Leading Drug Policy Advocates to be Honored at International Drug Policy Reform Conference

New York, NY – Leading drug policy advocates will be honored at an awards ceremony on Thursday, November 7, at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference taking place in St. Louis, MO. The awards recognize those that have made significant contributions to advancing drug policy reform and ending the war on drugs. The biennial conference, organized by the Drug Policy Alliance, is the world’s largest convening of drug policy stakeholders – including academics, health care and drug treatment professionals, law enforcement, veterans, formerly incarcerated people, elected officials, students, and many others from around the country and across the globe.
 
“These distinguished recipients have gone above and beyond, in some cases even risking their careers, lives, and freedom, to end the cruel and inhumane war on drugs,” said Maria McFarland Sanchez-Moreno, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “Their work—and that of the brave visionaries who came before them—gives us genuine and necessary hope for change, and is paving the way for a real shift in how the world views drugs and those who use them. It is a joy to be able to honor them.”
 
Below are the distinguished award recipients:

Marsha Rosenbaum, San Francisco Director Emerita of the Drug Policy Alliance, where she founded the ‘Safety First’ Drug Education Project
– The Richard J. Dennis Drugpeace Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Drug Policy Reform – Recognizes individuals who most epitomize loyal opposition to drug war extremism

Nightcrawlers, Group of Nightshift Journalists Covering the Phillipine War on Drugs (*Basilio Sepe is accepting on behalf of the Nightcrawlers)
– The Edward M. Brecher Award for Achievement in the Field of Media – Recognizes those in the media who have produced the highest quality of journalistic coverage of drug policy and other drug issues

Sheigla Murphy, Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Studies at the Institute for Scientific Analysis
– The Alfred R. Lindesmith Award for Achievement in the Field of Scholarship – Recognizes scholars, like Alfred Lindesmith, whose personal courage and quality of published research constitute a source of rational inspiration for all who labor in drug policy scholarship

Deon Haywood, Executive Director of Women With a Vision, Inc.
– The Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action – Recognizes citizens who make democracy work in the difficult area of drug law and policy reform

Chad Sabora & Robert Riley II, Co-Founders of The Missouri Network for Opiate Reform and Recovery, Missouri SAFE and Rebel Recovery
– The Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action – Recognizes citizens who make democracy work in the difficult area of drug law and policy reform

Dr. Paula Lum, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Program Director of the Primary Care Addiction Medicine Fellowship at UCSF
– The Norman E. Zinberg Award for Achievement in the Field of Medicine – Recognizes medical and treatment experts who see beyond politics and make influential contributions to the fields of science and medicine

Bill Spearn, Inspector of the Organized Crime Section for the Vancouver Police Department 
– The H.B. Spear Award for Achievement in the Field of Law Enforcement – Recognizes those involved in law enforcement who have demonstrated a balanced regard for the needs of enforcement and human compassion

George Gascon, Former District Attorney of San Francisco
– The Schmoke/LeDain Award for Achievement in the Field of Law – Recognizes those involved in law who have worked within official institutions when extremist pressures dominate government policies

Nina Rose Fischer, Social Justice Professor at John Jay College
– The Dr. Andrew Weil Award for Achievement in the Field of Drug Education – Recognizes those involved in drug education who have promoted honest, science-based drug education in place of ineffective scare tactics based on myths and deceit

More information and headshots of the award recipients can be found at http://reformconference.org/achievement-awards.