Full 2023 Conference Schedule

Wednesday, October 18

Registration is open

Welcome Reception | Event Lawn

Thursday, October 19

Continental Breakfast | Acacia Ballroom and Event Lawn

Registration | Acacia Foyer

Welcome & Opening Plenary | The Show Room

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Morning Break

Breakout Sessions

Small Town, Big Drug War: Rural Policing and Surveillance, Resistance, and Resilience | Palo Verde A

The Future of Drug Policy Research: A Conversation with Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse | Palo Verde B

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Illness and Wellness: The Tradeoffs Between Medicalization and Pleasure in Drug Policy Reform | Palo Verde C

Spanish interpretation available.

The Disability Carceral State: Disability Justice Informed Abolition | Yucca

Unlearning the Drug War: An Exit Strategy for School-Based Drug Policing | Willow

Lunch | Acacia Ballroom and Event Lawn

Breakout Sessions

From the Ground Up: How People of Color Are Building Regulatory Models That Advance Equity in Marijuana Policy Reform | Palo Verde A

Righting Wrongs Worldwide: Drug War Reparations in a Global Context | Palo Verde B

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Psychedelic Decriminalization: Gateway or Hurdle to All-Drug Decriminalization? | Palo Verde C

Spanish interpretation available.

Methamphetamine as a Scapegoat: When an Old Drug is Framed as a New Social Problem | Willow

Resisting Surveillance: Movement Implications from Navigating Drug War Surveillance | Cholla

Book Talk: Whiteout: How Racial Capitalism Changed the Color of Opioids in America | Agave

Afternoon Break

Breakout Sessions

Who’s Body? My Body! The Fight for Bodily Autonomy When the Drug War, Reproductive Justice, and Family Regulation System Collide | Palo Verde A

The Lure of Coercion: Don’t Be Fooled By “Kinder, Gentler” Drug War Tactics | Palo Verde B

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Early Insights and Critiques of Safer Supply Models | Palo Verde C

Spanish interpretation available.

Introduction to Drug Policy Reform | Yucca

Environmental Justice for All: An Equitable Approach to Sustainable Development and Climate Justice in Drug Policy Reform | Willow

Who Deserves to Eat? Drug War Exclusion and the Fight for Basic Supports | Cholla

Top Golf

The Top Golf Swing Suite is reserved exclusively for Reform Conference attendees on Thursday, October 19 from 7:00pm – 11:00pm.

Achievement Awards Reception | The Show Room

Tickets are $40 and can be purchased online with your conference registration. There may be a limited number of tickets available for purchase at the registration desk. More information on this year's award winners!

Friday, October 20

Continental Breakfast | Acacia Ballroom and Event Lawn

Registration | Acacia Foyer

Breakout Sessions

Decriminalizing Personal Liberties and Building Freedom Across Movements | Palo Verde A

For Us, [Near] Us: A Conversation About OPCs, Gentrification, and Resource Allocation in Marginalized Communities | Palo Verde B

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Transitional Justice and Engaging Cartels in Reforms | Palo Verde C

Spanish interpretation available.

Policy Advocacy for Academics | Yucca

Reclaiming Our Movements: Building Power Between Drug User and Recovery Communities | Willow

Effective Communications for Difficult Conversations on Drugs: What’s the Secret? | Cholla

Feature Plenary: Centering Indigenous Leadership and Innovation in Harm Reduction and Drug Policy | The Show Room

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Lunch | Acacia Ballroom and Event Lawn

Breakout Sessions

Black Lives, Police Power, and the Fourth Amendment | Palo Verde A

After Oregon: The Next Era of All-Drug Decriminalization | Palo Verde B

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Will Drug Checking Save Us? | Palo Verde C

Spanish interpretation available.

Lobbying 101 | Yucca

Fundraising Tips, Strategies, and Wisdom from the Field | Willow

Beyond Commercialization: How Regulation Can Create Legal Access and Safer Supply Without Big Business | Cholla

Afternoon Break

Breakout Sessions

Combating Drug Panics in Congress: How Law Enforcement, the Media, and Lawmakers Perpetuate Fear-Based Drug Policy | Palo Verde A

When Facts Fail: The Promises and Perils of Research in Drug Policy Reform | Palo Verde B

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Street-Based Harm Reduction Outreach to Combat “Public Disorder” | Palo Verde C

Spanish interpretation available.

We Never Get Anywhere but Mad: Building Racial Equity Caucuses in the Southwest | Yucca

Drug Testing in Employment: Narrative Change and Policy Shift | Willow

The Rise of Authoritarianism and Extremism in the Name of the Drug War | Cholla

Karaoke Night! | The Show Room

Saturday, October 21

Continental Breakfast | Acacia Ballroom and Event Lawn

Breakout Sessions

The Controlled Substances Act: Reform or Abolish It? | Palo Verde A

The Deadly Game of Drug War Whack-A-Mole: Responding to the Ever-Changing Drug Supply | Palo Verde B

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Cannabis Legalization and the Dangers of Corporate Capture of Emerging Markets | Palo Verde C

Spanish interpretation available.

Beyond Housing First: Limitations, Gentrification, and Visibility | Willow

The Pueblo’s Budget Campaign: The Fight to Defund Phoenix Police and Build a Budget for the People | Cholla

Moving Beyond Alternative Sanctions: Assessing the Harms of Non-Criminal Punishment | Agave

Morning Break

Breakout Sessions

For Better or Worse? How Reform and Regulation Impact Drug Criminalization and Enforcement | Palo Verde A

Cashing in on the Drug War in Daily Life: Following the Money and Motivation of the Drug War Profiteers Within and Beyond the Criminal System | Palo Verde B

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Advances in Health and Harm Reduction Services and Persisting Barriers | Palo Verde C

Spanish interpretation available.

Drug Policy in Disasters and Other Trying Contexts | Willow

The Intersections of Drug Policy, Policing, and Border Militarization in the Borderlands: Challenging the Dangerous Rhetoric of the War on Drugs | Cholla

Radicals, Resistance, and Rebellion: Lessons from Civil Disobedience and Direct Action | Agave

Lunch | Acacia Ballroom and Event Lawn

Breakout Sessions

Power Structures of Drug Trade Economies | Palo Verde A

Early Insights and Critiques of Psychedelic Regulation: Who’s Benefiting from the Psychedelic Renaissance? | Palo Verde B

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

Immigration in the Age of Fentanyl: How the Overdose Crisis is Fueling Xenophobia and Racism and Undermining Sanctuary Policies in the U.S. | Palo Verde C

Spanish interpretation available.

Reclaiming Justice: Indigenous Perspectives Shaping Drug Decriminalization | Willow

Afternoon Break

Closing Plenary | The Show Room

Livestream available. Spanish interpretation available.

See the schedule and program for the 2023 virtual conference here.

Download/view the full 2023 conference program here.