This event sponsored by: NYAM and The Drug Policy Alliance
Drug Policy for the 21st Century: New Directions for New York
Free Public event
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| "Anybody who sees the devastating impact of the drug trade in the inner cities, or the methamphetamine trade in rural communities, knows that this is a huge problem. I believe in shifting the paradigm, shifting the model, so that we focus more on a public-health approach." – Barack Obama, July 2008 |
For the last 35 years, New York's drug policies have been shaped by a criminal justice approach, most notably the Rockefeller Drug Laws. These policies come with a significant cost and have relatively modest effect in stopping substance misuse or reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with it. Meanwhile, New York City and State have emerged as national leaders in the fields of drug treatment and harm reduction—interventions that are often more effective and much cheaper than incarceration at reducing the death, disease, crime and suffering associated with drug use and addiction.
Many cities and countries in Europe, North America, and Asia have advanced coordinated health- and safety-based approaches to drug policies, notably the Four Pillars model (comprised of Prevention, Treatment, Public Safety and Harm Reduction ) in Switzerland and Vancouver, Canada. New York, by contrast, possesses many fine prevention, treatment and related health programs, but drug policies in the state remain compartmentalized and disconnected. One key factor blocking coordination is that not all service providers, policymakers, public safety personnel, and community advocates have a shared understanding of substance misuse and dependence as a public health problem.
The New York Academy of Medicine and the Drug Policy Alliance, organizations with decades of work clarifying issues of the predictors and community impact of drug use and misuse, invite policymakers, community members, and advocates to join a public discussion that will set the stage for understanding a public health approach to drug policy for New York.
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Ave
New York, NY 10029
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