Doctors for Drug Policy Reform

{{Infobox organization

| name = Doctors for Drug Policy Reform

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| abbreviation = D4DPR

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| formation = {{Start date and years ago|2015|09|30}}

| type = NGO

| purpose = Evidence-based drug policies that support public health, human rights, social justice, and consumer protections

| headquarters = Washington, DC

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| region_served = International

| general =

| leader_title = President

| leader_name = Bryon Adinoff, MD, DLFAPA, DFAAAP

| key_people = David L. Nathan, MD, DFAPA (founder and past president)

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| website = [http://www.d4dpr.org/ d4dpr.org]

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Doctors for Drug Policy Reform, or D4DPR (formerly known as Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, or DFCR) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as a global voice for licensed health professionals and scientists advocating for evidence-based drug policies and best practices that advance public health, reduce stigma, and minimize harm. D4DPR leverage the expertise, compassion, and influence of licensed health professionals to enact changes in drug policy necessary to improve public health, human rights, social justice, and consumer protections.{{Cite web|title=Home|url=https://d4dpr.org/|access-date=2023-12-01|website=Doctors for Drug Policy Reform|language=en-US}} D4DPR, formerly DFCR, was founded in 2015 by David L. Nathan. In 2021, Dr. Bryon Adinoff, an addictionologist, researcher, and editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse succeeded Nathan to become D4DPR's second president.{{Cite web|title=D4DPR Announces Dr. Bryon Adinoff as President|url=https://www.d4dpr.org/post/dfcr-announces-dr-bryon-adinoff-as-president/|access-date=2023-12-01|website=Doctors for Drug Policy Reform|language=en-US}}

Over the years, DFCR and D4DPR have had notable leaders, spokespeople, and subject matter experts, including Chris Beyrer, Joycelyn Elders, Lester Grinspoon, Peter Grinspoon, Carl Hart, Julie Holland, David C. Lewis, Ethan Nadelmann, David Nutt, Beny Primm, Andrew Solomon, Andrew Weil, and Ken Wolski.{{Cite web|title=Leadership|url=https://www.d4dpr.org/leadership|access-date=2023-12-01|website=Doctors for Drug Policy Reform|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=D4DPR Experts|url=https://www.d4dpr.org/experts|access-date=2023-12-01|website=Doctors for Drug Policy Reform|language=en-US}}

Testimony and media appearances

Board members, spokespeople, and a panel of experts work to change drug policy through public testimony, lectures, op-eds, media appearances, research, and support for legislation individually and as part of larger coalitions.{{Cite web|last=Amanda Hoover {{!}} NJ Advance Media For NJ. com|date=2020-10-02|title=More groups voice support — and opposition — to the legal weed ballot question|url=https://www.nj.com/marijuana/2020/10/more-groups-voice-support-and-opposition-to-the-legal-weed-ballot-question.html|access-date=2020-10-08|website=nj|language=en}} Testimony has been given to legislators in Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and the United States House of Representatives.{{Cite web|title=D4DPR Expert Testimony|url=https://www.d4dpr.org/expert-testimony/|access-date=2023-12-01|website=Doctors for Drug Policy Reform|language=en-US}} On July 10, 2019, David L. Nathan testified before a subcommittee of the United States House Judiciary Committee in support of cannabis legalization.{{Cite web|title=Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform {{!}} U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee|url=https://judiciary.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=2262|access-date=2020-10-08|website=judiciary.house.gov|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2019-07-10|title=DFCR Founder David L. Nathan testifies at the first U.S. Congressional Committee Hearing on Cannabis Legalization|url=https://www.d4dpr.org/post/dfcr-founder-david-l-nathan-testifies-at-the-first-u-s-congressional-committee-hearing-on-cannabis-legalization/|access-date=2023-12-01|website=Doctors for Drug Policy Reform|language=en-US}}

D4DPR physicians have appeared in dozens of media outlets worldwide.{{Cite web|title=Media (selected)|url=https://www.d4dpr.org/updates/media/|access-date=2023-12-01|website=Doctors for Drug Policy Reform|language=en-US}} DFCR's first major coverage came in April 2016 by The Washington Post where it made a notable break from other medical professional organizations by endorsing the legalization of cannabis for adult consumption, arguing that prohibition does far more harm to the public than good.{{Cite web|date=2016-04-15|title=More and more doctors want to make marijuana legal|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/15/more-and-more-doctors-want-to-make-marijuana-legal/|access-date=2023-12-01|newspaper =The Washington Post}}

In 2017 David L. Nathan and D4DPR honorary board members, former Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration clinical director H. Westley Clark and former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, co-published a landmark op-ed supporting cannabis legalization in the American Journal of Public Health titled "The Physicians' Case for Marijuana Legalization."{{Cite journal|last1=Nathan|first1=David L.|last2=Clark|first2=H. Westley|last3=Elders|first3=Joycelyn|date=2017-10-11|title=The Physicians' Case for Marijuana Legalization|url=https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304052|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=107|issue=11|pages=1746–1747|doi=10.2105/AJPH.2017.304052|issn=0090-0036|pmc=5637675|pmid=29019777}}{{Cite web|date=2017-07-27|title=The Physicians' Case for Cannabis Legalization|url=https://www.d4dpr.org/post/the-physicians-case-for-cannabis-legalization/|access-date=2023-12-01|website=Doctors for Drug Policy Reform|language=en-US}}

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo directed the state's Department of Health in 2018 to "conduct a study in consultation with other state agencies to review, including but not limited to, the health, criminal justice and economic impacts of a regulated marijuana program in the state of New York, including the implications for the state of New York resulting from marijuana legalization in surrounding states." The resulting commission report cited DFCR's Declaration of Principles and found that regulating cannabis "reduces risks and improves quality control and consumer protection."{{Cite web|title=Regulated Marijuana|url=https://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/regulated_marijuana/|access-date=2020-10-08|website=www.health.ny.gov}}{{Cite web|title=Assessment of the Potential Impact of Regulated Marijuana in New York State|url=https://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/regulated_marijuana/docs/marijuana_legalization_impact_assessment.pdf|access-date=2020-10-07|website=New York Department of Health}}

NFL campaign

In 2017, DFCR launched a campaign with numerous current and former NFL players to change cannabis policy in the National Football League.{{Cite web|title=ESPN to Cover Cannabis in Professional Sports Event in Houston During the Week of the Big Game|url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/espn_to_cover_cannabis_in_professional_sports_event_in_houston_during_the_week_of_the_big_game/prweb14024341.htm|website=PR Log, January 20, 2017|language=en-US}} As part of its initiative, DFCR worked with former NFL running back Mike James to file the first therapeutic use exemption with the league in May 2018, though it was ultimately denied.{{Cite web|last=Maese|first=Rick|title=An NFL running back says he needs one thing to continue his football career: Weed|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-spt-nfl-marijuana-theraputic-use-exemption-20180501-story.html|access-date=2020-10-08|website=chicagotribune.com}} In April 2020 the NFL changed its policy regarding cannabis after signing a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Football League Players Association, decreasing but not eliminating penalties for players.{{Cite news|last=Belson|first=Ken|date=2020-04-16|title=N.F.L. Bows to Marijuana's New Status|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/sports/football/nfl-marijuana-policy.html|access-date=2020-10-08|issn=0362-4331}}

International Intoxicating Cannabinoid Product Symbol and ASTM D8441

In collaboration with standards organization ASTM International, D4DPR created the International Intoxicating Cannabinoid Product Symbol (IICPS), which was designed by Nathan and University of Pennsylvania design student Eli Nathan. Committee D37 of ASTM International approved the IICPS as the world's first and only cannabis product symbol to bear the designation of an international voluntary consensus standard. The standard was published as ASTM D8441 in February 2022."New Standard Provides International Symbol for Intoxicating Cannabinoids.” ASTM International News Release, March 15, 2022. https://newsroom.astm.org/new-standard-provides-international-symbol-intoxicating-cannabinoids As of mid-2023, the IICPS had been incorporated into the universal symbols required for cannabis packages in the states of Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota and Vermont.Montana Department of Revenue, General Labeling Requirements, accessed December 1, 2023. https://mtrevenue.gov/cannabis/labeling-and-packaging/NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission, Business Resources, accessed December 1, 2023. https://www.nj.gov/cannabis/businesses/resources/Medical Cannabis in South Dakota, "Standard Cannabis Product Symbol," accessed December 1, 2023. https://medcannabis.sd.gov/Establishments/Symbol.aspxState of Vermont Cannabis Control Board, Rule 2: Regulation of Cannabis Establishments, November 2021. https://ccb.vermont.gov/sites/ccb/files/2021-11/Proposed%20Rule%202%20-%20Regulation%20of%20Cannabis%20Establishments.pdf

2023 expansion and name change

In October 2023, DFCR announced its rebrand under a new name, Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR), empowering the organization to address a wider range of drug policy issues beyond cannabis. D4DPR's goals include maximizing health and wellness, harm reduction, and the legalization of both cannabis and psychedelics. {{Cite web|title=Doctors for Cannabis Regulation Rebrands as Doctors for Drug Policy Reform|url=https://www.prlog.org/12986308-doctors-for-cannabis-regulation-rebrands-as-doctors-for-drug-policy-reform.html|website=PR Log, October 2, 2023.|language=en-US}}

Following D4DPR's expansion, the non-profit organization International Doctors for Healthier Drug Policies merged with D4DPR under the name of the latter.{{Cite web|title=International Doctors for Healthier Drug Policies|url=https://idhdp.com/|website=IDHDP|language=en-US}}

References

External links

[http://www.d4dpr.org/ Official website]

Category:Drug policy organizations based in the United States

Category:Organizations established in 2015