Dear Friend,
I’m not sure I’ve ever been more proud to be part of this team. This vision. This work.
You don’t want to miss this NPR radio segment that just posted, featuring a very real battle royale between the heads of the nation’s largest organizations on either side of drug legalization - Kevin, of SAM, and Kassandra, of the billionaire-funded Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). The debate begins in earnest around the twenty minute mark.
Kevin laid out a vision of hope, of recovery, of freedom, and off living your life to the best of your ability. Sadly, no one else did.
When Kevin used science and data to eviscerate legalizer arguments supporting Oregon’s decriminalization of all drugs (which guts drug courts and does not fund treatment) and allowing Big Marijuana to run roughshod over public health, there was no coherent reply.
Instead, the Drug Policy Alliance made it clear what their true purpose is: to create a society that enables and maintains drug addiction.
Kevin rejected this vision at the end of the segment -- when sparks really started to fly -- calling for a world where a culture of treatment and recovery thrives, addiction-for-profit interests are rejected, and a union between public health and criminal justice is made better, such as with drug courts and innovative probation strategies.
The fact is, we know America does not want DPA’s dystopian vision for our future. We know humanity is capable of greater things than suffering endless addiction. The contrast in visions between our two organizations couldn’t be more clear.
