D4DPR serve as a global voice for licensed health professionals and scientists advocating for evidence-based drug policies and best practices that advance public health, reduce stigma, and minimise harm by leveraging our expertise, compassion, and influence to enact changes in drug policy necessary to improve human rights, social justice, and consumer protections.

D4DPR es la voz mundial de los profesionales de la salud y científicos licenciados que abogan por políticas de drogas basadas en pruebas y mejores prácticas que promuevan la salud pública, reduzcan el estigma y minimicen los daños, aprovechando nuestra experiencia, compasión e influencia para promulgar los cambios en la política de drogas necesarios para mejorar los derechos humanos, la justicia social y la protección de los consumidores.

D4DPR est la voix mondiale des professionnels de la santé et des scientifiques agréés qui défendent les politiques et les meilleures pratiques en matière de drogues fondées sur des données probantes qui font progresser la santé publique, réduisent la stigmatisation et minimisent les risques en tirant parti de notre expertise, de notre compassion et de notre influence pour apporter les changements nécessaires à la politique en matière de drogues afin d'améliorer les droits humains, la justice sociale et les protections des personnes consommatrices.

Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR)

With over $50 billion in settlement funds from opioid litigation becoming available over the next two decades, states, counties, and cities have a unique opportunity to invest in evidence-based interventions. In our newly released position paper, D4DPR highlights that Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs)—a harm reduction approach that prevents overdose deaths, reduces the transmission of infectious diseases, and improves the quality of life for individuals who use drugs—represent a wise, cost-effective, and necessary use of these funds.

This position paper was conceptualized and written by D4DPR member Dr. Bruce Trigg. Dr. Trigg is a pediatrician who worked 23 years with the New Mexico Department of Health until his retirement in 2011. He is currently a clinician providing methadone and buprenorphine treatment for people with opioid use disorder.

Prioritizing opioid settlement funds for overdose prevention centers in the US

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency announced in late April 2024 that it plans to ease federal restrictions on cannabis, reclassifying it from a Schedule I drug to the less restricted Schedule III, which includes drugs such as Tylenol with codeine, testosterone and other anabolic steroids. This historic shift signals an acknowledgment of the promising medicinal value of cannabis.

The move comes in tandem with growing interest in the use of psilocybin, the active component in magic mushrooms, for treatment of depression, chronic pain and other conditions. In 2018 and 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted a breakthrough therapy designation to psilocybin, meant to expedite drug development given that preliminary studies suggest it may have substantial therapeutic value over currently available therapies for treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder.

Both of these developments represent a dramatic change from long-standing federal policy around these substances that has historically criminalized their use and blocked or delayed research efforts into their therapeutic potential.

Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR)

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