What impact will the upcoming election have on drug policy reform? Neither President George W. Bush nor Sen. John Kerry is a perfect advocate for our cause. Minor-party candidates speak eloquently against the "war on drugs," but how relevant is their input in what will be a very tight race?

Ethan Nadelmann, executive director, and Bill Piper, director of national affairs, tackled these questions in an online chat Tuesday, Sep. 14, 2004. You can listen to the archive below.

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About Ethan:

Ethan Nadelmann was born in New York City and received his BA, JD, and PhD from Harvard, and a Masters degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics. He then taught politics and public affairs at Princeton University from 1987 to 1994, where his speaking and writings on drug policy -- in publications ranging from Science and Foreign Affairs to American Heritage and National Review attracted international attention. He also authored the book, Cops Across Borders, the first scholarly study of the internationalization of U.S. criminal law enforcement.

In 1994, Nadelmann founded the Lindesmith Center, a drug policy institute created with the philanthropic support of George Soros. In 2000, the growing Center merged with another organization to form the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. Described by Rolling Stone as “the point man” for drug policy reform efforts, Ethan Nadelmann is widely regarded as the outstanding proponent of drug policy reform both in the United States and abroad.

About Bill:

Bill Piper is Director of National Affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. Prior to joining the Alliance, he was Director of Research for the Initiative & Referendum Institute, a national non-profit working to preserve and expand the right of voters to change public policy through the ballot box.

Piper has also worked for U.S. Term Limits, the largest grassroots organization working to enact term limits on elected officials. He is a graduate of Indiana University with degrees in political science and economics.