At the Drug Policy Alliance, our aim is to end the drug war, repair its harms, and build a better approach to drugs grounded in health, equity, and human rights. With you by our side, each day we are working to change laws, advance justice, and save lives.
This past year has been among our most challenging. We are still in the midst of an overdose crisis. Police continue to arrest more people for drug possession than any other criminal offense. And the backlash against harm reduction and drug policy reforms has grown louder.
But despite these obstacles, DPA has kept moving forward, doing what we do best. We seized political opportunities to win significant policy reforms in 2024. We positioned ourselves for victories in the coming years. We stood strong against the backlash. We countered misinformation in the media. We stopped harmful bills from becoming law.
Criminalization is the foundation of the drug war. Large sums of money are spent on punishment. And there are few resources for services. The result: drug possession is the most arrested offense in the United States, while overdose is the leading cause of accidental death.
That’s why we’ve fought to expand access to health and harm reduction services, and reduce or eliminate criminal penalties for drugs, by:
The movement for marijuana legalization has grown exponentially. But in 2024 there still were more than 200,000 arrests. And there is still a lot of work to be done to repair the harms caused by punishment and prohibition.
DPA continues to lead the marijuana reform movement centered on community reinvestment, racial equity, and social justice, by:
The drug war has crept into many aspects of our lives well beyond the criminal legal system. Surveillance, forced drug testing, mandatory reporting, and zero tolerance policies separate families, make people homeless, and fuel intergenerational poverty.
DPA has moved to eliminate these civil punishments that cause so much harm, by:
Drug policy reform has been under attack for the past few years. It’s part of a larger effort to undermine racial justice and other related issue areas like criminal legal reform. After more than a decade of rapid progress, we have been marching uphill.
We continued to seed the next generation of drug policy reforms, by:
As you can see, we have faced challenges this year. But we remain steadfast in our commitment to ending the drug war and repairing its harms.
Thank you for standing with us. With your support we are building an alternative approach to drugs that prioritizes health, social supports, and community well-being. And we aren’t stopping.
Together, we’ve made incredible progress in 2024. Let’s do even more in 2025. Donate today to keep the momentum going.