Drug Policy Alliance

Programs: Public policy and legal affairs- the drug policy alliance seeks to fundamentally transform the way society thinks about and addresses drugs, the people who use them, and the markets through which they are available. We advocate a wholesale change of drug policy - an end to the war on drugs - based on our organizational values of reason, compassion, justice, freedom, and responsibility. Most generally, our goal is to shift the u. S. Response to drugs from a punitive criminal justice model to one based on public health and human rights. While our work addresses the wide range of social, political, and economic issues touched by the war on drugs, nearly all of our efforts fall under four substantive issue areas: reforming the criminal justice system, empowering public health approaches, reforming cannabis policy, and promoting effective drug education for youth. The drug policy alliance supports incremental policy and legal reforms at the local, state, and federal levels that can be accomplished over the next few years, with the goal that each reform 1) creates real and measurable benefits for people who have been or would be unjustly victimized by the war on drugs, thereby reducing the death, disease, crime, and suffering associated with both drug use and drug prohibition; 2) builds political consciousness among other organizations and the public regarding the need to reform drug policies; and 3) advances our long-term vision of a society in which criminalization and criminal justice institutions play a minimal role in dealing with drugs, drug users, and drug markets. The drug policy alliance is currently most active at the federal level and in california, colorado, new jersey, new mexico, new york, and washington, d. C.

grants- the drug policy alliance's advocacy grants program advances drug policy reform at the local, state, and national levels by strategically funding smaller and geographically limited organizations and projects. It has three funding tracks. The first is promoting policy change, through which we awarded approximately $750,000 million. The second, totaling approximately $400,000, is rapid response/special opportunities, through which we awarded smaller grants to time-sensitive projects. The third is a discretionary fund of approximately $20,000, through which we award small grants of up to $2,500. We also allocate funds to bring together grantees annually to improve the coordination among organizations and with the drug policy alliance's programs.

communications- the drug policy alliance initiates and shapes local, national, and international dialogue on drug policy reform, exposing the public to our messages and generating earned media each year equivalent in impact to what would cost millions of dollars in paid advertising. Our public relations efforts support our local and national programs and projects, help smaller organizations promote their own campaigns, and take advantage of breaking news to provoke debate framed by our mission and vision. We publish booklets and other materials on cutting edge drug policy issues, and collaborate with allied organizations in producing assessments of state and federal drug and crime policies. The lindesmith library, housed in our new york office and open to the public, is among the world's leading repositories of print and other media materials about drugs and drug policy, and has emerged as the de facto archives of the harm reduction and drug policy reform movements. While our priority in our public education work is to build support for short-term state campaigns, we also seek to engage in longer-term campaigns to educate people more broadly about our mission and vision. We use marketing to promote dpa's "brand" as the leading organization advancing alternatives to the war on drugs.

other program services include- conferences, health and harm reduction, treatment and prevention, and special projects.