# Drug Policy Alliance

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American non-profit advocacy organization

Drug Policy Alliance Established 2000 (26 years ago) Legal status 501(c)(3) organization Headquarters New York City Country United States Revenue 10,430,244 United States dollar (2016) Total Assets 13,012,787 United States dollar (2020) Website www.drugpolicy.org

The **Drug Policy Alliance** (**DPA**) is a [New York City](/source/New_York%2C_New_York)–based [nonprofit organization](/source/Nonprofit_organization) that seeks to advance policies that "reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies".[1] The organization prioritizes reducing the role of criminalization in drug policy, advocating for the legal regulation of marijuana, and promoting health-centered drug policies.

## History

The Drug Policy Alliance was formed when the [Drug Policy Foundation](/source/Drug_Policy_Foundation) and the [Lindesmith Center](/source/Lindesmith_Center) merged in July 2000.

### Leadership

Lindesmith Center founder [Ethan Nadelmann](/source/Ethan_Nadelmann) served as its first executive director,[2] followed by Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno beginning in October 2017.[3] [Kassandra Frederique](/source/Kassandra_Frederique) has served as executive director since September 2020.[4][5]

## Main issues

DPA booth at a 2012 conference

### Drug war

DPA believes that the [war on drugs](/source/War_on_drugs) in America has failed. They present the argument that the United States has spent billions of dollars on making the country drug-free, but many illicit drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and many others, are more potent and prevalent than ever before.[6][7][8]

### Communities affected

DPA believes that the war on drugs does not affect all of the American population the same way, and that some communities are disproportionately affected.[9][10]

## Results

In 2020, DPA's advocacy and political arm, Drug Policy Action, spearheaded the passage of the [Oregon Ballot Measure 110](/source/2020_Oregon_Ballot_Measure_110), which made Oregon the first state in the nation to decriminalize drug possession while significantly expanding access to evidence-informed, culturally responsive treatment, harm reduction and other health services.[11]

## See also

- [Arguments for and against drug prohibition](/source/Arguments_for_and_against_drug_prohibition)

- [Decriminalization of marijuana in the United States](/source/Decriminalization_of_marijuana_in_the_United_States)

- [Freedom of thought](/source/Freedom_of_thought)

- [Harm reduction](/source/Harm_reduction)

- [Prison reform](/source/Prison_reform)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["About Us"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070904215820/http://www.drugpolicy.org/about/). *Drug Policy Alliance*. Archived from [the original](https://drugpolicy.org/about-us) on September 4, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Legalize all drugs? The man behind loosening pot laws in US eyes new goal"](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/legalize-all-drugs-man-behind-loosening-pot-laws-us-eyes-flna2D11663337). *NBC News*. November 27, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Derek Rosenfeld (October 4, 2017). ["Meet DPA's New Executive Director, Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno"](https://web.archive.org/web/20221019014415/https://drugpolicy.org/blog/meet-dpas-new-executive-director-maria-mcfarland-sanchez-moreno). Drug Policy Alliance. Archived from [the original](https://drugpolicy.org/blog/meet-dpas-new-executive-director-maria-mcfarland-sanchez-moreno) on October 19, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Schiller, Melissa. ["Drug Policy Alliance Board Announces Kassandra Frederique as Next Executive Director"](https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/news/drug-policy-alliance-board-announces-next-executive-director/). *Cannabis Business Times*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Hunter, Allison (January 2, 2026). ["Mamdani's transition team taps several Haitian New Yorkers"](https://haitiantimes.com/2026/01/02/mamdani-transition-haitian-new-yorkers/). *The Haitian Times*. Retrieved May 26, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Abuse, National Institute on Drug. ["Nationwide Trends"](https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trends). *www.drugabuse.gov*. Retrieved April 12, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Crawford, Alejandro (July 13, 2015). ["What Have We Been Smoking?"](https://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2015/07/13/marijuana-prohibition-and-the-war-on-drugs-have-utterly-failed). *U.S. News & World Report*. Retrieved April 12, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Porter, Eduardo (July 3, 2012). ["Numbers Tell of Failure in the War on Drugs"](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/business/in-rethinking-the-war-on-drugs-start-with-the-numbers.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0362-4331](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved April 12, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Bowling, Ben; Phillips, Coretta (November 1, 2007). "Disproportionate and Discriminatory: Reviewing the Evidence on Police Stop and Search". *The Modern Law Review*. **70** (6): 936–961. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1468-2230.2007.00671.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1468-2230.2007.00671.x). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1468-2230](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1468-2230). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [23235460](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:23235460).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["The Drug War is the New Jim Crow"](https://www.aclu.org/drug-war-new-jim-crow). *American Civil Liberties Union*. Retrieved April 12, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Oregon 1st in US to soften on hard drugs, 'magic' mushrooms"](https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-oregon-elections-a7bf2c4477ca38a31bd140848c023061). AP News. November 4, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.drugpolicy.org/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Drug Policy Alliance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Policy_Alliance) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Policy_Alliance?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.