High Expectations: Are We Winning the War on Drugs?

The War on Drugs has been marching on since well before Richard Nixon coined the phrase in 1971, and it continues to be a battle – and a debate – for governments and policy makers around the world. The complexities surrounding the prohibition of drugs include a mixture of economic, health and wellness, and social and human rights issues. The argument is further fueled by morality, religion, race, law enforcement, and money. What has the War on Drugs accomplished in the thirty-seven years after Nixon’s declaration? Are there alternatives to the current drug laws and policies? Is this a war that has an end? Please join the GOAt audience in welcoming these experts to the Martyrs’ stage to discuss this important issue: Ethan Nadelmann is the founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, the leading organization in the United States promoting alternatives to the war on drugs. Described by Rolling Stone as “the point man” for drug policy reform efforts, he is widely regarded as the most prominent proponent of drug policy reform. Nadelman authored the book, Cops Across Borders, the first scholarly study of the internationalization of U.S. criminal law enforcement. A new book, coauthored with Peter Andreas and entitled Policing the Globe: Criminalization and Crime Control in International Relations, explains how and why prohibitions and policing practices increasingly extend across borders. Nadelmann received his B.A., J.D., and Ph.D. from Harvard, and a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. David Murray is chief scientist at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). He has been executive director of the Statistical Assessment Service, served on the U.S. Census Monitoring Board, acted as special assistant to the director of the ONDCP, and was the director for the Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center. Murray is coauthor of the book, It Ain't Necessarily So: How Media Remake the Scientific Picture of Reality. He taught at Connecticut College, Brown University, and Brandeis University and was also an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. Murray received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. 6:30 p.m. Doors open 7:00 p.m. Talk followed by audience Q&A Members and Nonmembers $10 (Ages 21 and older. Alcohol served. ID required.) To register, see https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/EventDetail.asp?cguid=D771C68E%2D6E84%2D4434%2D9C45%2DEB580361B137&eid=15338&sid=F203FD5B%2DEB39%2D4947%2DB7D1%2D2C3F44D87737