In September 2003 the Drug Policy Alliance released a first-of-its-kind report detailing the numerous drug policy reforms that have taken place around the country in recent years. The report: State of the States: Drug Policy Reforms, 1996-2002 found more than 150 changes in state legislation on a range of issues, including: advancing alternatives to incarceration, protecting medical marijuana patients and providers, expanding sterile syringe availability, and restoring benefits and voting rights to former drug offenders.

These reforms reflect an emerging "harm reduction" consciousness among the public and legislatures: the awareness that not just drug abuse, but also misguided drug policies, can cause grave harms to individuals and society - and that the ideal policies are those which reduce both kinds of harm as effectively and humanely as possible. 

46 States Have Passed Drug Policy Reform Legislation between 1996 and 2002:

Download State of the States: Drug Policy Reforms, 1996-2002

Media across the nation reported on our findings