Drug Policy Reformer Ethan Nadelmann Delivers Kurtz Seminar Lecture

Release date: March 03, 2009 |

Ethan Nadelmann—the founder and executive director of a prominent organization that promotes alternatives to the “War on Drugs”—will be the guest lecturer at Goucher College’s fourth annual Myra Berman Kurtz ’66 Seminar, held Tuesday, March 10, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. in Buchner Hall of the college’s Alumnae/i House.

Due to high demand from both the Goucher and greater community, there are no more tickets available for this lecture, titled “Rethinking Drug Policy.”

The United States’ policy against drug use has been criticized for being racially biased against minorities and disproportionately responsible for the exploding U.S. prison population and for restricting or violating individual liberties. Other critics argue that U.S. drug policy violates principles of limited government and hinders important medical and scientific research efforts.

Nadelmann is the founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health, and human rights. Described by Rolling Stone magazine as “the point man” for drug policy reform efforts, Nadelmann is widely regarded for his efforts to reform drug policy to reduce the negative consequences of both drug use and drug control policies in the United States.

Nadelmann earned B.A., J.D., and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard and a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. He taught politics and public affairs at Princeton University from 1987 to 1994, where his speaking and writings on drug policy—in publications ranging from Science and Foreign Affairs to American Heritage and National Review—attracted international attention. He also formed the Princeton Working Group on the Future of Drug Use and Alternatives to Drug Prohibition.

He wrote Cops Across Borders, the first scholarly study of the internationalization of U.S. criminal law enforcement, and co-authored Policing the Globe: Criminalization and Crime Control in International Relations, published by Oxford University Press in 2006.

In 1994, Nadelmann founded the Lindesmith Center, a drug policy institute created with the philanthropic support of George Soros. In 2000, the growing center merged with another organization to form the Drug Policy Alliance and Drug Policy Alliance Network.

His lecture is a presentation of the Kurtz Seminar series, which was endowed by the late Myra Berman Kurtz ’66 and her husband, Dr. Stuart Kurtz, to present speakers at Goucher College who will inspire undergraduate students to pursue careers in a variety of fields. The programs are presented under the auspices of the Roxana Cannon Arsht ’35 Center for Ethics and Leadership. Supported by a $2 million gift from her daughter, Adrienne Arsht, the Arsht Center at Goucher College explores issues in ethics and leadership across the range of liberal arts disciplines.