Physically, Mentally, Emotionally Better: Psychedelics as Healing Agents

Ayahuasca, ibogaine, LSD, psilocybin and MDMA – each of these substances have widely varying physical effects and yet all have been used in ritual, treatment or psychotherapy for the betterment of mankind.  How close are we to proving that they have “accepted medical uses”?  Panelists discuss the philosophy and policy behind research and use of these substances.

Moderator: Jodie Evans, Venice, CA

Panelists:

• Jag Davies, Director of Communications, Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), Ben Lomond, CA
• Norbert Litzinger, Director of Development, Heffter Research Institute, Santa Fe, NM
• Mark Plotkin, Ethnobotanist and President, Amazon Conservation Team, Arlington, VA
• Kenneth Tupper, PhD Student, University of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Not the Usual Suspects: Working with Law Enforcement to Improve Drug Policy and Services

By carrying out punitive drug laws, law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system have fueled the War on Drugs for years. Current and former law enforcement officers, however, along with community organizations and citizens, have begun forming partnerships to create alternatives to the war on drugs and reduce the harms associated with current drug policy. Come learn from those who have been on the front of the War on Drugs and how their experiences now inform their opposition to current drug policy.

Moderator: Jack Cole, Executive Director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Medford, MA

Panelists:

• Dominic Holden, Chair, Sensible Seattle Coalition, Seattle, WA
• Thomas Wood, Chair, Action on Alcohol and Drugs, Edinburgh
• Dominick Zurlo, BS, Program Coordinator, Harm Reduction Outreach, Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, Albuquerque, NM

Understanding Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine is the latest drug de jour.  But did you know that methamphetamine was first synthesized in 1893? And that the first illegal meth lab appeared in the U.S. in the early 1960s? This panel explores the history of methamphetamine and methamphetamine policy in the U.S., the latest scientific research on the drug, and cutting-edge solutions to problems caused by both methamphetamine misuse and punitive methamphetamine policies.

Moderator: Luciano Colonna, Executive Director, Harm Reduction Project, Salt Lake City, UT

Panelists:

• Carl Hart, PhD, Associate Professor, Columbia University, New York, NY
• Susan Kingston, Public Health - Seattle & King County, Seattle, WA
• Nicolas Rasmussen, MPhil, PhD, MPH, University of NSW, Sydney, Australia
• Jacob Sullum, Senior Editor, Reason, Dallas, TX

Recovery Advocacy and Drug Policy Reform: Can't We All Just Get Along?

The intersection between recovery advocacy and drug policy reform has often been overshadowed by the underlying tension between harm reduction and the 12-step tradition. Panelists discuss the emerging movement of recovery advocacy that includes drug policy reform.

Moderator: Naomi Long, Director, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, DC

Panelists:

• Johnny Allem, MA, President/CEO, Johnson Institute, Washington, DC
• Wyndi Anderson, Consultant to International Harm Reduction Development Program, Washington, DC
• Donald Davis, New York Harm Reduction Educators (NYRHE), New York, NY
• Jason Flom, Chairman and CEO, Capital Music Group
• Howard Josepher, Executive Director, Exponents, New York, NY
• Mark Kinzly, Research Associate, New Haven, CT
• Dimitri Mobengo Mugianis, Freedomroot/VOCAL, Brooklyn, NY

How to Design and Implement an Opioid Overdose Prevention Program

This presentation provides an outline of the components of an opioid overdose prevention program. It addresses regulatory issues and defines the steps to implement an opioid overdose prevention program.

Presenters:

• Lauren Enteen, BA, DOPE Project Manager, Harm Reduction Coalition, Oakland, CA
• Caroline Rath, Opioid Overdose Project Coordinator, Harm Reduction Coalition, New York, NY

Drug Cultures in Post-Katrina New Orleans: Implications for Harm Reduction

Drug subcultures were very well developed in New Orleans pre-Katrina. Drug sellers were among the early returnees and remain important in post-Katrina New Orleans.  The near collapse of policing and criminal courts in New Orleans has substantially reduced the harms experienced by drug users/sellers due to criminal justice sanctions. Shifts in drug preferences among high risk populations and demands for return to harsher sanctioning may change the situation in New Orleans in 2008-09.

Presenters:

• Eloise Dunlap, PhD, Principal Investigator, National Development & Research Institutes, New York, NY
• Stanley Hoogerwerf, MS, Research Associate, National Development & Research Institutes, New Orleans, LA
• Edward Morse, PhD, Professor, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
• Gwangi Richardson-Alston, MSW  MPH, Ethnographer, National Development & Research Institutes, New Orleans, LA

Presenters:

• Antonio Maria Costa
• Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, MSW, International Harm Reduction Development Program Director, Open Society Institute, New York, NY

Question & Answer Session

This will be a follow up to the Antonio Maria Costa & Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch Plenary Session

Presenters:

• Antonio Maria Costa
• Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, MSW, International Harm Reduction Development Program Director, Open Society Institute, New York, NY

The Hidden Histories of Harm Reduction

Harm reduction has a complicated and dynamic history, which historians are just beginning to assess.  This panel is intended to explore the multiple histories of harm reduction, bringing together a diverse group of scholars to explore the evolution of an important social policy movement.

Moderator: Joseph Spillane, PhD, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Panelists:

• Caroline Acker, PhD, Associate Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
• Nancy Campbell, PhD, Associate Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
• Allan Clear, Executive Director, Harm Reduction Coalition, New York, NY
• Sheigla Murphy, PhD, Director, Center for Substance Abuse Studies, Institute for Scientific Analysis, San Francisco, CA

No Child Left Untested?: Fighting Back Against Random Student Drug Testing

For the last four years the Bush administration has been promoting random, suspicionless student drug testing as the "silver bullet" in combating teen drug use, despite evidence that it doesn't work, and in face of objections from the nation's leading experts in adolescent health. Students, parents, journalists, physicians and activists discuss their experiences on the front lines of the debate and access the road ahead.

Moderator: Jennifer Kern Research Associate, Drug Policy Alliance, San Francisco, CA

Panelists:

• Annette Fuentes, Journalist, Kerhonkson, NY
• Christopher Lauth, Student, Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL
• David Lewis, MD, Professor Emeritus of Community Health and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI
• William Sciambi, Parent, Pittstown, NJ

Drug Warriors Against the War

From the trenches to the benches, cops, judges, prosecutors and corrections officers are speaking out against the war on drugs.  Why are more and more criminal justice professionals speaking out against the drug war?  Who are they talking to and how can that help your organization achieve reforms?  Meet Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and discuss the reasons to legalize all drugs.

Presenters:

• James Anthony, JD, Law Offices of James Anthony, Oakland, CA
• Tim Datig, Speaker, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
• Mike Smithson, Speaker Bureau Director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Medford, MA
• Rusty White, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Bridgeport, TX

Anti-racist Organizing to End the War on Drugs 

In the drug policy reform movement, what does a commitment to end racism mean in practice? Why is an antiracist analysis important to the drug policy reform movement? Why is it imperative that white people develop an antiracist analysis in efforts to end the drug war? What are some basic antiracist organizing principles to help guide our work? The workshop is based in the belief that anti-racism is a catalyst for building powerful movements for justice in this country. Facilitators Clare Bayard and Gabriel Sayegh will lead the group through participatory exercises and discussions on anti-racist organizing. This workshop is designed for people who have white skin privilege, but all people are welcome to attend.

Presenters:

• Gabriel Sayegh, Director, State Organizing and Policy Project, Drug Policy Alliance, New York, NY
• Clare Bayard, Catalyst Project, San Francisco, CA
• Ingrid Chapman, Catalyst Project, Oakland, CA

Pregnant Women: Another Casualty of the Drug War

This panel explores the ways in which reproductive rights are eroded in the name of the war on drugs.   In addition to discussing cases in which women struggling with addiction during pregnancy are prosecuted as child abusers, the panel also addresses the misinformation and myths about prenatal exposure illegal drugs.

Moderator: Theshia Naidoo, Drug Policy Alliance, Berkley, CA

Panelists:

• Susan Boyd, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
• Tiloma Jayasinghe, JD, Baron Edmond de Rothschild Staff Attorney Fellow, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, New York, NY
• Lynn Paltrow, JD, Executive Director, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, New York, NY
• Duchy Trachtenberg MSW, Montgomery County Councilmember, Rockville, MD

Reefer Madness: Cannabis Law Enforcement Around the U.S.

Police arrest millions of people each year for marijuana violations, many of whom are charged with possession only.  Why is this happening?  What are the consequences of for those arrested, and the taxpayers who must foot the bill?  Researchers and activists consider the current policies and potential avenues for reform. 

Moderator: Ira Glasser, President, Drug Policy Alliance, New York, NY

Panelists:

• Bruce Johnson, PhD, Director, ISPR, National Development & Research Institutes, New York, NY
• Harry Levine, Professor, City University of New York, New York, NY
• Deborah Small, Executive Director, Break the Chains, New York, NY
• Mason Tvert, Executive Director, SAFER, Denver, CO

A Diamond in the Rough or a Model for Change? One City's Experiment in Taking on Racially-Biased Drug Enforcement

This panel consists of individuals, representing various strategies, who have made a conscious effort to integrate their work on a project to end racially-biased drug law enforcement practices by the Seattle Police Department. Learn how these panelists have integrated their work with others’ strategies, the challenges they faced and how they have worked to surmount them.

Moderator: Anjuli Verma, Advocacy Director, ACLU Drug Law Reform Project, Santa Cruz, CA  

Panelists:

• Sunil Abraham, J.D., Attorney, Racial Disparity Project, Seattle, WA
• Shakyra Diaz, Education Director, ACLU of Ohio, Cleveland, OH
• Andrew Ko, JD, Director - Drug Policy Reform Project, ACLU of Washington, Seattle, WA
• Katera Shannon, Community Organizer, The Defender's Association/Racial Disparity Project, Seattle, WA
• Carlie Ware, Staff Attorney, ACLU Drug Law Reform Project, Santa Cruz, CA

Creating an Effective Advocacy Campaign

Change starts with you!  In this interactive training, learn how to determine the best type advocacy campaign to develop, outline your campaign based on goals, assets and timeframe, and implement it in a role-playing scenario with other participants.

Presenter: Whitney Taylor, Marijuana Policy Project, Washington, DC

Post-Katrina, Can New Orleans Afford to Keep Fighting the Failed "War on Drugs?"

Discussion about the impact of relying on incarceration instead of treatment; the need for improved treatment options; the problem of, and ways to address, racial disparities in enforcement of drug laws; and consideration of sentencing reforms needed in the state.  The panelists describe the current and unique situation, post-Katrina, and suggest specific proposals moving forward.  

Moderator: Norris Henderson, Co-Director, Safe Streets Strong Communities, New Orleans, LA

Panelists:

• Judge Calvin Johnson, JD,  Criminal District Court - Orleans Parish, New Orleans, LA
• Kevin Lavine,  Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Byram, TX
• Else Pedersen-Wasson LAC, Executive Director, Bridge House, Corp., New Orleans, LA
• Tyrone Smith, Original Morning Star, New Orleans, LA
• Cory Turner, Advisor, Lousiana CURE, New Orleans, LA

Mexican Trends in Drug Policy and Public Opinion

This panel consists of individuals who are involved in research and policy initiatives which have implications for drug laws south of the border.  Experts evaluate what is going on regarding drug policy reform and the dangers and effects of harmful drug law enforcement practices.    

Moderator: Ricardo Sala, Director, Convivencia y espacio publico A.C., Mexico City, Distrito Federal

Panelists:

• Dr. Luis Astorga, Sociologist, Researcher, Institut of Social Research, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico
• Humberto Brocca MD, President, Picas y Platicas, Barrio la Conchita, Coyoacan, Mexico
• Jorge Tinajero, Asesor, Alternativa / AMECA, Coyoacan, Mexico
• Gady Zabicky, PhD,  Psychiatrist, EMEPP, Mexico City, Mexico

Evidence, Emotions and Ideology: Lessons for Drug Policy Reform from the Vexed Politics of Needle Exchange

Struggles over needle exchange and syringe access in the U.S. historically take the form of clashes between drug policy and public health.  This session provides a critical analysis of recent federal, state and local campaigns and controversies over syringe access, documenting how policy has shaped the range of both political and programmatic responses to the HIV and hepatitis C epidemics among drug injectors.

Presenters:

• Hilary McQuie, Western Director, Harm Reduction Coalition, Oakland, CA
• Daniel Raymond, Harm Reduction Coalition, New York, NY

Tobacco: the New Most Dangerous Drug?

Recent years have seen cigarette smoking become increasingly less culturally acceptable.  Similarly, the research continues to pile up about the dangers of smoking and of tobacco use.  Is it possible that we are heading toward a society that will make tobacco illegal?  Should we apply harm reduction principles to the practice of smoking, and if so, how do we do it?   

Moderator: Ernest Drucker, PhD, Professor, Einstein College of Medicine and Columbia University, NYC, NY

Panelists:

• Scott Ballin, JD, Steering Committee Member, Alliance for Health Economic and Agriculture Development (AHEAD), Washington, DC
• Cheryl Healton, Dr.P.H., President & CEO, American Legacy Foundation, Washington, DC
• Carl Phillips, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
• David Sweanor, JD, Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Onterio, Canada