It has been over forty years since President Richard Nixon officially declared a "war on drugs." A trillion dollars and millions of ruined lives later, the war on drugs remains a miserable failure. Emily Kaltenbach asks us to revise our strategies for combating drug misuse based on knowledge — developing a strategy designed to get us to a place where politics no longer trumps science, compassion, common sense, and fiscal prudence in addressing the misuse of drugs.
Emily Kaltenbach is the state director for Drug Policy Alliance's New Mexico office. Prior to joining DPA, she served as the director of Policy and Planning at the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department and served as the acting director for New Mexico's Office of Health Care Reform.