Dear Friend,

This week, SAM and FDPS leadership were honored to present at the African Union-Global Coalition Continental Consultation on Drug Demand Reduction hosted by the African Union in Arusha, Tanzania. We are grateful for opportunities to share the evidence as to what works in drug policy as well as the harms of normalized drugs in hopes that others do not follow the US and Canada down this path.

I, along with SAM and FDPS Executive Vice President Luke Niforatos, presented on the complex issues surrounding harm reduction, marijuana legalization, supply reduction, organized crime, and prevention.

We were honored to meet with ministers from dozens of member countries including South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Egypt, among others. 

The drug crisis isn’t just impacting lives in the United States or Canada. It’s being felt around the world by people of all backgrounds. Addiction and substance use disorders don’t discriminate based on race, economic class, or geography. Today’s commercially-produced THC-infused drugs and other dangerous substances are leaving their deadly imprint on countries around the world, and Africa’s leaders are right to come together to share best practices aimed at reducing demand.

Whether we are talking about America’s drug crisis, the bad policies inflicted upon parts of Canada under its extreme harm reduction policies, or the proliferation of the illicit marijuana market in Thailand and their rightful about-face on legalization, global leaders should be doing more to promote policies that discourage drug use and encourage evidence-based prevention and treatment systems.

Our organizations have repeatedly called for increasing global cooperation to stop the drug trade because it will save lives. In addition to reducing demand, government leaders and international organizations must work together to reduce supply by curbing the availability of illicit substances and cutting off proceeds that fuel violent criminal enterprises.

We are grateful for opportunities like this. Thanks in large part to your support, we have a strong platform to share the harms of drug legalization and normalization. We never have and never will take any money from tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceutical, or marijuana companies—our work is funded by people like you.

Please consider helping us spread the word and give to our work today.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is an alliance of organizations and individuals dedicated to a health-first approach to marijuana policy. We are professionals working in mental health and public health. We are bipartisan. We are medical doctors, lawmakers, treatment providers, preventionists, teachers, law enforcement officers and others who seek a middle road between incarceration and legalization. Our commonsense, third-way approach to marijuana policy is based on reputable science and sound principles of public health and safety.

The Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) is a national drug policy think/action tank whose vision is a world in which children and families thrive, substance use is prevented, and there is rapid access to quality treatment. From prevention and recovery to smart law enforcement and better international cooperation, we are working to change the face of drug policy. Too many people are losing their lives to addiction. It is time for big change.