Ethan Nadelmann

Recent Speaker

Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance

November 23, 2010

“What Australia can learn from America’s failed war on drugs.”

This key address is from Ethan Nadelmann who has appeared on many major US television programs including ABC's Nightline, NBC's Today Show, CBS Morning News, Larry King Live and CNN Headline News.  Ethan Nadelmann argues that the political elite in most countries of the world clearly understand global prohibition has not worked and can never be effective.

He will be arguing that politicians around the world including Australia need to learn from America's mistakes. He will argue that it is time to regulate and tax cannabis.  He says the war on drugs in Australia - like the USA - has been a colossal failure that has ultimately caused more harm than the drugs themselves.

He says US alcohol prohibition in the 1920s increased crime and so too has drug prohibition. Ethan warns that drugs are here to stay and politicians should prepare the community for a more realistic approach.  

Educated at Harvard and the London School of Economics, Ethan Nadelmann has often written about drug law reform in the US media as well as many influential academic publications. He will be travelling across Australia to warn about the risks of continuing with a failed policy.  He argues the war on drugs is no answer at all, that criminalisation is not a way forward and the challenge is to reduce the harms and have an alternative approach based on science, public health and human rights.

Also speaking will be Dr. Alex Wodak - long time campaigner on drug law reform based at Sydney's St. Vincent's Hospital.


Dr. Wodak will argue that whilst prohibition was meant to make illicit drugs hard to get, drugs are very easy to obtain and are getting cheaper.  Alex Wodak will show that world drug production continues to increase steadily and says by any judgement, global drug prohibition has failed comprehensively and Australia's approach has also clearly failed.  He will highlight that a whole range of new options are being looked at by numerous countries overseas with California about to vote on taxing and regulating cannabis and
numerous European and South American countries liberalising their drug laws.

Dr. Wodak has been the Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at Sydney's St. Vincent Hospital since 1982 and is the President of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation.