This year, the Drug Policy Alliance joined with five co-host organizations, the ACLU, the Harm Reduction Coalition, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Marijuana Policy Project and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (who also hosted their 9th annual conference within the larger International Drug Policy Reform conference) as well as dozens of other partner groups, to bring together a stronger and more diverse population of people and issues.

This year, Antonio Maria Costa, executive director for the Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC), i.e., “the UN drug czar,” opted to accept our invitation and come to New Orleans to defend and explain the UNODC’s drug control policies.

This year, we featured more individuals and groups of people who have courageously made drug policy reform an integral part of their lives or are still struggling with doing so. The distinguished panel of African American speakers on Friday’s plenary session debated the question of why conservative, middle class Black America has not taken on drug law reform as a civil rights issue in a conversation that addressed elements of racism, sexism and classism within the movement. The discussion continued into the halls and now onto DPA’s discussion board.

On the closing plenary, Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan gave an inspiring speech about why he, like his two immediate predecessors, insists on pursuing drug policies that push the political envelope but are solidly grounded in science, reason and compassion.  And at the awards dinner that evening, award winner and former Seattle police chief Norm Stamper - who called harm reduction “a moral imperative” while still on the SPD payroll - spoke of the intellectual and moral inquiry that had moved him to speak out in favor of ending drug prohibition.

This year, instead of just selecting a conference location, we actually chose a city to partner with.  New Orleans City Councilmember James Carter welcomed conference attendees at the Wednesday evening opening reception.  The next morning Norris Henderson, a local activist and DPA’s closest ally in New Orleans, spoke about his drug policy reform work with his organization Safe Streets / Strong Communities and later that day moderated a panel where a local treatment provider, a preacher, a judge and others considered the question, “Can New Orleans Afford to Keep Fighting the Failed War on Drugs?”  At the Friday evening Community Forum, the new DA, Keva Landrum-Johnson, summed up the answer: No, it can’t, and New Orleans is ready for change. 

This year, we’d like to invite you to experience the conference for yourself and pass on its energy in the following ways:

SEE.  We are compiling all the video that was shot at the conference on our website.  We’ll be unveiling the interviews we captured during the Video Story Booth shoot over the coming months as well so stay tuned!  If you know someone who took pictures or filmed at the conference, please let us know so we can link to it or feature it (properly credited of course!) on our site.  Email jirwin@drugpolicy.org. 

HEAR.  This is a great way to “be in the room” and find out what you missed. HMR Recordings can still take your order for CDs or mp3 files of conference sessions and plenaries.  Discounts are available for full sets or ordering 4 or more CDs.  If you don’t mind waiting, DPA will also eventually be making the audio available on our website.    

SHARE.  We had an incredible response from media this year, including radio, TV, print and Internet.  One highlight was an op-ed by DPA President Ira Glasser in the New Orleans Times-Picayune on the day the conference began.  We’re archiving all media, and new stories, interviews and blog posts are still being added, so check back for updates.

SHOW.  Want a visual reminder of the conference for yourself or others?  Order a limited edition conference poster featuring an artwork by Fred Tomaselli; it is sure to become a collector’s item in years to come. Just go to DPA’s eStore.  They are guaranteed conversation-starters…

Thank you, deeply and genuinely, for your commitment to drug policy reform. Please take this opportunity to join DPA if you are not already a member and to make a contribution to support our work between now and the next time we all come together.  This year’s meeting was an incredible success, and we are already looking forward to 2009.

We hope you are too.

Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance

and

Stefanie Jones
Conference Coordinator
Drug Policy Alliance