Allan Clear

Allan Clear has been the Executive Director of the Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC) since late 1995. HRC, through its training institute, conferencing, resource development, and policy work, is the leading national organization promoting harm reduction as a mode of working with drug users in the United States.

Real Change or Changing Rhetoric? Monitoring the Shift in US Drug Policy

Hey there, what’s that sound, everybody look what’s going down…in the presentation of U.S. global drug policy. Since President Obama’s election, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has been making noises about a shift in approach and priorities towards addressing drugs and drug problems — as opposed to its previous “War on Drugs” approach, which criminalized what is primarily a public health issue. Last month’s 53rd Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) meeting was a marker on how the US would present this much-ballyhooed new face to the international community.