From Women With a Vision:
Starting tonight, join WWAV for two days of conversations and organizing discussing the harmful impact of the War on Drugs in our communities.
Dear friends and supports,

Please join us on April 2, 2015 for New Directions New Orleans: Toward a Health-Based Approach to Drug Policy, a free, all-day conference at Dillard University. Please register to reserve your spot.

This is a special invitation to engage many of the leading minds on drug policy and criminal justice reform in Louisiana and around the country, on issues such as:

*  Drug Laws, Incarceration, and Sentencing Reform in Louisiana
*  The Right to Health for All People Who Use Drugs
*  Re-imagining Drug Courts: A Health-Based Solution to Problematic Drug Use
*  Louisiana’s Drug War and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
*  The Way Forward: Effective Strategies for Reducing Incarceration and Promoting a Health-Based Approach to Drug Policy

Women With a Vision, Inc. is thrilled to join the Drug Policy Alliance in partnership with local organizations including the Louisiana Public Health Institute, Orleans Public Defenders, One Voice Louisiana, American Civil Liberties Union-Louisiana, Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, Voice of the Ex-Offender, the National Association of Social Workers – Louisiana State Chapter, Louisiana State NAACP, and Orleans Parish Place Matters, in hosting New Directions New Orleans. This conference will delve into the intersections of mass incarceration, juvenile justice, marijuana policy, and access to effective drug treatment.

The keynote speaker will be Columbia University professor and Drug Policy Alliance Board Member Dr. Carl Hart (author of High Price), and he will be joined by speakers such as:
*    U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite
*    Drug Policy Alliance Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann
*    Joseph Kimbrell, CEO, Louisiana Public Health Institute
*    Judge Calvin Johnson, Retired
*    Jason Williams, Councilmember-At-Large, New Orleans City Council
*    Kevin Kane, President, Pelican Institute
*    Derwyn Bunton, Chief Public Defender, Orleans Public Defenders
*    Joe Lopinto, Chair, Louisiana House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice

What: New Directions New Orleans: Toward a Health-Based Approach to Drug-Policy

When: Thursday, April 2nd, 2015, 9:00am – 5:00pm

Where: Georges Auditorium, Dillard University, 2601 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70122

And join us tonight! On Wednesday, April 1st, Women With a Vision will be co-hosting a pre-conference screening of the award winning film “The House I Live,” along with a cocktail reception and panel discussion at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, beginning at 6:30pm! Come out and join in the conversation about drug policy reform locally and nationally!

We look forward to seeing you!

Yours,
Women With a Vision, Inc.