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We’re leading the way together Policy Alliance Annual Report Table of Contents 7 Ending Prohibition 13 Ending the Drug War and Mass Incarceration 17 Promoting Health, Reducing Harm 23 Foundation Support 24 Advocacy Grants 25 Board and Honorary Board 26 Financial Statements

The work described herein includes that of the Alliance, a 501(c)(3) organization, and Drug Policy Action, a 501(c)(4) organization. References to “DPA” refer to the work of both organizations.

At DPA’s Reform Conference, asha bandele of DPA joined with activists Kemba Smith, who was granted clemency by President Clinton in 2000, and Jason Hernandez, the first Latino to receive clemency from President Obama. Both were convicted of nonviolent drug offenses – Smith was sentenced to 24.5 years behind bars, while Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison. Letter from the President and Executive Director

Are You Ready to Make the Drug War History?

Never before has the ground been more Making marijuana legal has always been a big fertile for a fundamental shift in our part of our work. Beginning with California in nation’s drug policies. 1996, DPA has played a pivotal role in roughly half of the campaigns that have legalized As a DPA member, you can be proud of the medical marijuana, most recently in . real change you’ve helped bring to fruition. As We’re also the only organization that played a result of our work, hundreds of thousands of a role in all the victorious campaigns to legalize people have been diverted from incarceration, marijuana more broadly – and millions of people can safely access marijuana in 2012, Uruguay in 2013, without being considered criminals, and states and Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., like California, Colorado, Connecticut, New in 2014. Jersey, and New York have saved millions – and in some cases, billions – But ending marijuana prohibition is only part of dollars by eliminating wasteful and of what DPA does. DPA’s mission is to end ineffective drug law enforcement, prosecution the drug war, which means treating drug use and prison expenditures. and addiction as health issues, not criminal

www.drugpolicy.org 3 Letter from the President and Executive Director (continued)

issues. It means supporting we’ve compromised on our principles interventions to reduce the death, disease, but because the mainstream is heading crime, and suffering associated with both drug in our direction. use and drug prohibition. Recent rhetorical and policy shifts among It means not arresting people for possessing or elected officials and policymakers are using any drug, absent harm to others. And encouraging but still far too timid and modest. it means drastically reducing the number of That’s why we – you, DPA, and our allies – people locked up for drug law violations. need to be agents of change. We lead, so that elected officials may follow. That is the nature Our movement is fast maturing. DPA’s biennial of movements for individual freedom and gathering in Washington D.C. last year justice. How well we do it, not what our leaders drew over 1,500 people from 71 countries – initiate, will determine the pace and scope dramatically more than ever before. We came of change. together to celebrate our many successes but also to vigorously debate issues raised by the DPA’s approach has been grounded, since #BlackLivesMatter movement, the disease our origins, in three principles: freedom, model of addiction, and the growing role of responsibility and compassion. We believe that for-profit interests in marijuana policy reform. people should not be punished solely for what they put into their bodies but only for crimes Even as we step up our attacks on drug war that hurt others. We insist that both individuals policies we increasingly find ourselves working and governments be held responsible for the with people in government, at local, state, harmful consequences of their actions. And federal and international levels – not because we know that when people struggle with

4 2015 Annual Report Letter from the President and Executive Director (continued)

drug misuse, compassion is typically more “Never before effective, humane and fiscally responsible has the ground than punishment. been more The shift in public opinion toward these same principles is now accelerating. Yet the assault fertile for a on American citizens and others continues, with 700,000 people still arrested for marijuana fundamental offenses each year and almost 500,000 people still behind bars for nothing more than a drug shift in law violation.

our nation’s The end of the tragic war on is within drug policies.” our grasp. But we must reach for it together.

Ira Glasser, , President Executive Director

www.drugpolicy.org 5 Mainstream media continues to use cliched “stoner” images for otherwise serious news stories about marijuana. Our alternative library of stock photos was created to fight this stereotype, and features real, everyday people who use marijuana. Ending Marijuana Prohibition – And Ensuring Responsible and Inclusive Legal Regulation

DPA works to repeal marijuana prohibition even as we mobilize external pressure to and create sensible systems of regulation ensure laws are enacted in good faith. Our for adult use. We support creating access public relations work has generated earned to marijuana for medical purposes and media coverage valued at tens of millions of decriminalizing marijuana in places where dollars over the years, shaping national and legalization is not yet politically feasible but international perception in ways that advance where wasteful, racially disproportionate mass our agenda. arrests persist. And we look for ways to leverage marijuana policy reform to help rebuild We ended 2014 on an up note, with communities most harmed by prohibition marijuana legalization measures passing in and criminalization. Oregon, Washington, D.C., and Alaska. 2015 was a year we worked on implementing Our work goes well beyond legislative and these successes, while making tremendous ballot initiative campaigns. Ensuring effective efforts to lay the groundwork for marijuana implementation is essential. We work closely legalization initiatives potentially on the with government agencies to devise regulations ballot in California, Nevada, Arizona, Maine

www.drugpolicy.org 7 Ending Marijuana Prohibition (continued)

and Massachusetts, and medical marijuana medical marijuana, we’ve since been working initiatives in Florida, Arkansas, Ohio hard to improve and expand the law. In fall of and Missouri. 2015, we successfully led an effort to pass an “emergency access” bill to expedite the state’s 2015 also marked a breakthrough in our work program for some patients. on Capitol Hill to reform federal marijuana policy. We played an instrumental role in And much of the year’s most exciting news several successful legislative efforts, such as came from elsewhere in the hemisphere. In renewing legislation that cuts off funding for Jamaica, we helped draft legislation and advised the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) senior ministers and elected officials from both and other federal law enforcement agencies to political parties on sweeping reforms enacted interfere with state medical marijuana laws. in June 2015 that decriminalized marijuana possession and created protections for religious, We also played a pivotal role in the scientific and medical uses. In Canada, where introduction of the historic CARERS Act, we’ve advised four successive Vancouver sponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), mayors, new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Rand Paul (R-KY), and Kristen Gillibrand has promised to legalize marijuana. In (D-NY), a sweeping reform bill that would Mexico, where the Supreme Court issued a end federal interference with state medical ruling in October that could pave the way for marijuana laws, ease restrictions on medical legalization, we testified before Congress and research, and enable banks to provide financial advised attorneys involved in this seminal case services to marijuana businesses. as well as elected officials and allies. None of this would be happening, of course, if not for After leading the campaign in 2014 that made our successful efforts to make marijuana legal New York the 23rd state to allow legal access to in the U.S.

8 2015 Annual Report After “It’s heartening to see that tens of thousands of otherwise law-abiding legalization, Coloradans have been spared the Colorado travesty of getting handcuffed or pot arrests being charged for small amounts of marijuana. By focusing on public plunge health rather than criminalization, Colorado is better positioned to address the potential harms of marijuana use, while diminishing many of the worst aspects of the .”

Art Way Colorado State Director and Senior Director, National Criminal Justice Reform Strategy Ending Marijuana Prohibition (continued)

DPA’s leadership role requires us to help That’s a positive development insofar as it manage two parallel challenges with nuance, means that legal profit seekers will play a vision and all the resources we can bring to leading role in ending the pervasive and racially bear. Within the U.S., we must negotiate the disproportionate arrests, illegal markets and twists and turns of the struggle between policy many other harms of marijuana prohibition. reforms at the state and local level and our But legislators, citizens and advocates for civil opponents’ vigorous efforts to undermine that rights and liberties as well as public health and progress. And internationally we must assist our equitable economic development will need to allies in reforming their own drug laws in the do all we can to ensure that post-prohibition face of persistent pressures to sustain the global policies reflect the values that have driven drug prohibition regime. marijuana reform until now.

We’re entering a new era of marijuana law We took a lot of important steps in 2015, but reform in which the influence of philanthropic 2016 is shaping up to be the most significant funders and organizations driven primarily by year yet for moving toward our ultimate goal concerns for civil rights and personal liberties, of ending federal marijuana prohibition. and not by any financial interest in legalizing marijuana, will be superseded by people and companies driven largely by their pursuit of legal profits.

10 2015 Annual Report Marijuana Legalization in the U.S.

“With California and some other, smaller states hopefully legalizing marijuana in 2016, the federal government will be forced to reckon Marijuana Medical legalization marijuana with this. We’re hoping that this leads to the end of marijuana prohibition nationally.” Potential marijuana Potential medical legalization ballot marijuana ballot Lynne Lyman initiatives in 2016 initiatives in 2016 California State Director Audience members applaud at the conclusion of a DPA national town hall, “Connecting the Dots: Where the and #BlackLivesMatter Movements Intersect.” Ending the Drug War and Mass Incarceration

Almost half a million people, disproportionately bars today as a result of DPA’s efforts – and black and Latino, are locked up in U.S. prisons hundreds of thousands who either did not go and jails today because of drug prohibition. to jail or prison, or who spent less time there, It costs many billions of dollars annually to because of our work. incarcerate them. The 2014 election was a big turning point for Even as support for criminal justice reform our criminal justice reform efforts, revealing an grows dramatically, drug policy reform is more electorate eager to reduce prison populations than ever the cutting-edge of broader efforts and the power of the prison industrial complex. to end mass incarceration and re-envision the California took a significant step toward ending criminal justice system. mass incarceration and the war on drugs by approving Proposition 47 – which we assisted DPA has been at the forefront of many, perhaps on drafting while providing financial support most, major drug sentencing reforms over the for the campaign – thereby changing simple past two decades. It’s safe to say that there are and other petty offenses from a many tens of thousands fewer people behind felony to a misdemeanor, with groundbreaking

www.drugpolicy.org 13 Ending the Drug War and Mass Incarceration (continued)

retroactive resentencing provisions. Since win in New Mexico from attack by the law its passage, we’ve helped ensure effective enforcement lobby. implementation and worked closely with local allies to help thousands of people remove a We also broke new ground in California in felony drug conviction from their record. 2015 by taking on challenging issues around criminal justice and immigration, passing DPA also led a first-of-its-kind, hard-fought two bills through the legislature to reduce the battle to reform the broken bail system in likelihood that immigrants are deported for , where 75% of the 15,000 people minor drug possession, a common occurrence in its jails were simply awaiting trial rather that breaks up families by the thousands than serving a sentence, often just too poor to every year. make bail. This victory set a new model for the nation and will significantly reduce the number We’re leading efforts, meanwhile, to initiate of people behind bars in New Jersey for and implement Law Enforcement Assisted nothing more than a low-level drug Diversion (LEAD) programs in several cities law violation. across the country such as Santa Fe, NM, Albany, NY and , CA. This is the Perhaps most impressively, 2015 saw us win an closest thing to Portugal-style enormous victory in New Mexico, where we in the U.S. and a major step toward our led a successful effort to pass legislation that ultimate goal of ending arrests and criminal eliminated civil asset forfeiture in the state. We penalties for drug use and possession. In July, are now working in Congress and many states DPA convened a historic two-day summit around the country to replicate and build on – at the White House, of all places – with this landmark triumph as well as to defend our government officials and community leaders

14 2015 Annual Report Ending the Drug War and Mass Incarceration (continued)

from over 30 city, county and state jurisdictions has continued to speak out forcefully against to learn about how this innovative program can mass incarceration and challenged Congress to drastically reduce the role of criminalization in send him legislation that would end mandatory drug policy. minimums and reduce sentences for those behind bars. And in perhaps the most bitterly divided Congress ever, we’re working closely with With your support, more and more legislators from both sides of the aisle to policymakers and elected officials are realizing reform mandatory minimum drug laws. These that for the sake of our safety and health – disastrous laws have put millions of people and their careers – it makes sense to reduce behind bars – sometimes for life – for low-level the role of criminalization in drug policy. nonviolent drug offenses. President Obama

Simple possession of drugs like and is still a felony in 34 states.

www.drugpolicy.org 15 U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand speak in support of the CARERS Act during a press conference at DPA’s New York office. Promoting Health, Reducing Harm

DPA is leading the fight to reduce the death, with Kentucky and Indiana passing legislative disease, crime and suffering associated with reforms to initiate such programs. both drug use and drug prohibition. This means supporting harm reduction interventions We also promote counseling and treatment, grounded in science, compassion, health and including maintenance therapies such as human rights. methadone, buprenorphine and prescribed heroin programs for people struggling Earlier in DPA’s history, our major focus was with addiction. reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS by making syringes legally available. We passed reforms But more than a decade ago, DPA took the in California, New Jersey and New York, and lead in addressing the rapidly growing number continue to devote resources to this work. This of overdose deaths, which recently surpassed paid off in a big way in 2015, with Congress auto accidents as the leading cause of accidental overturning the decades-long ban on federal death in the U.S. funding for syringe access programs, and

www.drugpolicy.org 17 Promoting Health, Reducing Harm (continued)

The past couple years have been transformative In California, we’re especially proud to have for overdose prevention efforts in the U.S., and led a successful effort in 2014 that made it the much of it can be credited to your support. first state to pass a law that permits pharmacists Since 2014, 18 states have passed legislation to furnish naloxone upon request. It was to increase access to the overdose antidote, previously available only by prescription from naloxone, and “911 Good Samaritan” laws a healthcare provider or from a small handful to stop arresting and prosecuting people for of naloxone distribution programs throughout drug possession when they call 911 to report the state. an overdose. In 2015, CVS became the first chain pharmacy In New Jersey, where Gov. Christie initially to sell naloxone without a prescription, as a opposed our efforts, we won him over with direct result of our efforts. We’re now urgently hard-fought campaigns. He signed our 2013 working to expand over-the-counter naloxone overdose prevention bill and another in 2015 to many more states. to expand prevention efforts. Last year alone, police officers in the state saved the lives of In Congress, the federal Stop Overdose Stat more than 1,819 people with naloxone, and Act, drafted and supported by DPA, passed now 98% of all law enforcement agencies are its first committee and has gained over 50 trained to use it. The numbers for both would co-sponsors. And President Obama announced be zero were it not for the laws that DPA an initiative that will significantly increase helped pass and implement. It’s a great example the availability of naloxone and access of how policy change is the single most efficient to buprenorphine. way to deal with this problem.

18 2015 Annual Report Thanks to you, naloxone access and 911 Good Samaritan reforms are saving lives every day in states around the country.

States that have States that have States that have passed a Naloxone passed a 911 Good passed both Access Law Samaritan Law Promoting Health, Reducing Harm (continued)

Another key development in 2015 was our crisis is finally emerging. DPA was one of the work building support for the first supervised first organizations sounding the alarm about injection facility (SIF) in the . the problem at a time when the politics around SIFs are places where people who inject drugs drug policy, and the political climate in general, can consume safely and connect with health were far less favorable and even hostile. care services. There is overwhelming evidence from the nearly 100 SIFs operating in 68 cities It is now up to us to ensure the nation’s focus worldwide that they drastically reduce new on overdose and the growing problems around HIV infections, overdoses, and public nuisance opiate abuse does not lead to a backlash, that without increasing drug use or criminal activity. well-intentioned bills do not contain bad They also provide enormous fiscal benefits provisions, that good policy is implemented in to taxpayers. With your continued support, good faith, and that steady progress continues this life-saving strategy will be coming to the to be made across the country. U.S. soon. Many thanks to you for making all of this Between all the policy victories and the possible. Your support is helping save lives groundswell of press coverage, it’s clear that a every day, all over the country. nationwide movement to address the overdose

20 2015 Annual Report How to “The good news about overdoses is that many of them Survive are preventable. The fundamental the Heroin problem we’re facing is the Epidemic stigma surrounding drug use in general, and toward injection drug use in particular—that stigma is killing people.”

Julie Netherland Director of Academic Engagement The partnered with Human Intonation, an apparel brand dedicated to raising social awareness, to create t-shirts and tank tops that spread the love for drug policy reform. Visit drugpolicy.org/store to get your #NoMoreDrugWar tee or tank. Foundation Support

DPA received grants from 26 local and Brightwater Fund national foundations in 2015. Most Buck Foundation support specific parts of our agenda that align with their own organizational Change Happens Foundation priorities, on issues including criminal justice reform, racial justice, human Curtis W. McGraw Foundation rights, civil liberties, HIV/AIDS Doris Goodwin Walbridge Foundation prevention, and public health. Elton John AIDS Foundation

Fund for New Jersey

Herb Block Foundation

Hugh M. Hefner Foundation

Jacob & Valeria Langeloth Foundation

Jockey Hollow Foundation

John M. Lloyd Foundation

Levi Strauss Foundation

Libra Foundation

MAC AIDS Fund

New York Foundation

New York State Health Foundation

Open Society Foundations

Proteus Fund

PSEG Fund

Public Welfare Foundation

RiverStyx Foundation

Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust

Santa Fe Community Foundation

Shanbrom Family Foundation

Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation Advocacy Grants

The Drug Policy Alliance Advocacy New York Academy of Medicine Drug Policy Project of Utah Grants Program promotes policy VOCAL Louisiana Public Health Institute change and advances drug policy A Better Way Foundation Cleo Parker Robinson Dance reform at the local, state and national levels by strategically funding smaller, AlterNet Trinity United Church of Christ geographically limited or single-issue DRCNet Sawbuck Productions, Inc. projects. Funded annually at a level Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii The Ordinary People Society of roughly $1.2 million, the Advocacy Drug Truth Network Twelves Organization Grants program raises awareness and promotes policy change through Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy/ CommonSenseNOLA two vehicles: the Promoting Policy Roosevelt University United Methodist Church, General Board Change Program and the Special Institute of the Black World of Church and Society Opportunities Program. North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition One Voice Mississippi Promoting Policy Change People’s Harm Reduction Alliance A New PATH/Moms United Protect Families First A New Way of Life Reentry Project Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference California Society of Addiction Medicine Southern Coalition for Social Justice CANGRESS/LA CAN The Ordinary People Society Center for Living and Learning Women With a Vision Legal Services for Prisoners with Children Regional Reentry Partnership Special Opportunities Program Oakland Community Organizations California Hepatitis Alliance Progressive Christians Uniting/Justice VOCAL Not Jails Students for Sensible Drug Policy San Francisco Drug Users’ Union DanceSafe William C. Velasquez Institute Partnership for Safety and Justice Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Texas Criminal Justice Coalition Harm Reduction Action Center Immigrant Defense Project New Mexico Women’s Justice Project BOOMHealth Young Women United Suncoast Harm Reduction Project BOOMHealth Canadian Students for Sensible Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester Drug Policy Center for Law and Justice Intercambios Puerto Rico Justice Strategies Community Thrive Drug Policy Alliance Drug Policy Alliance Honorary Board Board of Directors

Former Mayor Rocky Anderson The Hon. Larry Campbell Harry Belafonte Senator, The Senate of Canada David C. Lewis, MD Former Defense Secretary Founding Director, Center for and Deepak Chopra Christine Downton Addiction Studies, Brown University Congressman John Conyers, Jr. Former Vice Chairman and Founding [1916-2009] Partner of Pareto Partners Pamela Lichty Ram Dass President, Drug Policy Forum of Hawai’i Dr. Vincent Dole [1913-2006] Jodie Evans Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders Co-founder, CODEPINK Ethan Nadelmann, JD, PhD, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner Executive Director (Ret.) James E. Ferguson, II Former Police Chief Penny Harrington Senior Partner, Ferguson, Stein, Chambers Josiah Rich, MD Calvin Hill Law Offices Professor of Medicine and Community Arianna Huffington Health, The Warren Alpert Medical School Former Governor Gary Johnson Jason Flom of Brown University U.S. District Court Judge John Kane President, Lava Records Former Attorney General Nicholas deB. Rev. Edwin Sanders, Secretary Katzenbach [1922-2012] Ira Glasser, President Senior Servant, Metropolitan Former Police Chief Joseph McNamara President of Board Interdenominational Church [1934-2014] Former Executive Director, American Civil Coordinator, Religious Leaders for a More Former Police Commissioner Patrick V. Liberties Union Just and Compassionate Drug Policy Murphy [1920-2011] Dr. Beny J. Primm [1928-2015] , PhD Michael Skolnik Dennis Rivera New York State Psychiatric Institute Editor-in-Chief, Globalgrind.com Former Mayor Kurt Schmoke Political Director to Russell Simmons Dr. Charles Schuster [1930-2011] Kenneth Hertz Alexander Shulgin [1925-2014] Senior Partner, Hertz Lichtenstein & Young Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz LLP Chairman, Soros Fund Management Russell Simmons U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet Mathilde Krim, PhD Ilona Szabó de Carvalho Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Founding Chair, American Foundation for Director, Igarapé Institute Paul Volcker AIDS Research (amfAR)

International Honorary Board Ruth Dreifuss Václav Havel [1936-2011] Sting Drug Policy Alliance, a 501(c)(3) Organization Total Liabilities Mortgage payables Note payables Due toDrugPolicy Action Accrued compensatedabsences accrued expenses Accounts payableand LIABILITIES Total Assets leasehold improvements,net Property, equipmentand Deposits Prepaid expensesandotherassets Accounts receivable Grants receivable,net Investments Cash andcashequivalents ASSETS FY 2015 Statement ofFinancialPosition Drug Policy Alliance, TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS Total Net Assets Temporarily restricted Unrestricted NET ASSETS $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 12,927,317 12,927,317 5,643,129 4,936,281 1,419,251 5,859,945 6,159,058 7,067,372 2,872,254 3,000,000 (299,113) 150,000 351,655 693,463 698,992 89,422 96,137 44,105 Net assets,Endofyear Net assets,Beginningofyear CHANGE INNET ASSETS Temporarily restricted Unrestricted CHANGE INNET ASSETS Total Income temporarily restricted Contributions Contributions unrestricted SUPPORT AND REVENUE Total Expenses Fundraising Management Program Expenses EXPENSES FY 2015 Statement of Activities Drug Policy Alliance, Total Expenses Fundraising Management Program Expenses $12,477,518 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ (2,217,360) 14,293,267 10,260,158 12,477,518 5,859,945 4,044,196 4,033,109 4,033,109 1,704,061 1,477,857 9,295,600 Drug Policy Action, a 501(c)(4) Organization TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS accrued expenses Accounts payableand LIABILITIES Total Assets Grants receivable Note receivable Due fromDrugPolicy Alliance Investments Cash andcashequivalents ASSETS FY 2015 Statement ofFinancialPosition Drug Policy Action, the DrugPolicy Alliance andDrugPolicy Action. commitments reflectastrongcurrentandfuture financialoutlookfor to nineyearsanddoesnotconstituteanendowment. These donor pledges areprojectedfuturerevenuethatwill bereceivedwithinone made multi-yearpledgestotheseorganizations. These unfulfilled Several DrugPolicy Alliance andDrugPolicy Action donors have Total Net Assets Temporarily restricted Unrestricted NET ASSETS $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 42,155,687 18,870,581 23,285,106 42,210,488 23,949,582 12,227,485 42,210,488 3,000,000 2,883,421 150,000 54,801 FY 2015 Statement of Activities Drug Policy Action, Total Expenses Fundraising Management Program Expenses EXPENSES Total Expenses Net assets,Endofyear Net assets,Beginningofyear CHANGE INNET ASSETS Temporarily restricted Unrestricted CHANGE INNET ASSETS Total Income temporarily restricted Contributions Contributions unrestricted SUPPORT AND REVENUE Fundraising Management Program Expenses $3,252,388 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ (6,550,000) (6,550,000) 42,155,687 42,606,141 6,099,546 3,252,388 3,072,678 2,801,934 9,351,934 171,407 8,303 California District of Columbia New York Los Angeles, CA Washington, D.C. Drug Policy Alliance [email protected] [email protected] Headquarters 131 West 33rd Street Bay Area, CA New Jersey 15th Floor [email protected] Trenton, NJ New York, NY 10001 [email protected] Colorado 212.613.8020 phone Denver, CO New Mexico 212.613.8021 fax [email protected] Santa Fe, NM [email protected] [email protected] www.drugpolicy.org