DPA Annual Report 2012

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2012 Annual

Report


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Table of Contents

2 Reducing Criminalization

6 Sensible Marijuana Regulation

10 Health-Based Approach

14 Opening the Debate

17 Foundation Support, Grants and Donors

24 Board and Staff

25 Financial Statements

The work described

herein includes that of the

Drug Policy Alliance, a

501(c)(3) organization,

and Drug Policy Action,

a 501(c)(4) organization.

On the Cover:

Thousands march in

Washington, D.C., at a rally

organized by DPA and our

allies during the International

AIDS Conference.

We are the Drug Policy Alliance

and we envision a just society in

which the use and regulation ofdrugs are grounded in science,

compassion, health and human

rights, in which people are no

longer punished for what they put

into their own bodies but only for

crimes committed against others,

and in which the fears, prejudices

and punitive prohibitions of today

are no more.

Please join us.


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I dont think my DPA colleagues and I have ever madeso much progress on so many ronts in so little time as wehave this past year. Were changing the conversation aboutthe war on drugs and bringing about a new world oopportunities or drug policy reorm.

Arguments that were articulated just ve years ago primarilyby intellectuals and activists, and three years ago by ormerpresidents and policymakers, are now being advanced withgrowing sophistication and nuance by current presidents inLatin America and a small but growing number o electedocials in the United States. Tere is now, or the rst time,a critical mass o support that ensures that this burgeoning

debate will no longer be suppressed.

Yet we still have a long way to go. Te war on drugsremains entrenched and codied in a complex web opolicies in every state and locality, at the ederal level, andeven globally. More than three-quarters o a million peopleare arrested or marijuana possession in the U.S. everyyear. More than hal a million people are behind bars ornothing more than violating a drug law.

Tats why ultimately we must continue to grow stronger,tougher and smarter to ensure that a undamental trans-ormation comes as soon as possible. Tankully, were

breaking through like never beore, as more elected ocialsand candidates are coming to understand that support ordrug policy reorm is no detriment to getting elected, andcan even be a key asset to success and that politicians whopersist in advocating or the drug war can be deeated bothin legislative battles and at the ballot box.

Evidence o change is apparent when a pro-medicalmarijuana judge, Ellen Rosenblum, wins the Oregonattorney general race over a heavily-avored ormerU.S. attorney who had been hostile to medical marijuana,

with the issue emerging as a prominent one in thecampaign. Or when a ormer El Paso councilman, BetoORourke, who had attracted national attention with hisadvocacy or marijuana legalization, deeats an eight-termincumbent who had stoutly deended the drug war.

Evidence o change is also apparent when a governor likeVermonts Peter Shumlin embraces our agenda. Or whenNew Jersey Governor Chris Christie breaks rank withother Republicans to criticize the drug war and implementmeaningul reorms. Or when New York Governor AndrewCuomo joins with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPDCommissioner Ray Kelly to call or marijuana law reorm.

In Latin America, a parallel breakthrough is unolding, aspopularly elected leaders are saying enough is enoughater decades o being brutalized by ailed prohibitionistpolicies. Many o them are inspired not just by cutting-edgeharm reduction policies in Europe but also by the rapidtransormation o public policies and attitudes in theU.S. regarding marijuana.

Te U.S. drug czar and some ederal ocials seem to beresponding to all this by revising their rhetoric to incor-porate the language, but not the substance, o drug policyreorm. Federal drug control policy will only change inresponse to growing pressures rom inuential voices

abroad and even more importantly rom changes in stateand local laws and policies. Tats why your voice and com-mitment, especially right where you live, are so important.

DPAs leadership role requires us to help manage twoparallel challenges with nuance, vision and all the resources

we can bring to bear. Within the United States, we mustnegotiate the twists and turns o the struggle betweenpolicy reorms at the state and local level and the ederalgovernments vigorous eforts to undermine that progress.

And internationally we must assist our allies in reormingtheir own drug laws in the ace o persistent pressures romthe U.S. and other governments to sustain the global drug

prohibition regime.

DPA is stronger and more efective than ever beore, butwe have a long way to go beore we can claim victory in thestruggle or drug policies grounded in science, compassion,health and human rights. Your support has meant a lot and now we need you more than ever.

Can We Make the Mostof the Momentum?

Ira GlasserPresident

Ethan NadelmannExecutive Director

Letter from the President and Executive Director


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2012 Annual Report

ReducingCriminalization

DPA supporters gather in

Santa Fe at a memorial honoring

victims of the drug war and

their families.

More than half a million people are lockedup in U.S. prisons and jails today for violatinga drug law. They are disproportionately blackand Hispanic. It costs tens of billions ofdollars annually to arrest, prosecute andincarcerate them.

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www.drugpolicy.org

Tis was the rst major non-marijuana penalty reorm tobe brought up or a vote on the Caliornia Senate oor indecades. We built an impressive and broad coalition o morethan 100 organizations, with support beyond the usualsuspects to include a sitting District Attorney, retired lawenorcement and the politically conservative Right on Crime

coalition. Te core o the coalition generated more activity including media, calls and in-district visits than we haveever seen on any piece o legislation in the state.

We got urther than we expected in the rst year o thiscampaign with the bill passing the Senate Public SaetyCommittee though certainly not as ar as we wouldhave liked. Te competence and resources behind ourcampaign brought out the police chies in orce, leading theCaliornia Senate to vote against the bill. Although we weredisappointed, we are encouraged by the exceptional coalitionand signicant momentum that we have built or thismulti-year campaign.

Clearly, our central challenge remains what it has long beenor criminal justice reorm in Caliornia: the resistance olaw enorcement to even modest xes to the states brokencriminal justice system. We are committed to building on theprogress and momentum we built this year until we overcomethis opposition.

U.S. Sentencing Commission Makes Crack Cocaine

Sentencing Reforms Retroactive

Imagine that the Civil Rights Act o 1964 had upheldsegregation in existing schools, and only mandated integration

or new schools being built.

When Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act last year toreorm the notorious 100-to-1 disparity between crack cocaineand powder cocaine sentencing laws, thats basically what theydid. Tey ailed to make the new law retroactive, meaningthat people sentenced prior to the reorm continue to servesentences that are dramatically longer than people laterconvicted o the exact same ofenses.

As a result o DPAs work with a powerul coalition o criminaljustice advocates, though, this summer the U.S. SentencingCommission voted to retroactively apply the Fair Sentencing

Act. Te Commission received more than 43,000 pieces omail urging them to apply the new law retroactively.

DPA has led the way in rolling back harsh sentences

and promoting alternatives to incarceration for drug

possession and other drug law violations. Reducing

drug sentences will not end prohibition, but does

more to dramatically reduce the harms of prohibition-

ist policies than almost anything else. DPA has played

a pivotal role in the reform of dozens of drug laws at

the city, state and federal levels. Together, we have

directly improved the lives of hundreds of thousands

of people by preventing them from being arrested or

incarcerated or by shortening the length of time they

spend behind bars.

Charting a Course for Comprehensive

Criminal Justice Reform in California

For more than a decade, DPA has played a central role inaddressing over-incarceration in Caliornia. In 2000, wespearheaded Proposition 36, which has diverted more than

300,000 Caliornians rom incarceration into treatment,reducing associated costs by more than $2.5 billion.

But this didnt go ar enough, as the state grappled withprison overcrowding that led to a ederal court mandatethat the state must reduce its prison population by 40,000in just two years.

Governor Jerry Brown responded by brokering the PublicSaety Realignment Act o 2011, which redirected peopleconvicted o certain ofenses to county supervision insteado state prison. Tis means that tens o thousands ewerpeople will be locked up in state prisons, but there is a

lot o uncertainty as to what will happen to them at thecounty level.

Seeking to address the root o the problem, DPA took a majorstep orward in 2012 by working with State Senator MarkLeno to introduce a measure that would reclassiy simple drugpossession as a misdemeanor instead o a elony, which wouldsave the state and its counties $1 billion in just ve years and

would dramatically reduce many drug sentences.

Te benets to individuals, though, would go ar beyondshorter sentences. Te consequences o a elony conviction

which include barriers to employment, housing, education,and public benets can be more onerous than the sentenceitsel, oten haunting someone or the rest o their lie.

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While its commendable that our drug

czar acknowledges that addiction doesntdiscriminate, the act remains that accessto quality drug treatment oten does inavor o people whove been arrested anddiverted into treatment programs. Teresimply arent enough publicly unded spotsavailable in drug treatment acilities acrossthe country, and many such spots arelled by people who dont actually needtreatment but who have been mandatedby a drug court to complete treatmentater a low-level marijuana possession arrest.Tis needs to stop.

Meghan Ralston,Harm Reduction Manager

February 15, 2012

Tis means that more than 12,000 people are eligible orearly release. axpayers will save $240 million and, moreimportantly, people serving excessively harsh sentences arebeing reunited with their amilies and loved ones sooner.

Te ruling will also address the egregious racial disparitiesin our criminal justice system almost 80 percent o thosesentenced are black, although most users and sellers ocrack are not black.Tousands o people and their amilies will benet romthis reorm, but it still doesnt go ar enough. With yourcontinued support, this will be the rst o many long-overduesentencing reorms.

Thwarting the Latest Drug Testing Craze

Drug testing programs are invasive, unproven andexpensive and they have increasingly been used to justiydiscriminatory policies against people who use drugs or whostruggle with addiction. Drug testing policies were initiallydesigned to protect worker saety in certain proessions, buthave now inltrated many more settings.

Over the past decade, DPA has been involved in severallegal challenges to mandatory drug testing as a conditiono eligibility or employment, school-based extracurricularactivities and, now, public assistance or needy amilies.

Tirty-six states introduced legislation in 2011 and 2012 thatwould require drug testing o individuals who receive manyorms o public assistance, including Medicaid, emporary

Assistance or Needy Families, welare and unemployment.But we helped to deeat most o these bills as legislatorsgrasped that they are scally unsound, unconstitutional, andlack scientic proo.

Unortunately, Floridas bill passed the state legislature and wassigned by Governor Rick Scott but the law has been placedon hold ollowing a legal challenge that DPA supported withan amicus brie.

Reducing Criminalization

(continued)

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www.drugpolicy.org

Millions o Americans have beenincarcerated or low-level drug lawviolations, leading to an explosion inour prison population that is costingour country more than $50 billionper year. Despite this costly efort,drug overdose, addiction and misuseare more prevalent than ever. Te waris an utter ailure.

Art Way,

Senior Drug Policy Manager, Colorado

June 19, 2011

While the recent spate o bills were motivated largely bythe assumption that drug testing as a condition o eligibilityor public benets would save taxpayer dollars, the realityis that these programs cost more money than they save. Inany case, drug testing is an inefective method o identiyingpeople who are struggling with drug misuse or addiction.

Drug tests simply identiy drug usage, not misuse oraddiction. Te vast majority o positive tests solely identiymarijuana, which stays in the body much longer than otherdrugs like heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine. Drug testsalso dont screen or problematic alcohol use which kills armore people every year than all illegal drugs combined.

And contrary to persistent stereotypes there is noheightened level o drug use among public benet recipients.

Just two percent o Florida drug tests came back positive ordrugs during the laws brie implementation a rate ourtimes lower than the estimated drug use o Floridians.

Drug testing has been instrumental in the drug wars missionto identiy people who use drugs and to strip them o rights,reedoms, opportunities and benets. We will continue toend of these invasive and inefective inringements on civilliberties and common sense.

Starving the Drug War in Congress

More than a trillion dollars has been spent on the war ondrugs with little to show or it except overcrowded prisons,enormous racial disparities, and rising rates o overdoseatalities. As Congress considers spending cuts, we arepainstakingly scaling back and even eliminating ailed

drug war programs.

In December, we won a signicant victory when Congresscompletely eliminated unding or the National Youth

Anti-Drug Media Campaign. Over the last two decades,billions o taxpayer dollars have been spent warning, scaringand threatening Americas young people with abstinence-onlymessages. For years, DPA has worked to educate memberso Congress about the inefectiveness as documented inseven government-unded evaluations o this campaign.

You probably recognize some o its over-the-top V ads,which warn that i you try marijuana you will be supportingterrorism or that you may end up eating your own hand.

DPA was also successul in cutting unding or two drugwar programs that cost hundreds o millions o dollars andlead to thousands o low-level arrests every year: the HighIntensity Drug racking Areas program and the ByrneGrant program. Tese programs have a record o raciallydisproportionate low-level drug arrests and increased local

and state costs with no measurable impact on public saety.Tey have ueled some o the worst drug war practicesand generate massive new state and local costs not coveredby the grants.

With your help, we are working to reduce the decit andsave taxpayer money or years to come, while empowering thestates, keeping amilies together and saving lives.

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SensibleMarijuanaRegulation

Marijuana prohibition is unique among Americancriminal laws. No other law is enforced so widelyand harshly yet deemed unnecessary by sucha substantial portion of the population. It hasresulted in more than 20 million arrests since 1970and has deprived responsible people of their jobs,educational opportunities, property and freedom.

DPA Policy Coordinator

Evan Goldstein (far left) and

activists block the entrance

to NYPD headquarters during

a protest calling for an end

to New Yorks marijuana

arrest crusade.

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www.drugpolicy.org

Ending the Marijuana Arrest Crusade

In New York City and Across the U.S.

Reducing the number o people arrested or marijuanapossession is a priority or DPA especially in New YorkCity, where low-level marijuana arrests jumped rom a ew

thousand per year in the 1980s and early 1990s to morethan 50,000 in 2011, making it the marijuana arrest capitalo the world.

A marijuana arrest is no small matter most people arehandcufed, placed in a police car, taken to a police station,ngerprinted and photographed, held in jail or 24 hours ormore, and then arraigned beore a judge. Te arrest creates apermanent record that can easily be ound on the Internet byemployers, landlords, schools, credit agencies, licensing boardsand banks. We are on the verge o sparing tens o thousandso New Yorkers rom these cruel, humiliating and uselessarrests that otentimes produce devastating consequences.

In September 2011, we reached a major breakthroughwhen NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly issued an internalorder commanding ocers to ollow existing New York Statelaw by ending arrests or possession o small amounts omarijuana as long as the marijuana was never in public view.Te act that the NYPD admitted any wrongdoing an extremely rare occurrence represented a tremendousvictory. But new arrest gures over the ollowing monthsshowed that since Kellys order arrests or low-level marijuanaarrests had allen by only 13 percent since the same period theyear beore a disappointing drop considering the scale o theNYPDs marijuana arrest crusade.

Tis disappointment led to our next breakthrough in June,when Governor Cuomo publicly embraced our proposedreorms with the support o all ve o New York Citysdistrict attorneys and the New York City Council. MayorBloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Kelly even decidedthat it was best or them to reverse course and jump onboard as well.

Te news was so big that it made the ront page o theNew York imesnot just once but two days in row andthen it was all over the national and international media.None o this would have happened without your commitmentand DPAs leadership.

Unortunately, throwback Republicans in the New YorkSenate stonewalled our legislation beore this years sessionended. Despite this setback, were not going to stop ghtinguntil we win. Youve created the momentum to dramaticallyreduce marijuana arrests in New York City and as otherU.S. cities grapple with the consequences o arrestingthousands o people every year or marijuana possession, theefects o your support are reverberating around the country.

Our marijuana policy reform efforts focus on making

marijuana legally available for medical purposes,

reducing criminal penalties and arrests for possession,

and ultimately ending marijuana prohibition in the U.S.

and abroad. Because of our work, roughly a million

people who suffer from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis

and other serious illnesses are no longer criminals

under state law for using marijuana as medicine.

Marijuana Legalization

Hits the Mainstream and Congress

Ending marijuana prohibition represents the most politicallyeasible way o dramatically rolling back the reach oprohibitionist drug policies. Hal o all U.S. drug arrests areor marijuana more than 850,000 Americans were arrestedor marijuana in 2010 alone, 88 percent or mere possession.

Never beore has support or making marijuana legal been

so widespread. Public support has shited dramatically inthe last two decades, especially in the last ew years. Forthe rst time, a Gallup poll has ound that 50 percent o

Americans support making marijuana legal, with only46 percent opposed. Majorities o men, 18-29 year-olds,30-49 year-olds, liberals, moderates, Independents,Democrats, and voters in Western, Midwestern and Easternstates now support legalizing marijuana.

In Colorado, Oregon and Washington, initiatives are on theballot to tax and regulate marijuana. Slight majorities in allthree states avor making marijuana legal. DPA has workedclosely with local and national allies to drat these initiatives,

build coalitions and raise unds.

In Congress, a bipartisan group o legislators introducedthe rst bill ever to end ederal marijuana prohibition. Justa ew years ago, Ron Paul and Barney Frank would probablyhave been the only members o Congress willing to signon to this sort o bill. Whats amazing is that more than20 Representatives have co-sponsored the bill includingpeople like Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, andDemocratic Rep. John Conyers, who recently chaired theHouse Judiciary Committee. Te most surprising co-sponsormight be Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, who chaired theHouse Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Controlin the 1980s and ranked among the leading drug warriorsin Congress.

DPA is shaping the burgeoning national dialogue about howto best achieve legalization and serving as a national thoughtleader or viable alternatives to ailed prohibitionist policies.

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Medical Marijuana: Overcoming the Betrayals

I theres one area where we are experiencing serious challen-ges, its the ederal governments brutal crackdown in medicalmarijuana states. Perhaps not since the civil rights era haslaw enorcement played such an aggressive role in what is

essentially a cultural and political struggle. But this time theederal government is playing the bully, riding roughshodover states rights, not to protect vulnerable individuals butto harm them.

Starting in the mid-1990s, we prioritized medical marijuanaor three reasons: 1) it was the rst drug policy reorm that asubstantial majority o Americans were willing to support;2) the persecution and prosecution o people who use mar-ijuana or medical purposes is one o the most egregiousaspects o marijuana prohibition; and 3) we have reason tobelieve that progress on this issue sways the public to supportbroader legalization o marijuana. Since 1996, DPA has

played a pivotal role in legalizing medical marijuana in morethan hal o the 17 states where it is now legal: Caliornia,

Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Maine, Colorado, Nevada,New Mexico, New Jersey and Connecticut.

On the campaign trail in 2008, President Obama said that hisadministration would respect state medical marijuana laws and or the most part he made good on that promise or twoyears, even as the U.S. experienced a rapid expansion o statelaws and regulatory programs. In the past two years, though,the tide has turned against us.

Te biggest obstacles are ederal in nature: local U.S. attorneysand the DEA, IRS and other ederal law enorcement agencies

who actively try to undermine state and local regulation omedical marijuana; Republican members o Congress whoshamelessly abandon their states rights rhetoric and principles

when marijuana is the issue; and a president who has now

turned his back on his earlier commitments to support therights o states to responsibly regulate medical marijuana.

Attorney General Eric Holder has rearmed several timesthe administrations directive rom 2009 to not ocus onindividuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguouscompliance with existing state laws providing or medicaluse o marijuana. But there is a serious incongruity between

what the administration states as policy and what is happen-ing on the ground.

Various ederal agencies continue to violate the 2009 directive.Te reasury Department is orcing banks to close accounts o

medical marijuana businesses operating legally under state law.Te IRS is requiring dispensary owners to pay punitive taxesrequired o no other legal businesses. Te Bureau o Alcohol,obacco, Firearms and Explosives ruled that state-sanctionedmedical marijuana patients cannot purchase rearms.U.S. Attorneys are sending letters to dispensary owners andlandlords threatening seizure o their property and jail time.Federal raids and indictments continue, oten without thesupport o local law enorcement and civic leaders.

DPA has ought back on multiple ronts. In New Jersey,where we passed medical marijuana legislation in 2010, weresuccessully pressuring Gov. Christies administration to

continue implementing the law. In New Mexico, where wepassed legislation in 2007, were ghting against the hostileadministration o Gov. Martinez and her threats to roll backthe states unique model. In Caliornia, were helping developan omnibus marijuana bill that would clariy the regulationo dispensaries and large-scale cultivators. We worked withallies and DPA grantees in Connecticut to pass their medicalmarijuana bill this spring. And in New York were undertakinga broad two-year campaign to legalize medical marijuanathrough the legislature.

We have also provided strategic assistance elsewhere:drating a last-minute amendatory veto or Gov. Schweitzerin Montana, unding local partners in Alabama, testiying inMaryland, providing communications support in WashingtonState and ghting of attempts by Congress to stopimplementation in D.C.

Sensible Marijuana Regulation

(continued)

Not only have medicalmarijuana laws enabledhundreds of thousands ofAmericans to legally useand possess marijuana,but theres good reasonto believe that progress

on this issue sways thepublic to support broaderlegalization of marijuana.

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to support Rep. Barney Franks bill to protect patients,Rep. Jared Poliss bill to address asset oreiture concernso banks that handle medical marijuana accounts, andRep. Pete Starks bill to allow growers and distributors todeduct business expenses.

We are also working on other pressure points in theadministration. We organized and hand-delivered a letterrom several o Obamas top political donors calling onhim to stop the raids. We organized an open letter to Obamarom a bipartisan group o state legislators representingve states. We are also organizing veterans to advocatethat they not be excluded rom VA treatment because theyuse doctor-recommended medical marijuana, and or theinclusion o PSD as a qualiying condition.

Not only have medical marijuana laws enabled hundreds othousands o Americans to legally use and possess marijuana,but theres good reason to believe that progress on this issuesways the public to support broader legalization o marijuana.Teres also good reason to believe that medical marijuanaprograms are an important opportunity to establish state-based models and expertise about how to efectively regulatemarijuana. Our opponents are also realizing these truths

which is why we need to push orward now harder than ever.

DPAs Oce o Legal Afairs, which has emerged as themovements de acto law rm, is providing pivotal technicalassistance across the country. Our attorneys worked withthe ACLU on an amicus brie in the case oPack v. Cityo Long Beach the helped lead the Caliornia Supreme

Court to nulliy a lower courts decision that ederal lawpreempts state and local laws seeking to regulate medicalmarijuana dispensaries.

Our political arm, Drug Policy Action, helped to win a majorvictory in the Oregon primary, where the race or attorneygeneral ocused overwhelmingly in the nal stretch on thecandidates difering views on enorcement o the statesmedical marijuana law. We provided substantial undingand support to Ellen Rosenblum, who won the primary anddoes not have a Republican opponent in November. Tisvictory resonated nationally in all sorts o ways that will helpadvance our drug policy reorm objectives.

In Congress we advocated or an amendment to a undingbill that would have prohibited the Department o Justicerom using ederal unds to prevent the implementation ostate medical marijuana laws. Te amendment lost, but iturther solidied the coalition o House members who areincreasingly vocal and steadast in their support o medicalmarijuana and marijuana legalization. We are also working

Politicians typically lag behind the

voters on social issues, at least publicly.Many elected ocials will say in privatethat they personally support marijuanalegalization but ear political repercussionsi they come out about their support orreorm. Tat dynamic may be shiting.In blue Oregon and Caliornia and redexas, candidates have just succeeded witha pro-reorm message. As the momentumbuilds or marijuana legalization acrossthe country, politicians will have no choicebut to get in step with the public. Andthen well really start to see things change.

Jill Harris,Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives

June 2, 2012

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Health-BasedApproachWe advocate for a new bottom line in drug policy one that focuses on reducing the cumulative death,disease, crime and suffering associated with bothdrug misuse and drug prohibition. This meanssupporting harm reduction interventions that aregrounded in science, compassion, health andhuman rights.

Patty DiRenzo lost her son,

Salvatore, to an accidental overdose

in 2010 and is now working with

DPA to pass a 911 Good Samaritan

law in New Jersey.

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DPA Spearheads Passage of Life-Saving Syringe

Access Legislation in California and New Jersey

DPA has played a pivotal role in passing legislation to expandsyringe access in three o the states with the highest rates odrug-related disease transmission: Caliornia (2004 and 2011),

New Jersey (2006 and 2012) and New York (2010). In eachcase, we spent years overcoming kneejerk opposition romprosecutors and disheartening vetoes by various governors.In each case, we came back year ater year ater year, until wenally won.

In New Jersey, DPA spearheaded passage o legislation signedby Governor Chris Christie in 2012 that allows or the sale osyringes in pharmacies without a prescription. New Jersey wasone o only two states (the other is Delaware) that completelyban over-the-counter sales o syringes.

In Caliornia, Governor Jerry Brown signed two lie-saving

syringe access bills in late 2011. One bill allows peopleto buy syringes at pharmacies without a prescription.

Although some counties had opted-in to a pilot program thatproved extremely efective in reducing syringe sharing, mostcounties did not participate. Tis expands that successulpilot statewide.

Te second bill would allow the Caliornia Departmento Public Health to authorize new syringe access programs,ater consultation with local public health and lawenorcement leadership. Currently some cities and countiesin Caliornia allow syringe access programs, but most do not.Tis bill puts public health experts in charge o the health

o the community, instead o waiting or an elected bodyto take action.

Now, thousands o New Jerseyans and Caliornians will haveaccess to proven, efective HIV and hepatitis C prevention.Tis gives people who use drugs the tools that they need toprotect their health and that o their partners, children, andcommunities, as well as protecting taxpayers rom the costo HIV and hepatitis C inections. Making sure our publichealth and criminal justice policies are in synch means morepeople will participate in programs that are a gateway to bettercommunity health.

Overdose: Rushing to Save Lives as

Hidden Crisis Deepens

In the last two decades, drug overdose deaths in the U.S. havequadrupled and overdose has now overtaken car crashes,homicide and AIDS as a leading cause o death. Most o thesedeaths are preventable, but the tough on crime rhetoric othe drug war and the stigma associated with drug use haveblocked the widespread adoption o lie-saving overdoseprevention policies.

As a DPA member, you are helping create access to

lifesaving health services for people struggling with

drug problems. DPA promotes voluntary counseling

and treatment, including substitution therapies such

as methadone, buprenorphine and heroin maintenance

programs for people struggling with addiction. And as

overdose deaths have more than doubled in the past

decade, DPA has also taken the lead in promoting

effective strategies for reducing fatalities.

We Cant End AIDS Until We End the Drug War

When the International AIDS Conerence was held in theU.S. or the rst time in 22 years this July, we mobilized witha clear message: the criminalization o people who use drugs and especially backward government policies that restrictsyringe access are driving the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Te scientic consensus is clear: improving access to sterile

syringes through pharmacies and syringe access programsdramatically reduces the spread o HIV/AIDS, hepatitis Cand other inectious diseases without increasing drug useor addiction. DPA has spearheaded successul eforts tomake syringes legally available in New York, Caliornia andNew Jersey over the past decade and supported key victoriesin Connecticut, Illinois and other states.

As the world turned its eyes to Washington, D.C., we ensuredthat drug policy would be at the heart o the debate by

working with the Global Commission on Drug Policy torelease a hard-hitting report, placing op-eds in major mediaoutlets, and spurring public debate with a ull-page ad in

Politico and a powerul inographic that reached hundreds othousands o people through online and social media.

Countries where addiction is treated as a health issue arewinning the ght against HIV/AIDS. Australia, Germany,Switzerland and other countries have virtually eliminated newHIV inections among people who use drugs, just as mother-to-child HIV transmission has been virtually eliminated incountries that provide HIV medicines to pregnant women.

In the U.S., though, the ederal government has resistedevidence-based HIV prevention strategies costing us hun-dreds o thousands o lives and billions o dollars. Althoughadvocates have overcome drug war hostility in some citiesand states, many still do not have any legal syringe accessprograms. Congress re-instated a longstanding ban lastDecember that prohibits using ederal unds or syringeaccess programs a move that will cost thousands morelives in years to come.

Millions o people have died because o bad drug policy and millions more lives still hang in the balance.

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With more than 37,000 people dying rom drug overdose in2009 in the U.S. overtaking automobile accidents or therst time you might think that policymakers, the media,and health unders would be calling or action. Ater all, thatsroughly 720 people dying every week, equivalent to two largepassenger jets crashing every seven days. But the response so

ar has been tepid.

DPA is taking the lead in combating this overlooked problem.We advocate or a range o ways to prevent overdose, suchas 911 Good Samaritan laws, improved naloxone access,act-based education or people who might potentially be atrisk o an overdose, and incorporating overdose preventioninto existing drug education programs without restrictinglegitimate access to pain control medication.

Tis situation with overdose policy is akin to the AIDS crisiso the 1980s, when the governments response was entirelyinadequate and unders were slow to come around, with the

exception o a ew key visionaries. Hundreds o thousandso people died as a result. Its happening again, and thegovernment and the people who care about health and saety and have the resources to do something about it have amoral obligation to respond.

Improving Access to Naloxone

For years, DPA has advocated or the broad distribution onaloxone, an inexpensive and easily administered overdoseantidote or opiate drugs. Approved by the FDA since 1971,naloxone is non-addictive and nontoxic and research showsthat it can cut overdose death rates by 50 percent.

Tis spring, DPA released a new report, Expanding Accessto Naloxone, timed to a landmark FDA public hearingto consider making naloxone more available outside oconventional medical settings by changing its status romprescription-only to over-the-counter and by expandingcommunity-based overdose prevention programs.

DPAs harm reduction manager, Meghan Ralston, testiedat the hearing and described receiving calls and emails romamily members who had only discovered the existence o theoverdose antidote ater losing a loved one. I have had moregut-wrenching conversations than you can imagine, shetestied. You truly cant imagine how massive the need ornaloxone is. I know rsthand because I answer these calls.

Te day ater the hearing, DPA organized a brieng or con-gressional staf on Capitol Hill eaturing the nations leadingoverdose prevention experts, who described the efectivenesso expanding naloxone access through overdose preventionprograms. Te Centers or Disease Control recently reportedthat increased access to naloxone through overdose preventionprograms has already saved more than 10,000 lives.

Five New States Enact Overdose Prevention Laws

Te chance o surviving an overdose, like that o survivinga heart attack, depends greatly on how ast one receivesmedical assistance. Witnesses to heart attacks rarely thinktwice about calling 911, but witnesses to an overdose otenhesitate to call or help or, in many cases, simply dont makethe call. Te most common reason people cite or not calling911 is ear o police involvement. People using drugs illegallyoten ear arrest, even in cases where they need proessionalmedical assistance or a riend or amily member. Te best

way to encourage overdose witnesses to seek medical help is toexempt them rom criminal prosecution, an approach otenreerred to as 911 Good Samaritan immunity laws.

DPA spearheaded the passage o the nations rst911 Good Samaritan law in New Mexico in 2007. Sincethen, our momentum has only grown. In 2012, DPA andour allies in ve more states Caliornia, Colorado, Florida,

Illinois and Rhode Island passed this lie-saving legislation,bringing the total number o 911 Good Samaritan statesup to 10. Tese laws send a strong message that stigma andcriminalization should not be barriers to calling 911 in theevent o an overdose and that the harms o drugs canbest be reduced through a health ramework rather thancriminalization.

Building Support for the First Supervised Injection

Facility in the U.S.

Supervised Injection Facilities (SIFs) are places where peoplewho inject drugs can connect to health care services rom

primary care to treat disease and inection, to addictioncounseling and treatment. Tere is overwhelming evidencethat SIFs are efective in reducing new HIV inections,overdose deaths and public nuisance and that they donot increase drug use or criminal activity. Tere are 92 SIFsoperating in 61 cities around the world but none in the U.S.

Earlier this year, DPA worked closely with the New MexicoSenate on a memorial that passed unanimously requesting astudy to enhance and expand New Mexicos harm reductionand overdose prevention programs. Tis memorial will studyemerging and evidence-based harm reduction approaches thatexist in other states or countries, such as medically supervised

injection acilities.

DPA is also working in San Francisco with advocates, serviceproviders, and community members to create the political

will to support a SIF. A broad array o key stakeholders researchers, doctors, people who use drugs, police ocers, andeven political candidates and members o the citys Board oSupervisors have spoken out in avor o establishing a SIF inSan Francisco.

Health-Based Approach

(continued)

12


15/26

The criminalization of people who use drugs isdriving the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

We Cant End AIDSUntil We End the Drug War

1in 3new HIV infections outside sub-Saharan Africa iscaused by syringe sharing.

One-third of all AIDS cases in the U.S. have also

been caused by syringe sharing: 354,000 people.

Sterile syringe access preventsHIV and saves lives.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

found that syringe access programs lowered

HIV incidence among people who inject drugs

in the U.S. by:

A 2003 study of 99 cities worldwide found

that each year:

In some U.S. cities and states,advocates have overcome

drug war hostility to implementsyringe access programs, yetmany states do not have any.

States with no legal syringe access programs

HIV/AIDS prevalence

decreased 18%

in cities with

syringe access.

HIV/AIDS prevalence

increased 8%

in cities without

syringe access.


16/26

2012 Annual Report

Opening theDebateDPA is at the forefront of the burgeoning drugpolicy reform movement. We have taken an issuethat hovered at the fringes of American politics just15 years ago and brought it into the mainstreamwithout sacrificing our passion, our vision or ourcore principles.

DPAs California Deputy Director,

Laura Thomas, with Michel

Kazatchkine, UN Special Envoy

for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe

and Central Asia, at a rally in

Washington, D.C.

14


17/26

www.drugpolicy.org

Although Democrats are generally more supportive o drugpolicy reorm than Republicans, this issue oten crossestraditional party lines. A recent Mason-Dixon poll ound that67 percent o Republicans believe that the ederal governmentshould get out o the way and let states enorce their ownmedical marijuana laws.

DPA is working to build support nationwide or endingprohibition by playing a key role in sparking and sustainingthe national dialogue around marijuana legalization. We areaggressively engaging the media to ensure the dissemination osound, accurate inormation about the harms o prohibitionand the benets o viable alternatives.

Debate Breaks Open in Latin America

For our decades, the U.S. and its allies in Latin Americahave pursued drug war policies that rely overwhelmingly onprohibition, incarceration and interdiction. But in just the last

three years, there has been a dramatic turn o events.

In 2009, the Latin American Commission on Drugs andDemocracy, led by ormer presidents Fernando HenriqueCardoso o Brazil, Csar Gaviria o Colombia, and ErnestoZedillo o Mexico with support and input rom DPA declared the war on drugs a ailed strategy and called orbreaking the taboo on debating all drug policy options.

wo years later, those three ormer presidents teamed up witha ormer president o Switzerland, Ruth Dreiuss, as wellas ormer UN Secretary General Ko Annan, Paul Volcker,George Shultz, Richard Branson, and other distinguished po-

litical and intellectual leaders to orm the Global Commissionon Drug Policy. Teir recommendations were even bolder thistime, embracing cutting edge harm reduction policies as wellas decriminalization and experiments in legal regulation.

Few people expected that the ormer presidents recommenda-tions would be embraced anytime soon by current presidents,but that is what has happened over just the past ew months.First to speak up was Colombias president, Juan ManuelSantos. He was ollowed, even more boldly, by the newpresident o Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina, who quicklysought to build support among other presidents in the region.

In April, when President Obama joined more than thirtyother heads o state or the Summit o the Americas, a majorocus o the summit or the rst time ever was the needor drug policy reorms. Te subject was the principalone on the table when the presidents met privately andPresident Obama was obliged to acknowledge that it isentirely legitimate to have a conversation about whether thelaws in place are ones that are doing more harm than goodin certain places.

While much of our day-to-day work involves organizing

and leading political coalitions to advance specific

policy objectives, we also connect the dots among

the many issues related to drug policy reform. DPA

consistently utilizes the media and online activism to

spread the word and broaden the debate on drug policy

and in the past year we were more successful than

ever. We also help start and mentor local drug policy

reform organizations and provide communications,

organizing and funding support.

Marijuana Policy Reform: Third Rail No Longer

Te Drug Policy Alliance cannot get involved in electoralcampaigns but our political arm, Drug Policy Action, can.wo examples really stand out in which we contributed andraised substantial unds or candidates who share our valuesand were running against drug war proponents.

In El Paso, exas, a ormer city councilman, Beto ORourke,who had attracted national attention with his advocacy ormarijuana legalization, deeated an eight-term incumbent whohad stoutly deended the drug war. In the race or attorneygeneral o Oregon, a pro-medical marijuana judge deeated aheavily-avored ormer U.S. attorney who had been hostile tomedical marijuana, with the issue emerging as a prominentone in the campaign. Te Oregon result demonstrated thepotential political costs o aggressively undermining statemedical marijuana laws, while the El Paso result providedevidence that vigorous advocacy o legalization is no bar togetting elected to Congress even in exas.

National media picked up on those messages, in large partbecause o DPAs efective media outreach leading up to thevote and as soon as the election results were in the AP, ime,and other outlets credited medical marijuana as the decidingactor in the Oregon race, while our staf penned op-eds orhigh-prole outlets.

Even two o the most well-known and politically savvyDemocrats in the country New York Governor AndrewCuomo and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel have comeout in avor o reducing penalties or small amounts omarijuana. In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg andPolice Commissioner Ray Kelly quickly got in line with thegovernor. Cuomos and Emanuels stances say a lot about thedirection o national politics and mainstream acceptance omarijuana reorm.

15


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2012 Annual Report

Media coverage o these developments throughout theAmericas was intense, with DPA deeply involved both outront and behind the scenes. An op-ed by DPA ExecutiveDirector Ethan Nadelmann was published in 14 newspapersin nine diferent Latin American countries. In the U.S.,the Washington Post, NPR and other outlets like theMiami

Heraldinterviewed DPA or avorable articles leading up tothe summit. Tese stories led to numerous live interviews orNadelmann during the summit itsel in high-prole outletssuch as PBS News Hour, MSNBCs Hardball with ChrisMatthews, NPRsMorning Edition andAll Tings Considered,BBC, Democracy Now!and others. Overall, more than10,000 stories were published on the drug war debate at thesummit, with the large majority o them sympathetic to us.

Te immediate political challenge will be to sustain thismomentum in the ace o vigorous behind-the-sceneseforts by the U.S. government to suppress the debate,notwithstanding public statements that theyre open to it.

Te more substantive challenge will be to esh out proposalsor alternative strategies. Latin American leaders know ull

well that no nation can unilaterally legalize drugs and thatmajor reorm o the global drug prohibition regime willtake years, likely decades. Governments as well as non-governmental organizations in the region are just beginningto look seriously at alternative drug policy options.

DPA has been deeply involved in these developments in LatinAmerica rom the beginning advising leaders and high-level ocials, providing them with research and inormationto support their proposals, and in dozens o U.S. and Latin

American media outlets to contextualize these developments.

DPA is committed to ensuring that the taboo on discussingdecriminalization is broken, that a well-inormed andcomprehensive debate on alternative drug polices continues,and that the U.S. recognizes the legitimacy and necessity othis dialogue.

Our movements momentum is empowering Latin Americanleaders to explore all drug policy options including legalregulation and decriminalization to reduce the violence,crime and sufering in the region.

Growing Movement Shines at Biennial Reform

Conference

When we came together last November at the 2011International Drug Policy Reorm Conerence in Los Angeles,it was our largest gathering ever, bringing together morethan 1,200 participants. Many people in our diverse andgrowing movement point to their rst Reorm Conerenceas a transormative moment in their commitment to drugpolicy reorm and their understanding o its breadth.

Caliornia Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, ormerGovernor o New Mexico Gary Johnson, Caliornia NAACPdirector Alice Hufman, Mexican poet and movement leader

Javier Sicilia, and travel writer Rick Steves joined drug policyexperts, health care and drug treatment proessionals, lawenorcement, ormerly incarcerated people, elected ocials,

and students rom around the country and across the world.Te conerence also eatured a public rally, No More DrugWar: A Rally & Concert to End the War on Drugs.

Experience the conerences energy by watching and sharingvideos o all the conerence sessions at: reormconerence.org.

And mark your calendars or the next Reorm Conerence October 23-26, 2013 at the Sheraton Downtown hotel inDenver, Colorado.

Safety First: A Reality-Based Approach to

Teens and Drugs

DPAs Saety Firstpublication provides parents with the toolsneeded to evaluate and discuss strategies or protecting theirteenagers rom drug misuse. More than 300,000 copieshave been distributed to individuals and educational, healthand governmental institutions and agencies in the U.S. Tebooklet has been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Russian,Ukranian, Romanian, Czech, Hebrew, Portuguese and Greek.

In 2012, DPA released a new version oSaety Firstwithupdated acts and gures. o view or obtain a copy, pleasevisit: www.drugpolicy.org/saetyfrst

New Technologies, New Audiences

More people like you are using DPAs social networking sitesand email action list than ever beore. Our email list hasquadrupled in the past three years to more than 230,000subscribers signicantly increasing our ability to generatepressure on ederal and state elected ocials. In the past year,readers like you have sent more than 600,000 targeted lettersto policymakers and elected ocials as part o our action alertcampaigns. Weve also drawn in thousands more supportersthrough Facebook, witter and online video.

Facebook: www.acebook.com/drugpolicywitter: www.twitter.com/drugpolicynews

Youube: www.youtube.com/drugpolicyalliance

Opening the Debate

(continued)

16


19/26

www.drugpolicy.org

Foundation Support

DPA received support from sixteen local

and national foundations this year. Most

support specific parts of our agenda

that align most closely with their own

organizational prioirites, on issues

including racial justice, prison reform,

human rights, civil liberties, HIV/AIDS

prevention and community health.

Angelica Foundation

A long-time ally of DPA, this family

foundation supports progressive

activist organizations working for

social justice and is deeply involved

in mitigating the drug wars impact in

Mexico. They most recently provided

support to the 2011 International Drug

Policy Reform Conference.

Curtis M. McGraw FoundationThis family foundation based in

Princeton is the longest-running funder

of our efforts to expand access to

sterile syringes to prevent the spread

of HIV/AIDS in New Jersey.

Doris Goodwin Walbridge

Foundation

The Walbridge Foundation supports

local human services agencies and

their advocates in New Mexico. They

have provided critical funding for our

Santa Fe office since 2008.

Fund for Nonviolence

Based in Santa Cruz, the Fund for

Nonviolence supports social change

and provides grants to create a justice

system that treats every human being

with dignity. They are a key ally in our

work to end incarceration for drug

possession in California.

Herb Block Foundation

This D.C.-based funder reflects the

spirit of Herb Block, the celebrated

editorial cartoonist who spent his

life defending freedom, combating

discrimination, and improving condi-

tions for the poor. They have provided

us with general operating support

for several years.

Jacob and Valeria Langeloth

Foundation

Based in New York, they support

organizations working for the health

and well-being of people with poor

access to services, including prisoners.

They helped DPA bring criminal justice

reformers to the 2011 International

Drug Policy Reform Conference.

MAC AIDS Fund

Funded by sales from MAC Cosmetics

VIVA GLAM lipstick line, the MAC AIDS

Fund is a leader in the field of harm

reduction and one of the largest private

sources of funding for HIV/AIDS organi-

zations. This year, they funded our harm

reduction advocacy across the country.

New York FoundationA steadfast supporter of progressive

community organizing and advocacy,

they fund DPAs work to end New York

Citys marijuana arrest crusade in

collaboration with the Institute for

Juvenile Justice Reform and

Alternatives, Voices of Community

Advocates and Leaders, and the

Marijuana Arrest Research Project.

Open Society Foundations

No other foundation has done more to

advance drug policy reform than OSF,providing substantial general operating

support to DPA and grants to our allies

in the field. DPAs predecessor organiza-

tion, The Lindesmith Center, became

OSFs first U.S.-based project in 1994.

Public Welfare Foundation

The Public Welfare Foundation has been

addressing the needs of underserved

communities for decades and is among

the most respected criminal justice

reform organizations today. Theyve

been funding DPA since 2008 and last

year supported our sentencing reform

efforts in New Jersey and New Mexico.

Rosenberg Foundation

Providing critical funding to advocates

in California, the Rosenberg Foundation

believes that criminal justice reform is

one of the most urgent civil rights issues

of our day. They are a key ally in our work

to end incarceration for drug possession

in California.

San Francisco Foundation

The Bay Areas leading community

philanthropic organization, the San

Francisco Foundation funded DPAs effort

to advocate for improvements to hepati-

tis C prevention, services and policy

in San Francisco.

Shelley and Donald Rubin

Foundation

Based in New York, this family founda-tion funds the arts, human services, and

social justice causes. They support our

Know Your Rights and Build Your Future

community training project, an essential

component of our campaign to end

New York Citys marijuana arrest crusade.

Syringe Access Fund

This consortium of funders, managed by

AIDS United, has played a pivotal role

in expanding access to sterile syringes

across the U.S. and has supported

DPAs work in California and New Jerseysince 2004.

The Libra Foundation

The Libra Foundation supports or-

ganizations that promote fundamental

freedoms and human rights in the U.S.

and around the world. A long-time DPA

supporter, this year they funded our

national criminal justice reform advocacy

and the 2011 International Drug Policy

Reform Conference.

Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund

A vital foundation primarily serving the

people of Baltimore, the Krieger Fund

has been funding DPA since 2005,

most recently with a grant for general

operating support.

www.drugpolicy.org 17


20/26

2011 - 2012 Advocacy Grant

Awardees

The Drug Policy Alliance Advocacy

Grants Program seeks to promote

policy change and advance drug policy

reform at the local, state and national

levels by strategically funding smaller,

geographically limited or single-issue

projects. Funded annually at a level

of roughly $1.2 million, the AdvocacyGrants program works to raise aware-

ness and promote policy change through

two vehicles: the Promoting Policy

Change Program and the Special

Opportunities Program.

Promoting Policy Change

$15,000

Drug Policy Education Group, Inc.

To support mailings to legislators and

community leaders and supply books

to libraries and education projects.

Families Act!

To support the Call to Compassion

Campaign, a campaign that mobilizes

families to advocate for sensible and

smart drug policies.

Homeless Youth Alliance

To advocate for the health and safety

of young people who use drugs in the

Haight area of San Francisco.

Labor/Community Strategy Center

To work with young people who are

targets of zero tolerance drug policiesin schools.

Youth Justice Coalition

To support direct action organizing,

policy development, leadership train-

ing and continued development of

campaign communications.

Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii

To support the go to organization for

educators, legislators and the general

public in Hawaii on a wide range of

drug policy issues.

Women With A Vision

To advocate in opposition to man-

datory drug testing as a condition of

eligibility for the federal governments

Temporary Assistance for Needy

Families (TANF) program.

New Mexico Womens Justice Project

To improve access to treatment and

harm reduction programs for pregnant

women who are struggling with addiction

and to broaden support for decriminal-

izing drug use.

Women on the Rise Telling Her Story

To advocate for a health-based ap-

proach to drug policy for formerly and

currently incarcerated women.

North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition

To advocate for harm reduction through-

out the state.

2012 Annual Report

Project Lazarus

To support an educational and inter-

ventional program that aims to reduce

overdose fatalities.

Partnership for Safety and Justice

To support the Health Education for

Addiction Legislation (HEAL) OregonProject, which works to shift Oregons

drug policies from a criminal approach

to a health-based approach.

Direct Action for Rights and Equality

To develop leadership among the

formerly incarcerated population

in Rhode Island and advocate for

sentencing reform.

DRCNet

To provide extensive, journalistic cover-

age of drug policy reform developments.

The Drug Truth Network

To support radio programming on drug

policy reform in more than 80 markets.

$20,000

Alabamians for Compassionate Care

To bring about sane drug policy reform

in the state of Alabama and to pass the

Michael Phillips Compassionate Care

Act, which would legalize medical

marijuana in the state.

Los Angeles Community Action Network

To increase awareness of punitive drugpolicies among impacted residents and

other stakeholders across LA County.

Project South

To provide general technical assist-

ance to Drug Policy Alliance allies in

the South.

American Civil Liberties

Union of Mississippi

To reduce marijuana arrests in Jackson

and in Gulf Coast communities.

UpFront Programs

To develop drug education tools

for educators.

18


21/26

$25,000

Center for NuLeadership on

Urban Solutions

To develop black and Latino government

leaders who will support a strong drug

policy reform platform.

Mothers Against Teen ViolenceTo support the Twelfth Annual MLK

Luncheon, which focuses on educating

the public and lawmakers about drug

policy reform.

AlterNet

To support their broad and deep effort

to educate the public and motivate

engagement and activism around drug

policy reform.

$30,000

The Ordinary People Society

To support efforts to change the politi-cal climate in Alabama by reducing the

scope of the criminal justice system

in drug policy, with an emphasis on

reducing marijuana arrests.

California Society of Addiction Medicine

To support the development of a drug

policy reform resource guide that mem-

ber doctors and other member medical

professionals can share with legislators.

Institute for Metropolitan Affairs at

Roosevelt University

To shift public opinion about drug policyin Illinois, primarily by spearheading

successful passage of the states 911

Good Samaritan law.

$35,000

Colorado Criminal Justice

Reform Coalition

To advocate for bi-partisan sentencing

reform in Colorado.

$40,000

A New Path

To reduce the stigma of drug use and the

harms of the drug war through the Moms

United Campaign.

San Francisco Drug Users Union

To advocate for a public health approachto drug policy.

New York Academy of Medicine

To work with DPA to continue

implementation of the Rockefeller

Drug Law reforms and to develop a

comprehensive strategy for New York to

shift to health-centered drug policies.

VOCAL

To work with local and state officials in

New York City and Albany to implement

reforms that reduce the role of criminal-

ization in drug policy.

Special Opportunities Program

$1,000

Global Exchange

To bring Javier Sicilia to the United

States for a human rights award.

$1,750

Criminal Justice Policy Foundation

In support of their leadership develop-

ment workshop held at the Students for

Sensible Drug Policy Conference.

$2,495

A New P.A.T.H. &

Moms United Campaign

In support of their press conference that

announced their collaboration with LEAP

and SSDP to mobilize cops, students

and parents to end the drug war.

$2,500

Attica is All of Us

To facilitate a discussion about the

drug war with Cornel West at historic

Riverside Church.

Missouri Association for Social Welfare

To support their efforts to organize

social workers against legislation man-

dating drug testing as a requirement for

eligibility for the federal governments

Temporary Assistance for Needy

Families program.

www.drugpolicy.org

Canadian Students for

Sensible Drug Policy

To support their annual conference.

Sensible Colorado

To produce an ad in support of

Colorados ballot initiative to legally

regulate marijuana.

Women With A Vision

To support rebuilding the organization

after an arson attack on their office.

$3,000

Improbable Pictures

Improbable Pictures received funding

for distribution of their film about syringe

access programs, In Exchange for Life.

$5,000

Partnership for Safety and Justice

To conduct statewide polling on drugpolicy reform in Oregon.

$5,807

Mothers Against Teen Violence

To bring anti-drug war speakers to their

annual conference.

$6,230

Flex Your Rights

To distribute their film, 10 Rules for

Dealing with Police, at DPAs 2011

Reform Conference.

$9,000American Association of

Political Consultants

To support speakers for a panel on

drug policy reform at the organizations

annual conference.

Harm Reduction Coalition

To help underwrite the organizations first-

ever peer syringe exchange conference.

19


22/26

2012 Annual Report20 2012 Annual Report

2011 - 2012 Advocacy Grant

Awardees

$9,500

Long Island Council on Alcoholism and

Drug Dependence

To support the implementation of

New Yorks 911 Good Samaritan law,

an overdose prevention measure that

has been spearheaded by DPA.

North Carolina Harm

Reduction Conference

To support this bipartisan conference on

law enforcement and the drug war.

$10,000

Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference

To support this conference of African

American faith leaders, which included a

plenary called The New Jim Crow with

DPAs Ethan Nadelmann.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy

To organize Colorado-based students towork on the 2012 ballot initiative to tax

and regulate marijuana.

$10,600

Rio Grande Foundation

To support a bipartisan forum on the

drug war in New Mexico.

$12,000

Colorado Criminal Justice

Reform Coalition

To support a media campaign on reduc-

ing penalties for drug possession.

$12,500

Broken No More

To support a national convening of

parents who have lost their children

to overdose.

$12,737

New America MediaTo produce interviews of diverse ad-

vocates for 911 Good Samaritan laws

and create an online video to showcase

these interviews.

$14,600

A New Way of Life Reentry Project

To support a conference on women,

the drug war and incarceration.

$15,000

San Diego Cannabis Policy Reform

To organize multi-racial organizing for

medical marijuana reform in San Diego.

California Hepatitis Alliance/

Project Inform

To implement syringe access laws

in California.

Donahue & Goldberg, LLP

To support their work opposing Floridas

law requiring drug testing as a condition

of eligibility for the Temporary Assistance

for Needy Families program.

Global Exchange

To support the initial organizing andplanning of the Movement for Peace

and Justices caravan across the

United States.

Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition

To support their second annual Southern

regional conference.

$25,000

Colorado Alliance Marijuana

Education Fund

To support the states ballot initiative that

proposes to legally regulate marijuana.

PURPOSE

To support their online organizingproject that aims to invigorate anti-drug

war voters.

A Better Way Foundation

To spearhead the passage of

Connecticuts successful medical

marijuana legislation.


23/26

www.drugpolicy.org

DPA Honorary Board DPA Board of Directors

InternationalHonorary Board

(In formation)

Former Mayor Rocky Anderson

Harry Belafonte

Former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci

Deepak Chopra

Congressman John Conyers, Jr.

Walter Cronkite [1916-2009]

Ram Dass

Dr. Vincent Dole [1913-2006]Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders

Judge Nancy Gertner

Former Police Chief Penny Harrington

Calvin Hill

Arianna Huffington

Former Governor Gary Johnson

Judge John Kane

Former Attorney General

Nicholas deB. Katzenbach [1922-2012]

Former Police Chief Joseph McNamara

Former Police Commissioner

Patrick V. Murphy [1920-2011]

Dr. Beny J. Primm

Dennis RiveraFormer Mayor Kurt Schmoke

Dr. Charles Schuster [1930-2011]

Alexander Shulgin

Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz

Russell Simmons

Judge Robert Sweet

Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker

The Hon. Larry Campbell

Senator, The Senate of Canada

Christine Downton

Former Vice Chairman and Founding Partner of

Pareto Partners

Jodie EvansCo-founder, CODEPINK

James E. Ferguson, II

Senior Partner, Ferguson, Stein, Chambers Law Offices

Jason Flom

President, Lava Records

Ira Glasser, DPA Board President

Former Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union

Carl Hart, PhD

New York State Psychiatric Institute

Mathilde Krim, PhDFounding Chair, American Foundation for

AIDS Research (amfAR)

David C. Lewis, MD

Founding Director, Center for Alcohol and Addiction

Studies, Brown University

Pamela Lichty

President, Drug Policy Forum of Hawai`i

Ethan Nadelmann, JD, PhD

Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance

Robert Newman, MD

Director, Baron Edmond de Rothschild ChemicalDependency Institute at Beth Israel Medical Center

Rev. Edwin Sanders, DPA Board Secretary

Senior Servant, Metropolitan Interdenominational

Church Coordinator, Religious Leaders for a More Just

and Compassionate Drug Policy

George Soros

Chairman, Soros Fund Management

Ilona Szabo de Carvalho

Director, Igarap Institute

John Vasconcellos

Former California State Senator

Co-Founder, The Politics of Trust

Richard B. Wolf, DPA Board Treasurer

Chairman of Board, Consolidated Dye

Richard Branson

Founder, Virgin Group

Ruth Dreifuss

Former President of the Swiss Confederation

Vclav Havel [1936-2011]

Former President of the Czech Republic

Sting

23www.drugpolicy.org


24/26

DPA Staff

Management Team

Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director

Ryan Chavez, Managing Director, Finance & Administration

DeDe Dunevant, Managing Director, Communications

Stephen Gutwillig, Deputy Executive Director, Programs

Jill Harris, Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives

Clovis Thorn, Managing Director, Development

Communications

Jag Davies, Publications Manager

DeDe Dunevant, Managing Director, Communications

Megan Farrington, Deputy Director, Internet Communications

Melissa Franqui, Communications Associate

Jeanette Irwin, Director, Internet Communications

Stefanie Jones, Event Manager

Tommy McDonald, Deputy Director, Media Relations

Kristen Millnick, Internet Communications Coordinator

Tony Newman, Director, Media Relations

Anthony Papa, Manager, Media Relations

Daniel Robelo, Research Coordinator

Derek Rosenfeld, Internet Communications Associate

Development

Rafael De Arce, Manager, Membership and

Development Operations

David Glowka, Manager, Foundation Relations

Judh Grandchamps, Gift Entry Associate

Clovis Thorn, Managing Director, Development

Finance and Administration

David Abbott, Office Manager

Teresa Barrow, IT Support Specialist

Ryan Chavez, Managing Director, Finance & Administration

Michael Linares, Executive Associate to Ethan Nadelmann

Lina Mingoia, Human Resources Manager

Boris Sporer, Director, Information Technology andKnowledge Management

Candida Ventimiglia, Controller

Public Policy

Headquarters

asha bandele, Director, Advocacy Grants Program

Yolande Cadore, Director, Strategic Partnerships

Jill Harris, Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives

Hannah Hetzer, Latin America Project Coordinator

Rosie Goldensohn, Policy AssociateStephanie Polito, Administrative Associate,

Advocacy Grants Program

Office of Legal Affairs

Daniel N. Abrahamson, Director, Legal Affairs

Michelle Asato, Administrative Associate

Lindsay LaSalle, Law Fellow

Theshia Naidoo, Senior Staff Attorney

Tamar Todd, Senior Staff Attorney

Office of National Affairs

Daniel Z. Brito, Government Relations Manager

Bill Piper, Director, National Affairs

Grant Smith, Federal Policy Coordinator

Maggie Taylor, Policy Associate

Jasmine Tyler, Deputy Director, National Affairs

State Policy Offices

California

Nyoka Acevedo, Administrative Associate, Southern California

Aviva Cushner, Administrative Associate, San Francisco

Armando Gudio, Policy Associate, Southern California

Lynne Lyman, State Director, California

Meghan Ralston, Harm Reduction Manager,

Southern California

Amanda Reiman, Policy Manager, California

Marsha Rosenbaum, Director Emerita, San Francisco

Laura Thomas, Deputy State Director, San Francisco

Colorado

Amy Pomerant, Policy Associate

Art Way, Senior Drug Policy Manager, Colorado

New Jersey

Amanda Bent, Administrative Associate

Meagan Glaser, Policy Manager

Roseanne Scotti, State Director, New Jersey

Elizabeth Thompson, Policy Associatete

New Mexico

Jessica Gelay, Policy Coordinator, New Mexico

Emily Kaltenbach, State Director, New MexicoOlivia-Belen Sloan, Outreach/Education Associate

New York

Kassandra Frederique, Policy Coordinator

Evan Goldstein, Policy Coordinator

Julie Netherland, Deputy State Director, New York

Alexis Posey, Policy Associate

gabriel sayegh, State Director, New York

24 2012 Annual Report


25/26

Drug Policy Alliance, a 501(c)(3) Organization

DPA Statement of Financial Position FY2012

June 1, 2011 May 31, 2012

ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,480,645

Cash restricted for mortgage escrow $ 591,338Certificates of deposit $ 445,000

Grants receivable $ 39,425,225

Accounts receivable $ 125,569

Prepaid expenses and other assets $ 68,282

Deposits $ 90,048

Property, equipment and leasehold

improvements, net $ 5,503,706

Total Assets $ 48,729,843

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

Liabilities

Accounts payable and

accrued expenses $ 545,730

Compensated absences $ 278,477

Mortgage payables $ 3,082,145

Total Liabilities $ 3,906,352

Net Assets

Unrestricted $ 6,033,363

Temporarily restricted $ 38,790,128

Total Net Assets $ 44,823,491

Total Liabilities and Net Assets $ 48,729,843

DPA Statement of Activities FY2012

SUPPORT AND REVENUEContributions unrestricted $ 11,338,617

Contributions temporarily restricted $ 35,796,735

Total Income $ 47,135,352

EXPENSES

Program expenses $ 7,053,842

Management $ 1,495,743

Fundraising $ 1,334,061

Total Expenses $ 9,883,646

CHANGE IN NET ASSETS



CHANGE IN NET ASSETS

Net assets, beginning of year $ 7,571,785

Net assets, end of year $ 44,823,491

Several Drug Policy Alliance

and Drug Policy Action donors

have made multi-year pledges

to these organizations. These

donor commitments reflect a

strong current and future financial

outlook for the Drug Policy

Alliance and Drug Policy Action.

Drug Policy Action, a 501(c)(4) Organization

Drug Policy Action Statement of Financial Position FY2012

June 1, 2011 May 31, 2012

ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,531,900

Certificates of deposit $ 935,000Grants receivable $ 4,838,157

Total Assets $ 8,305,057

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

Liabilities

Accounts payable and

accrued expenses $ 66,378

Net Assets



Total Liabilities and Net Assets $ 8,305,057

Drug Policy Action Statement of Activities FY2012

SUPPORT AND REVENUE

Major contributions



Other contributions $ 9,295

Interest income $ 6,390

Miscellaneous income $ 1,000

Total Support and Revenue $ 6,074,842

EXPENSES

Program ExpensesConsulting $ 22,143

Ballot and other initiatives $ 433,150

Seminars and conferences $ 1,032

Excise tax $ 5,879

Management and General

Administrative expenses $ 135,474

Professional fees $ 20,502

Miscellaneous $ 6,199

Fundraising $ 8,005

Total Expenses $ 632,384

CHANGE IN NET ASSETS $ 5,442,458Net assets, beginning of year $ 2,796,221

Net assets, end of year $ 8,238,679

Financial Statements

These pledges are included in

the financial statements as

Grants Receivables in the

Statement of Financial Position

and Grants and Contributions

in the Statement of Activities.

These pledges are future revenue

that will be received within two

to ten years. This future revenue

will be used to support the orga-

nizations major policy initiativesand are not an endowment.


26/26

California

DPA Office of

Legal Affairs

Berkeley, CA

[email protected]

Los Angeles, CA

[email protected]

San Francisco, CA

[email protected]

Colorado

Denver, CO

[email protected]

District of Columbia

DPA Office of

National Affairs

Washington, [email protected]

New Jersey

Trenton, NJ

[email protected]

New Mexico

Santa Fe, NM

[email protected]

New York

Drug Policy Alliance

Headquarters

131 West 33rd Street

15th Floor

New York, NY 10001

212.613.8020 voice

212.613.8021 fax

[email protected]

www.drugpolicy.org

Documents

DPA Annual Report 2012