Selected Video from the 2013 International Drug Policy Reform Conference

2013 Reform Conference Highlight Video

More than 1,100 drug policy reformers went to Denver, Colorado to discuss an exit strategy from the war on drugs. The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) produced a short video to feature the best moments of the conference.

Opening Plenary

• Jared Polis is the member of the United States House of Representatives for Colorado's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2009. He welcomes attendees to Colorado and talks about the legislation he introduced, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, that would remove the DEA's authority over marijuana law enforcement and leave it to the states to decide whether to prohibit marijuana or not.
• Ethan Nadelmann, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, tells attendees we “may have hit a tipping point,” referring to major marijuana law reforms in the US and in Latin America.
• Rev. Edwin Sanders, senior servant at the Metropolitan Interdenominational Church and coordinator, Religious Leaders for a More Just and Compassionate Drug Policy, leads attendees in song and reminds the audience of the moral imperative for drug policy reform work.
• Ifetayo Harvey, a student at Smith College, tells attendees how her father’s arrest and deportation challenged her young life and made her determined to bring about change.

Closing Plenary

• Jasiri X, a Pittsburgh-based Hip Hop artist speaks about the harms of the war on drugs on communities of color.
• Lisa Maria Sanchez Ortega, from Espolea and Transform, said the Latin American continent has suffered the most from the war on drugs.
• Lisa Raville, executive director of the Harm Reduction Action Center in Colorado said: “If you are not angry, you are not paying attention!” 
• Tripti Tandon of the Lawyers Collective, India tells us that her challenge is to dismantle the (negative) intended consequences of the war on drugs. 
• Karen Garrison and Dorothy Gaines share stories about how their families have suffered due to the war on drugs. 
• Ira Glasser, the former director of the American Civil Liberties Union and current Board president of the Drug Policy Alliance talks about the unstoppable train of drug policy reform.
• Kassandra Frederique, New York Policy Coordinator at the Drug Policy Alliance, tells attendees how she was converted into a drug policy reformer, and invites them to the 2015 Reform Conference to be held in the Washington DC metro area.

Awards for Achievement in Drug Policy Reform