Ethan Nadelmann
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Ethan Nadelmann (b. March 13, 1957 in New York City) is the founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, the leading organization in the United States promoting drug policy reform and alternatives to the war on drugs.
Nadelmann was born in New York City and received his BA, JD, and PhD from Harvard University, and a masters degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. He then taught politics and public affairs at Princeton University from 1987 to 1994, where his speaking and writings on drug policy — in publications ranging from Science and Foreign Affairs to American Heritage and National Review — attracted international attention. He also authored the book, Cops Across Borders, the first scholarly study of the internationalization of U.S. criminal law enforcement.
In 1994, Nadelmann founded the Lindesmith Center, a drug policy institute created with the philanthropic support of George Soros. In 2000, the growing Center merged with another organization to form the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. Described by Rolling Stone as “the point man” for drug policy reform efforts, Ethan Nadelmann is widely regarded as the outstanding proponent of drug policy reform both in the United States and abroad.
Nadelmann has attracted much controversy over his stance that the United States should legalize drugs. He has specifically called for mail-order drugs to be available to adults in the U.S. The beginning of his speech at the 2005 International Drug Policy Reform Conference, in Long Beach, California, reads:
Who are we? We are people who love drugs. They say we like drugs. It's true. Especially marijuana. Marijuana has been good for us. God put it here for a reason and we need to find a way to live with it in peace. But we are also people who hate drugs. We have suffered from overdoses and addiction. But we know that drugs are here to stay, and prohibition and the criminal justice system is not the way to deal with it. And we are people who don't care about drugs. People who care about the Constitution, who care about 2.2 million Americans behind bars, who care about fundamental rights and freedoms.
