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Under the Controlled Substances Act, drugs are classified into legal, regulatory categories by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This is known as “drug scheduling”, and it’s generally guided by a drug’s potential for abuse, and its medical value – and then the idea of classwide scheduling came along. In 2018, in a misaligned approach to addressing the overdose crisis, President Trump used classwide scheduling to classify all fentanyl-related substances (FRS) as Schedule I controlled substances. This means that any substance that was structurally similar enough to fentanyl became subject to ..read more

The harm reduction movement began as a reaction against drug war policies that criminalize, punish, and hurt people – and a need to save lives. As a public health approach that aims to reduce the harms related to drug use and minimize risk, it offers a fresh and compassionate alternative to the war on drugs. In her new book, New York Times bestselling author Maia Szalavitz chronicles the fascinating and impactful history of this movement. DPA's Sheila Vakharia sat down with Maia to talk about her research, her book's timeliness, and where ..read more

The drug war has impacted nearly every aspect of our lives—and it’s time to uproot it. The Drug Policy Alliance has been working closely with other advocacy organizations to create Uprooting the Drug War, a project that shines a spotlight on the insidious ways the drug war has spread into the systems of child welfare, public benefits, employment, immigration, housing, and education. This episode is the third in our monthly podcast series featuring a DPA partner sharing their experiences fighting the drug war in one of those six systems. The Brotherhood SisterSol’s Dr. Marsha Jean-Charles and D ..read more

In this episode of “Puff or Pass”, our series on the portrayal of drugs and drug users in popular culture, DPA’s former digital communications interns Dilara Balkan and Marisa Hetzler take us on a journey through fashion, irony, and drug (mis)education with an exploration of the D.A.R.E. shirt. How did the infamous D.A.R.E. program transition from failed Copaganda “drug education” to a counterculture sartorial statement? Listen to find out -- and learn why D.A.R.E.’s abstinence-based approach to drug education was so unsuccessful, what alternatives exist, and where you can get yourself some D ..read more

Have you ever noticed just how many series, films and documentaries focus on the drug trade? The “narcos” narrative is so popular, and so ingrained, that it’s universally known. It's also really problematic, and on this episode, we'll do some digging into why. Screenwriter and director Priscila García-Jacquier was born and raised in Colombia, whose economy, people, and reputation have been intimately affected by drugs. “For countries so shaped by the drug trade, whenever I read about it, it feels more like I'm doing 23andme than just like reading about history, you know?" Priscila connected wi ..read more

The drug war has impacted nearly every aspect of our lives—and it’s time to uproot it. The Drug Policy Alliance has been working closely with other advocacy organizations to create Uprooting the Drug War, a project that shines a spotlight on the insidious ways the drug war has spread into the systems of child welfare, public benefits, employment, immigration, housing, and education. This episode is the second in our monthly podcast series featuring a DPA partner sharing their experiences fighting the drug war in one of those six systems. The Ordinary People Society’s Pastor Kenneth Glasgow and ..read more

The drug war has impacted nearly every aspect of our lives—and it’s time to uproot it. The Drug Policy Alliance has been working closely with other advocacy organizations to create Uprooting the Drug War, a project that shines a spotlight on the insidious ways the drug war has spread into the systems of child welfare or family regulation, public benefits, employment, immigration, housing, and education. Today we kick off a new monthly series on Drugs & Stuff, with each episode featuring a DPA partner sharing their experiences fighting the drug war in one of those six systems. We begin with ..read more

As we approach the one-year anniversary of Breonna Taylor's killing, the connection between deeply problematic policing and the criminalization of drugs has never been more apparent. On this episode, we take a deep dive into the changes that some communities are already making. Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty sat down with DPA Senior Staff Attorney Grey Gardner to discuss the exciting new all drug decriminalization law in Oregon, Measure 110, as well as a community safety initiative in Portland that offers an alternative to policing. As a community leader and advocate for the last f ..read more

Today, news broke that the Department of Justice has reached an $8 billion-plus settlement with Purdue Pharma for its role in the opioid crisis. This money should be used to combat the public health emergency of overdose deaths, but another public health emergency -- the COVID-19 pandemic -- has taken hold of media coverage and government spending. As overdose deaths continue to increase, where will this money actually go? We sat down with Christine Minhee, an expert on opioid litigation and creator of the opioid settlement tracker: a project that asks, "Will opioid settlements actually be spe ..read more