NEWARK, NJ - On Saturday, March 19th, an unprecedented collection of community advocates, service providers, public safety personnel and public health professionals will come together at a day-long conference to chart a new course in drug policy for Drug policy experts from across the country and around the globe will discuss topics including: reducing crime and incarceration, effectively addressing addiction, treating drug use as a health issue, communities of color and the war on drugs, and drug policy lessons and models from abroad. When asked about the war on drugs on the campaign trail, President Barack Obama said, “I believe in shifting the paradigm, shifting the model, so that we focus more on a public health approach [to drugs].” Polls show the American people agree. President Obama’s drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, told the Wall Street Journal last year that he doesn’t like the term “war on drugs” because “[w]e’re not at war with people in this country.” Yet for the tens of millions of Americans who have been arrested and incarcerated for a drug offense, “We see the impact of the ‘drug war’ first hand, where so many people are incarcerated for being economically disadvantaged by the disappearance of work,” says The conference will be guided by four principles: Panel members and conference speakers include: · Rev. Dr. M. William Howard, Jr., pastor,
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· Paula T. Dow, New Jersey Attorney General
· Garry F. McCarthy, police director, City of
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· Beny Primm, MD, executive director, Addiction, Research and Treatment Corporation,
· Todd Clear, dean,
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· Stephanie Bush-Baskette, Esq., Author and Director of the
· Deborah Peterson Small, Founder and Executive Director, Break the Chains: Communities of Color & the War on Drugs