We will discuss the historical tensions between drug policy advocates and communities of color, which have carried the heaviest burden in both health consequences and punitive criminal justice responses to drug use. We will talk about the existing harm reduction practices in communities of color and how the history of resistance to policies like syringe exchange, heroin maintenance programs, free testing of drugs, and safe injection facilities harms communities most impacted by drug use.

The discussion will include Kassandra Frederique, New York State Director at the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), Dr. Samuel Roberts, Associate Professor of History at Columbia University and Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Miriam Alvarez, Outreach Coordinator at Behavioral Health System Baltimore, and Rajani Gudlavalleti, Community Organizer.

Free and open to the public. REGISTER HERE.