Ethan Nadelmann is host of the weekly podcast, PSYCHOACTIVE, as well as founder and former executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), the nation’s leading drug policy reform organization. Described by Rolling Stone as “the point man” for drug policy reform efforts and “the real drug czar,” Ethan is widely regarded as the outstanding proponent of drug policy reform both in the United States and abroad.
He was born in New York City, received his BA, MA, JD and PhD in Political Science at Harvard, taught at Princeton University (from 1987 to 1994) and then founded and directed first The Lindesmith Center (1994-2000) and then DPA (2000-2017). He also co-founded the Open Society Institute’s International Harm Reduction Development program. Ethan has authored two books on the internationalization of criminal law enforcement — Cops Across Borders and (with Peter Andreas) Policing The Globe. His TED Talk on ending the drug war has over two million views, with translations into 28 languages.
