Regulating Marijuana for Adult Use in Colorado
 

It's time to end decades of failed marijuana prohibition, and Colorado can lead the nation. DPA is a vocal and leading ally of "The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol," a voter initiative likely to appear on the November 2012 ballot. It would allow adults to possess and grow limited amounts of marijuana and regulate sales of marijuana to adults statewide. DPA is determined to help build a broad movement of like-minded reformers to make marijuana legal in Colorado.
 

Advancing Harm Reduction
 

Colorado is nationally recognized for its recent criminal justice reforms, which were pioneered by allies like the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. We are committed to building the same momentum for health-centered harm reduction principles in our state. DPA, along with the Harm Reduction Action Center, plan to mobilize decision-makers and impacted communities to advocate for no-cost, common-sense policies such as expanding access to sterile syringes, adopting a 911 Good Samaritan law and increasing legal distribution of the overdose antidote naloxone. These simple, life-saving solutions and other interventions will help reverse punitive, ineffective responses to drug misuse and addiction.
 

Expanding the Reach of Public Health

 

Colorado has begun to reverse the excesses of the drug war and their impact on the mass arrest and incarceration of low-level drug offenders. It is essential to raise the voice of health care professionals to balance the dominant role law enforcement plays in determining drug policy. Through our partnership with the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, we advocate for revenue streams to secure alternatives to incarceration needed to shift our drug policies from a reliance on criminalization toward a health-centered approach. Prevention, treatment and behavioral science must play a larger role to lessen the impact of drug misuse.

 

Lessening the Collateral Consequences of Drug Violations