David Borden, Executive Director

David Borden is founder and Executive Director of StoptheDrugWar.org. Borden played the leading role in pioneering use of the Internet for education and organizing in drug policy reform after founding DRCNet in late 1993. Borden oversaw the organization's work on the Higher Education Act Reform Campaign, an effort to repeal a federal law that denies students financial aid because of drug convictions, and has initiated programs including the John W. Perry Fund scholarship program and the Out from the Shadows international conference series.

In August 2003, Borden sent an open letter to the District of Columbia's chief judge, Rufus G. King, explaining his decision to refuse to report for jury service as a protest of the drug war, an action which was covered by the Washington Post.

Borden has written over 160 editorials on drug policy, and publishes DRCNet's Prohibition in the Media blog. He earned an A.B. with honors in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University in 1988, and completed an M.M. in Jazz Composition from New England Conservatory in 1990. He is a native of Englewood, New Jersey, one of the first communities in the state to achieve racial integration in its school system. Borden is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Common Sense for Drug Policy and the Flex Your Rights Foundation, and of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy Council of Advisors.
 

Scott Morgan, Associate Editor

Scott R. Morgan is lead blogger at StoptheDrugWar.org. He is a graduate of Guilford College (B.S. in Criminal Justice, 2003) where he received Senior Honors in the Justice and Policy Studies Department. While at Guilford, he assistant taught JPS 450: Drugs, Crime, and Criminal Justice, and served as a Judicial Advocate for the college Judicial Board, frequently representing students charged with substance abuse violations on campus. He also serves as Associate Director of the Flex Your Rights Foundation. Scott's writing has frequently been highlighted on Andrew Sullivan's "The Dish" blog, and has been prominently featured on The Huffington Post.
 

Phillip S. Smith, Writer/Editor

Phillip S. Smith has served as writer and editor of the Drug War Chronicle newsletter since May 200. He is a graduate of the University of South Dakota (BA Political Science, 1979) and the University of Texas at Austin (MA Latin American Studies, 1989), and served as writer and Associate Editor at the magazine Covert Action Quarterly from 1993-1996. Phil has done freelance reporting on Central American and Mexico since the 1980s, and has had articles published in In These Times, Guardian (now defunct), New Politics and many other publications. He is also a long time drug policy activist, having helped to found one of the first NORML chapters in the state of South Dakota. He has been involved in local drug reform efforts in Austin, TX and Washington, DC, including the DC Metro chapter of NORML.