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January Newsletter
DPA Releases New Report: Rethinking the "Drug Dealer"

DPA has released a groundbreaking new report making the case for rethinking the way the United States responds to the “drug dealer.” Beyond being merely ineffective, the harsh criminalization of supply-side drug market activity actually makes drug use more dangerous, increasing overdose deaths and leading to more violence in communities.

The report explains how the United States’ punitive approach to people who sell or distribute drugs – rooted in stigma, ignorance, and fear, rather than evidence – has done nothing to reduce the harms of drug use or improve public safety, while instead creating new problems and compounding those that already exist.

With the report public, DPA aims to expand the current public dialogue around drug reform, to focus on who the people now labeled “drug dealers” really are and how we, as a society, can respond to them in ways that will keep people and communities safer and healthier.

“Despite the challenges of discussing supply-side drug policy reform in the midst of an overdose crisis, we cannot be silent while policymakers repeat the discriminatory, ineffective, expensive, and dangerous mistakes of the past,” said Alyssa Stryker, the report’s author and former criminal justice policy manager at DPA.

DPA has also created a video series which explores the racist origins of drug seller stereotypes, the myth of the drug kingpin, and who this broken system hurts the most.


Learn more
Trump Signs Spending Bill that Could Allow Federal Interference into State Marijuana Laws
President Trump has signed a spending bill that excludes protections that would shield states with adult-use marijuana legalization laws from federal interference. Congress stripped these crucial provisions – the Blumenauer-McClintock-Norton amendment – out at the last minute.

Maritza Perez, director of DPA’s Office of National Affairs, said:

“We are deeply concerned that, after House negotiations with the Senate, Congress stripped many provisions that would have protected state-level marijuana regulation, as well as banks that service state-legal marijuana markets. Members of Congress should listen to the majority of Americans who support marijuana legalization, and acknowledge the devastating consequences of prohibition for countless lives, and particularly for the Black and Brown communities that have borne the brunt of marijuana prohibition’s harms.”

The only way to permanently protect our victories is by changing federal law. That’s why DPA is fighting to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act), which would de-schedule marijuana at the federal level, let states set their own policies without interference, and begin repairing the extensive damage done by prohibition.

Learn more

DPA Clips, Podcasts and Stories
Drug Policy Alliance Executive Director to Step Down

Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, has announced that she will be stepping down from the leadership of the organization on March 6.

“I continue to hold the core belief that brought me to this job: that ending the war on drugs is critical to addressing many of the social injustices on which I have worked throughout my career, both in the United States and globally,” McFarland said in a letter to staff. “And there is no group that has done as much, as effectively and as consistently, as DPA to end the drug war and to build out an alternative approach to drugs, grounded in science, compassion, health, and human rights. Its contributions are invaluable.”

While leading DPA, McFarland survived breast cancer and dealt with multiple other challenges in her personal life, all while raising a toddler. These events made her reassess her priorities, which in turn led her to seek a position that would be a better fit for her at this time. In April, McFarland Sánchez-Moreno will join Human Rights Watch as senior legal advisor.

“The Drug Policy Alliance has been lucky to benefit from Maria’s strong leadership for over two years,” added current board chair Derek Hodel. “Maria will be leaving behind an effective, well-structured organization, with an outstanding senior management team that is well-positioned to seize the many opportunities available in the drug policy reform space.”
DPA’s board of directors is actively discussing the process for identifying its next permanent leader. Meanwhile, Richard Burns, who has outstanding experience as a long-time executive director and interim ED in many settings, including most recently at Lambda Legal, will step in as interim ED of DPA.

Read Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno’s full letter to staff here.
Medical Marijuana Measure Qualifies for Mississippi 2020 Ballot

A measure to legalize medical marijuana in Mississippi has officially qualified for the November ballot. DPA has provided financial support and guidance to the campaign since its inception, including funding for signature gathering and the initial poll that indicated the ballot’s viability.

Under the proposal, patients suffering from 22 qualifying medical issues – including cancer, chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder – would be able to access medical marijuana, after receiving a recommendation to do so from a physician. Patients would be permitted to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana per 14-day period.

Drug Policy in the News
Insider: How Big Weed Became Rich, White Business


Marijuana Moment: Criminalizing Drug Sellers Makes Drugs Cheaper and Deadlier, Report Says
The Appeal: How to Rethink Drug Dealing and Punishment
MSN: $3.2 Million in Legal Weed Was Sold in Illinois on First Day, Marking a Strong Showing Among States' Legalization
Now This: Op-Ed: How Far Cannabis Legalization Has Come This Decade

The Guardian: Call for Pill Tests as More Than 50% of UK Music Festivalgoers Say They Take Drugs


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