provisions to repair prohibition’s harms. And we have played a key role in securing continuation of the Rohrabacher- Blumenauer Amendment, which protects states with legal medical marijuana from federal interference.
We also worked closely with members of the Senate on the STATES Act, a bipartisan effort to affirm the rights of states to determine their own marijuana laws; the RESPECT Act, aimed at promoting racial and gender diversity in the marijuana industry; and Sen. Chuck Schumer’s bill to effectively decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.
In addition, we supported budget amendments to prevent the Veterans Administration from punishing doctors who recommend medical marijuana to patients and to stop the Treasury from punishing banks that do business with legal marijuana companies.
Implementing Prop. 64 Reforms in California
Since legalizing marijuana in California,
one of DPA’s most urgent priorities
has been ensuring the expungement
of marijuana convictions from criminal records. In September 2018, we succeeded when Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a DPA-supported bill creating a process for automatic expungement throughout the state, a critical step forward.
Prop. 64 set a new bar for marijuana legalization, with a wide range of restorative justice provisions. We’re now building on this work as we lead campaigns for marijuana legalization in New York, New Jersey and New Mexico. We’re gaining momentum for thoughtful legalization models that not only end marijuana prohibition, but begin to repair the drug war’s harms through community reinvestment and fair access to the new legal marijuana market.
Ensuring the promise of Proposition 64
As a staff attorney for DPA, Rodney Holcombe focuses on implementing aspects of Prop. 64, the historic ballot initiative that legalized marijuana in California.
“I visited communities all over the state and met so many people just looking for a path forward,” he recalled. “The clinics brought out way more people than we could help and at times it was overwhelming. I spent many long nights answering requests and helping to guide people through the process. But knowing that there were more people out there who looked like me, unable to find work or a place to live because of their record, that’s what kept me going.”
Clinic participants came from all walks of life, from college students to day laborers trying to support their families to senior citizens still hopeful for a new beginning. In addition to pro-bono legal services, the clinics also provided wrap-around services that most often elude those carrying records, including information on accessing healthcare, immigration consultation and voter registration. “People were so excited to see food at the clinics. They were coming to us for much more than just legal advice.”
Rodney has kept in touch with some of the individuals he worked with directly. “I’ve heard from a few that they were finally able to get jobs and even vote for the first time.”
In September 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed the auto-expungement bill into law and the implementation has finally begun.
“It’s a step forward, but the tremendous need reflects a larger humanitarian crisis around how we as a society deal with people with convictions,” Rodney explained. “The ability to clear one’s record can mean the difference between having housing and being homeless; having access to food and being hungry; living in poverty and being gainfully employed.”
“Policy is an incremental process; we need to identify ways to address the larger, systemic issues,” he continued. “We need to keep going. This kind of reform is way overdue, but it needs to be made simple and accessible to truly serve those most harmed.”
“When California is a free and accepting place that does not continue to punish people over and over for their past. And a place where people are no longer forever burdened by their mistakes, or things that should never have been a crime in the first place. That’s when we know the work is done.”
Shifting away from a criminal justice approach to drug policy
Based on our findings so far, we believe an ideal drug decriminalization measure would seek to accomplish the following:
- Eliminate criminal penalties for drug use, possession for personal use, and possession of paraphernalia.
- Eliminate punitive, abstinence-based or coercive approaches to drug treatment.
- Avoid “net-widening” such as fines and fees that result in poor people being criminalized.
- Avoid loopholes through which law enforcement could seek to criminalize the same people (disturbing the peace, public nuisance ordinances, etc.).
- Include a criminal record expungement and resentencing component.
- Expand harm reduction information and healthcare access for people who need it by reinvesting the money saved from law enforcement and incarceration.
- Increase access to wraparound services such as housing support, which are critical to people who are struggling with problematic drug use.
DPA is exploring potential decriminalization ballot initiative campaigns for 2020 in various states. California, Oregon and Washington—all of which were leaders in marijuana legalization—show the greatest promise. We are also examining the potential for legislative campaigns in states worst impacted by the overdose crisis, though these will move more slowly.
Meanwhile, we have continued to press for reforms that pave the way for decriminalization. Given that 30 states still punish drug possession (excluding marijuana) as a felony, this work includes our efforts to “de-felonize” drug possession in numerous states, as California, Oklahoma, Oregon and Connecticut have done in recent years. It also includes our ongoing work at the local level to initiate and implement Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) programs—which, instead of arresting people for drug use, diverts them to other services and supports—in numerous cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Ithaca, Denver, Santa Fe and San Francisco. LEAD is the closest thing so far to decriminalization in the U.S.
Fighting back against harsh penalties for drug offenses
A critical part of our work remains reforming and fighting back against overly harsh policies, including recent federal bills seeking to increase sentences for opioid-related offenses.
In a crucial victory last year, DPA played a leading role in stopping the passage of SITSA, a sweeping bill that would have given the DEA and Justice Dept. free reign to criminalize more drugs and create new draconian sentencing policies, without any oversight. We expect similar proposals to emerge this year, in response to fentanyl in particular.
We’re also pushing back on “drug-induced homicide” laws, which prosecutors are increasingly using to charge people with murder or manslaughter for selling or sharing drugs that result in a death. We were successful in helping block new such laws in over a dozen states, including New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and Maryland last year.
At the same time, we played an instrumental role in ensuring that the federal First Step Act, signed into law in December, included drug sentencing reform provisions and did not merely tinker around the edges of the issue. While this bill has significant weaknesses and was a tough compromise for us, it has the potential to lead to the release of thousands of people serving disproportionately long sentences for drug law violations.
DPA also helped obtain a significant win in the U.S. Supreme Court in Indiana v. Timbs, establishing new limits on police departments’ ability to seize personal assets without due process.
With your support, we are working to transform the way this country responds to drug use, by ending the criminalization of millions and restoring hope and promise to hundreds of thousands of individuals.
Lessons learned:
DPA partner gathering in Portugal
In March 2018, DPA hosted our annual gathering of our funded partners (grantees) in Lisbon, Portugal. These groups represented more than 30 community-based and advocacy organizations from across the U.S.
“I visited Portugal as part of a delegation of advocates led by the Drug Policy Alliance...As I met with public health officials, visited treatment facilities, and heard from law enforcement agents, as well as current and former drug users, what struck me most was the humanity of this approach. The focus is on supporting people and their health.”
—Susan Burton, Founder and Executive Director of A New Way of Life Reentry Project and DPA Funded Partner
Ending the global drug war, starting at home
In the name of cutting off the supply of drugs, the U.S. has financed militaries and police around the world, shaped their criminal justice and drug laws, provided equipment and supplies, and even directly intervened on the ground. More recently, the administration of President Donald Trump has attempted to build a wall on the southern border of the U.S. and further restrict immigration, in part in the name of blocking the entry of drugs.
These efforts have been a spectacular and expensive failure. Neither supply nor demand have meaningfully decreased throughout the U.S.-led drug war. Instead, the drug war has contributed to a dramatic escalation of violence and corruption in the countries targeted.
DPA has worked on global drug policy reform for years, including our successful efforts to legalize marijuana in Uruguay—the first country to do so. We are continuing this work, helping to advocate for cutting-edge reforms like all-drug decriminalization abroad, and bringing lessons to the U.S. from other countries, like Portugal.
We are increasingly focusing our international work on the United States’ foreign policy concerning drugs—an area on which few, if any, organizations focus systematically, and where we have tremendous value added. We have started to closely examine U.S. appropriations to countries like the Philippines, where the U.S. is supporting a police force that has been implicated in thousands of extrajudicial killings of people alleged to use or sell drugs. We are working with allies in Mexico to shape the drug war debate there, including by supporting their efforts to legalize marijuana, and educating U.S. lawmakers about the harms of the current approach. And we are calling out the administration on the deep flaws in its narrative about immigrants and drug trafficking.
As we deepen this work, we intend to develop a comprehensive assessment of the waste and devastation caused by U.S. global drug policies, so that reform at home also translates into reform abroad.
Advocacy grants
DPA's Advocacy Grants Program promotes policy change and advances drug policy reform at the local, state and national levels by strategically funding smaller, geographically limited or single-issue projects. Funded annually at a level of roughly $1.2 million, the program raises awareness and promotes policy change through two vehicles: the Special Opportunities Program and the Promoting Policy Change Program.
Advocacy grants spotlight: VOCAL-NY
Drug Policy Alliance Board of Directors
- Christine Downton
Former Vice Chairman and Founding Partner of Pareto Partners - Jodie Evans
Co-founder, CODEPINK - James E. Ferguson, II
Senior Partner, Ferguson, Stein, Chambers Law Offices, Charlotte, North Carolina - Joy Fishman
Harm Reduction Advocate - Jason Flom
President, Lava Records
- Ira Glasser, President
President of Board; Former Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union - Kenneth Hertz
Senior Partner, Hertz Lichtenstein & Young LLP - Derek Hodel
Independent Consultant - David C. Lewis, MD
Founding Director, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University - Pamela Lichty
President, Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i
- Angela Pacheco
Former District Attorney, 1st Judicial District, New Mexico - Josiah Rich, MD
Professor of Medicine and Community Health, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University - Rev. Edwin Sanders, Secretary
Senior Servant, Metropolitan Interdenominational Church; Coordinator, Religious Leaders for a More Just and Compassionate Drug Policy - George Soros
Chairman, Soros Fund Management - Ilona Szabó de Carvalho
Director, Igarapé Institute
Drug Policy Alliance financials
Statement of Financial Position, June 1 2017–May 31 2018
Assets
| Cash & cash equivalents | $ | 1,154,736 |
| Investments | $ | 721,986 |
| Grants receivable (net) | $ | 3,379,288 |
| Prepaid expenses & other assets | $ | 99,540 |
| Deposits | $ | 109,205 |
| Property, equipment & leasehold improvements (net) | $ | 5,159,65 |
Total Assets |
$ |
10,624,414 |
Liabilities and Net Assets
Liabilities
| Accounts payable & accrued expenses | $ | 225,682 |
| Interest payable | $ | 213,167 |
| Accrued compensated absences | $ | 322,907 |
| Note payable | $ | 12,400,000 |
| Mortgage payable | $ | 2,627,349 |
| Total Liabilities | $ | 15,789,105 |
Net Assets
| Unrestricted | $ | (9,946,280) |
| Temporarily restricted | $ | 4,781,589 |
| Total Net Assets | $ | (5,164,691)* |
Total Liabilities and Net Assets $10,624,414
The Drug Policy Alliance, a 501c3 organization, works closely with Drug Policy Action, a 501c4 affiliate organization, especially on ballot initiative campaigns. In some years, Drug Policy Action has raised more money than the Drug Policy Alliance, and has loaned funds to the Drug Policy Alliance to cover 501c3 expenses. This year, the loan shows up in the Drug Policy Alliance’s Statement of Financial Position as a $5.16 million deficit. Please note that Drug Policy Action forgave this loan after the fiscal year reporting period, and there is no actual deficit. Both organizations are in strong fiscal health.
Statement of Activities 2018
Expenses
| Program expenses | $ | 10,918,366 |
| Management | $ | 2,895,616 |
| Fundraising | $ | 1,797,582 |
Total Expenses |
$ |
15,611,564 |
Support & Revenue
| Contributions unrestricted | $ | 9,393,139 |
| Contributions temporarily restricted | $ | 344,457 |
Total Income |
$ |
9,737,596 |
Change in Net Assets
| Unrestricted | $ | (6,218,425) |
| Temporarily restricted | $ | (344,457) |
Change in Net Assets
| Net assets, beginning of year | $ | 709,277 |
| Net assets, end of year | $ | (5,164,691) |
Drug Policy Action financials
Statement of Financial Position, June 1 2017–May 31 2018
Assets
| Cash & cash equivalents | $ | 12,151,626 |
| Investments | $ | 5,958,669 |
| Prepaid expenses | $ | 11,140 |
| Grants receivable (net) | $ | 10,098,495 |
Total Assets |
$ |
28,219,930 |
Liabilities and Net Assets
Liabilities
| Accounts payable & accrued expenses | $ | 22,755 |
Net Assets
| Unrestricted | $ | 18,098,680 |
| Temporarily restricted | $ | 10,098,495 |
| Total Net Assets | $ | 28,197,175 |
Liabilities and Net Assets $28,219,930
Several Drug Policy Alliance and Drug Policy Action donors have made multi-year pledges to these organizations. These unfulfilled pledges are projected future revenue that will be received within one to nine years and does not constitute an endowment. These donor commitments reflect a strong current and future financial outlook for the Drug Policy Alliance and Drug Policy Action.
Statement of Activities 2018
Expenses
| Program expenses | $ | 269,123 |
| Management | $ | 172,831 |
Total Expenses |
$ |
441,954 |
Support & Revenue
| Contributions unrestricted | $ | 4,424,821 |
| Contributions temporarily restricted | $ | (3,558,796) |
Total Income |
$ |
866,025 |
Change in Net Assets
| Unrestricted | $ | (8,630,300) |
| Temporarily restricted | $ | 3,558,796 |
Change in Net Assets
| Net assets, beginning of year | $ | 40,386,271 |
| Net assets, end of year | $ | 28,197,175 |
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