DRCNET FOUNDATION INC
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Mission Statement
StoptheDrugWar.org works for an end to prohibition (e.g. for some form of "legalization") and the "drug war" in its current form. We want to replace the illicit drug trade and criminalization with a combination of regulation, health and social programs addressing substances' risks and harms. We see enforcement as having a role in a better drug policy, but not the central role. We have this goal, and not solely for marijuana (though involved in marijuana policy) because we believe much of the harm commonly attributed to drugs is really the result of placing drugs in a criminal environment. We believe the global drug war has fueled violence, civil instability, and public health crises, and we see the arrest- and punishment-based policies still prevalent for drugs as unjust. We also work on partial but important reform efforts that are politically feasible in the shorter term. Some issues we're involved in include sentencing and policing reform, advocacy for harm reduction practices such as needle exchange and naloxone distribution, demilitarization of US-driven drug policy in Latin America and other regions (including the US border), availability of substances for medical use, and human rights as affected by drug policies. We are primarily US-based, but involved not only in US federal and state policies, but also foreign policy. We are part of the global community of reform-minded NGOs who advocate in international venues. We are a "niche" organization, in that at any given time we focus our limited budget and staffing on a few programs for which we are able to make a unique or disproportionate impact. One of our current emphases is international drug policy, including work at the United Nations, as well as a high-profile campaign to stop the brutal drug war killings happening in the Philippines. Our other main program is the Drug War Chronicle newsletter, in its 21st year as of this writing. The Chronicle is the only place to go for comprehensive reporting on all the important developments in the full range of drug war issues.
About This Cause
StoptheDrugWar.org publishes the web site http://stopthedrugwar.org and the Drug War Chronicle newsletter, a widely-read publication that is a staple tool of organizations and advocates worldwide and a venue in which their work is highlighted to others. Click here for some examples of how people put our newsletter to use. Our current advocacy focus is international drug policy. We organized sign-on letters and statements during the lead-up to the April 2016 "UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem" (UNGASS), and continue to promote a broad policy reform agenda for the UN and the US Congress and administration. In March 2017 we organized a side event on extrajudicial killings in the drug war, focusing on the situation in the Philippines, at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs meeting in Vienna. Vice President Leni Robredo of the Philippines sent a speech by video for the event, which criticized the killings and other aspects of President Duterte's drug policies. (Robredo was attacked in the media by the president's spokesperson and by the Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, among others, leading to a high-profile but so far unsuccessful drive to impeach her.) We have continued with advocacy related to the Philippines, most recently organizing a global sign-on statement before the November 2017 ASEAN Summit that calls for international pressure to stop the killings and for a process of accountability. From 1998 through 2006, StoptheDrugWar.org organized a nationwide campaign to repeal a law that delays or denies college aid to students because of drug convictions. Much of our work on that campaign consisted of building a national coalition made up of hundreds of organizations opposed to the law. Also as part of the student aid/drug conviction campaign, StoptheDrugWar.org sponsored the John W. Perry Fund scholarship program to assist students affected by the law. Today, flowing out of that work, we support sign-on letters to Congress on a range of drug policy and criminal justice reform issues, developed by DC-based working groups we participate in, recruiting signatories for the letters through our network of organizational contacts.