The Drug Policy Alliance is the nation’s leading organization promoting drug policies that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. Our work covers a wide range of critical issues.

Like alcohol Prohibition in the early 1900s, drug prohibition has not only failed its mission but has made its mission impossible. The failures of prohibition are painfully obvious: wasted money, wasted lives and wasted opportunities.

View all drug war issues.

 

Marijuana prohibition is an utter failure. Public opinion has shifted in favor of reforming federal and state marijuana laws. Legalizing marijuana would allow law enforcement agencies to focus on real crime and bring in new sources of tax revenue.

The United States not only imprisons more people than any other nation in the world, but also criminalizes entire communities with an over-reliance on aggressive policing and other criminal justice tools to solve social problems. This system causes a great deal of harm to families and communities, impacting many people who have never been charged or even arrested for a criminal law violation.

Harm reduction is a set of ideas and interventions that seek to reduce the harms associated with both drug use and ineffective, racialized drug policies. Harm reduction is based on acknowledging the dignity and humanity of people who use drugs and bringing them into a community of care in order to minimize negative consequences and promote optimal health and social inclusion.

People get emotional about kids and drugs, for good reason. However, that emotion has led to some ineffective, discriminatory and harmful policies. At the Drug Policy Alliance, we care about protecting youth from the potential harms associated with both drug use and drug prohibition.