Sayegh Gabriel(Cazenovia, NY – March 2015) Policy options related to the war on drugs will take center stage at the year’s first Cazenovia Forum lecture, as the director of the New York State office of the Drug Policy Alliance presents his views on reforming drug control policies.

The presentation by Gabriel Sayegh, who also serves as the organization’s Managing Director of Policy and Campaigns, will take place on Friday March 20 at 7 p.m. at the Catherine Cummings Theatre in Cazenovia.  Admission is free of charge and will be followed by a reception at the Lincklaen House, at which audience members will have an opportunity to further engage the speaker.

The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is the nation’s leading organization promoting drug policies that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.  The organization works to advance the proposition that the war on drugs is doing more harm than good and promotes alternative policies to reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition.

As DPA’s New York director and campaign leader, Sayegh partners with community organizing groups, human service agencies and researchers.  Recent campaigns include ending New York’s marijuana arrest crusade, developing municipal-based drug strategies, passing and implementing historic 911 Good Samaritan legislation to prevent accidental overdose fatalities, creating a tightly-regulated medical marijuana program, and reforming New York’s draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws.

Sayegh is the author of numerous articles and several reports, including Blueprint for a Public Health and Safety Approach to Drug Policy (the subject of a New York Times editorial) and From Handcuffs to Healthcare: Putting the Affordable Care Act to Work for Criminal Justice and Drug Law Reform.

Prior to joining DPA, Sayegh served as session staff in the Washington State Senate, focusing on criminal justice and social welfare policy; conducted research on global trade agreements and domestic welfare reform; organized with grassroots community groups on ending domestic violence and mass incarceration; and worked as a line cook at a few different diners. He lives in Brooklyn.

More information can be found at www.cazenoviaforum.com.

By martha

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