Panel: Drug Legalization as a Public Health Measure

Every year, there are more than 1.5 million drug arrests in the United States. More than 80% of these arrests are for possession only. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia have already decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, and some are exploring the merits of decriminalizing other drugs.

While drug decriminalization is a step in the right direction, the conversation about drug legalization needs to be further explored. The so-called “War on Drugs” has been an epic failure and it will take love, determination, vision, and leadership to open people’s minds about ending prohibition. America has been conditioned to think prohibition against drugs is protecting our nation without giving much thought to the devastating effects our current criminal justice laws have had on communities of color, the working poor, and those who suffer from medical illnesses.

Please join the National Coalition for Drug Legalization and Students for Sensible Drug Policy for “Drug Legalization as a Public Measure ” on Wednesday, April 27th, at 6pm on the campus of John Hopkins University: Room W3030, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205. Register using this link.

Special guests include: 

Dr. Carl Hart, American psychologist and neuroscientist, Ziff Professor of Psychology at Columbia University, and the author of Drug Use for Grown Ups

Billy Murphy, JD, Attorney, Murphy, Falcon & Murphy

Jacob Rich, The Reason Foundation

Dr. Susan Sherman, John Hopkins School of Public Health

Dr. Saba Rouhani, John Hopkins School of Public Health

Michael Galipeau, MSW, Urban Survivors Union