International drug policy expert Ethan Nadelmann available for interviews

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

HOUSTON — (March 7, 2012) — Described by Rolling Stone magazine as “the point man” for drug-policy reform efforts, Ethan Nadelmann will join prosecutors, judges, law enforcement officials, religious figures, drug-reform advocates, defenders of current policy and academics at a March 9 conference at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

“Ethan Nadelmann is widely regarded as the outstanding proponent of drug-policy reform both in the United States and abroad,” said Bill Martin, who organized the conference — “The War on Drugs Has Failed. Is Legalization the Answer?” Martin is the Baker Institute’s Harry and Hazel Chavanne Senior Fellow in Religion and Public Policy.

Nadelmann is the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation’s leading drug-policy reform organization, and advocates for drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.

For more information on the conference, visit https://news2.rice.edu/2012/03/05/baker-institute-conference-to-weigh-alternatives-to-war-on-drugs-2/

The Baker Institute conference comes at a particularly timely moment, with Vice President Joe Biden currently in Mexico and Central America, where presidents are now calling for a serious dialogue about legalization and other alternatives to the U.S. war on drugs. Nadelmann recently returned from the region, where he met with business and governmental leaders at the highest levels. Nadelmann and the Drug Policy Alliance are also deeply involved in efforts to legalize marijuana, including initiatives in Washington state and Colorado that were recently approved for the ballot in November. Nadelmann will be in Houston on Thursday and Friday and is available for interviews. He can address issues specific to Texas, as well as national and international matters such as:

•    Current debate on drug legalization in Latin America.
•    Marijuana legalization initiatives on the 2012 ballot.
•    The state of drug policy reform in Texas.
•    Drug policy and the presidential candidates.

Nadelmann received his B.A., J.D. and Ph.D. in political science from Harvard as well as a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. Hetaught at Princeton University for seven years. Nadelmann’s writings have appeared in such outlets as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Science and National Review, and he has appeared on TV and radio programs, including “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “The Colbert Report,” ABC’s “Nightline,” a Ted Koppel special report, NBC’s “Today Show,” “NBC Nightly News,” CBS’s “48 Hours,” CBS morning news and “Larry King Live.”

To schedule an interview with Nadelmann, contact David Ruth at david@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.

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Related materials:

Ethan Nadelmann statement on Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to Mexico and Central America:

Interview with Ethan Nadelmann
Is Arias peace plan a model for Central America’s drug-war problem?
Guatemala’s Otto Perez is taking the lead on a subversive debate that’s not welcome by Washington

Founded in 1993, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston ranks among the top 20 university-affiliated think tanks globally and top 30 think tanks in the United States. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute sponsors more than 20 programs that conduct research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows and Rice University scholars. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.