Breaking Good - how to end the war on drugs

Join four international experts engage in a discussion on how the narrative of drugs as something “criminal” has resulted in poor drug policies and negative spillover into the realm of human rights, criminal justice systems, public health, development, and security. And what these experts and their organizations are doing to stop that.

“Breaking Good - how to end the war on Drugs” is the second installment in the The New School and Open Society Foundations discussion series Dialogues on Drug Policy. This talk examines international perspectives, experiences, and approaches in realizing the drug reform goals in Ecuador, Ghana, The United Kingdom, and The United States.

Featured Speakers:

Ecuador’s Rodrigo Vélez, Executive Director of Parametría and former Secretary of the National Council for the Control of Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances (CONSEP), who has worked on the challenges of the drug trade among vulnerable communities -- including women—and fighting for amnesty for carriers and petty sellers in Ecuador.

Ghana’s Maria Goretti-Ane Loglo, African consultant for International Drug Policy Consortium and private legal practitioner, an expert on national, regional and international drug control and an advocate for a human rights and health approach to drug policy.

The United Kingdom’s Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of Release, the UK’s longest running organization dedicated to providing free legal advice to people who use drugs since 1967.

Drug Policy Alliance's Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno, Executive Director, has committed herself to social justice and drug policy since her formative years in Peru. Drug Policy Alliance, a U.S. based non-profit organization has played a pivotal role in the legalization and regulation of cannabis throughout the country since the organization was established in 2000.

Kasia Malinowska, Director of the Global Drug Policy Program at the Open Society Foundations will lead the conversation.

A 30 minute Q&A session will follow.

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