Research & Academic Engagement

Facilitating Dialogue Between Researchers and Communities
- Monthly Drug Researchers’ Roundtables where researchers can present their latest findings to other researchers, providers, advocates, policymakers, and people who use drugs. Watch past roundtables here.
- Briefings with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on the latest drug use and overdose trends. Watch past briefings here.
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel, DPA Voices, to watch archived events.
Providing Researchers with The Skills to Influence Media and Policymakers
- Training to drug policy research centers and universities.
- Webinars on topics, such as media training for scholars, knowledge translation and dissemination, and data visualization. Watch past webinars here.
Creating Forums to Discuss Innovative Solutions to Emerging Problems
- Conferences highlighting current drug trends, harm reduction needs, research challenges, and policy reform issues.
- Focus groups and convenings on cutting-edge drug policy reforms, such as safer supply and repairing drug war harms.
Mobilizing Academics and Researchers Around Important Policy Issues
- Sharing opportunities to deliver testimony and input on drug policy legislation.
- Writing and promoting sign-on letters for researchers and academics.
- Posting about open comment periods for important drug policy and research issues.
- Providing support to professional associations interested in policy and advocacy.
Changing the Drug Research Landscape
- Hosting online sessions on community-driven drug policy research.
- Facilitating meetings on the importance of meaningful engagement with community organizations.
- Convening researchers and people who use drugs to develop evaluation instruments for novel drug policy reforms like overdose prevention centers and drug decriminalization.
- Hosting the Network of Drug Researchers with Lived Experience.

Materials for Researchers & Academics

Browse resources, including conference summary reports, tips for drug researchers interested in policy advocacy, recommendations for meaningful engagement with community organizations, and drug policy fact sheets.
Watch archived conferences, training, research roundtables, and data briefings.

Select DRAE Publications
- Vakharia, Sheila P. 2024. The Harm Reduction Gap: Helping Individuals Left Behind by Conventional Drug Prevention and Abstinence-Only Addiction Treatment. Routledge.
- Hansen, Helena, Jules Netherland, and David Herzberg. 2023. Whiteout: How Racial Capitalism Changed the Face of Opioids in America. University of California.
- Russoniello, Kellen, Sheila P. Vakharia, Jules Netherland, Theshia Naidoo, Haven Wheelock, Tera Hurst, and Saba Rouhani. 2023. “Decriminalization of Drug Possession in Oregon: Analysis and Early Lessons.” Drug Science, Policy and Law 9 (January) https://doi.org/10.1177/20503245231167407.
- Bratberg, Jeffrey P., Adrienne Simmons, Vibhuti Arya, Aneesha Bhatia, and Sheila P. Vakharia. 2023. “Support, Don’t Punish: Drug Decriminalization Is Harm Reduction.” Journal of the American Pharmacists Association 63 (1): 224–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japh.2022.12.017.
- Netherland, Jules, Alex H. Kral, Danielle C. Ompad, Corey S. Davis, Ricky N. Bluthenthal, Nabarun Dasgupta, Michael Gilbert, Riona Morgan, and Haven Wheelock. 2022. “Principles and Metrics for Evaluating Oregon’s Innovative Drug Decriminalization Measure.” Journal of Urban Health 99 (2): 328–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-022-00606-w.
- Cohen, Aliza, Sheila P. Vakharia, Julie Netherland, and Kassandra Frederique. 2022. “How the War on Drugs Impacts Social Determinants of Health beyond the Criminal Legal System.” Annals of Medicine 54 (1): 2024–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2022.2100926.
- Benjamin, Annie Grace, Kendra M. Ivy, Ashton E. Santo, Sheila P. Vakharia, and Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch. 2022. “Social Workers as Potential Agents for Drug Policy Reform.” Advances in Social Work 22 (2): 797–817. https://doi.org/10.18060/24950.

“The Drug Policy Alliance holds researchers and policymakers accountable to impacted communities of the drug war. In the midst of the horrible consequences of racist policies and biased drug research, DPA’s Department of Research and Academic Engagement is a much-needed resource. ”
Camila Gelpi-Acosta Ph.D., Assistant Professor, LaGuardia Community College

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Are you a researcher or academic? Contact us with questions about training and events, guidance on how to become a more effective scholar-activist, or how to ensure your work has a policy impact.

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“The Drug Policy Alliance is an incredible resource and an exceptional facilitator of drug policy change. As researchers, we’re proud to partner with the Department of Research and Academic Engagement to transform research into policy solutions.”
Bruce R. Schackman, PhD, Professor of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine

Materials for Researchers & Academics

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