CITY OF ITHACA
108 East Green Street, Ithaca, New York 14850-5690
MAYOR’S OFFICE
SVANTE L. MYRICK, MAYOR

Telephone: 607-274-6501
Email: mayor@cityofithaca.org
Fax: 607-274-6526

Ithaca: A great place to create, dream, live, learn, work, and play!

Op-Ed from Mayor Svante L. Myrick
The decades long war on drugs has led to mass incarceration, staggering racial disparities,
and a general erosion of trust within communities. Drug policies have ravaged communities
all over the nation, and unfortunately, Ithaca has also been touched. Amid rising overdose
fatalities, upswings in property crime, and family disruptions, a new direction for drug policy
in Ithaca is desperately needed.
It is my plan in 2015 to set that new direction. We can no longer tackle the problems
presented by the misuse alcohol and other drugs with a policy approach based in fear,
criminalization and punishment. Instead, we must base new policies in science, reason,
compassion and public health. This is why seven months ago I formed the Ithaca Municipal
Drug Policy Committee (MDPC) to transform how we address drugs in this city. Under their
leadership and in conjunction with all Ithacans who care about these issues, we will work to
reduce racial disparities and mass incarceration, while improving the public health and
safety of our families and community.
This committee is tasked with coming up with a coordinated, interdisciplinary drug policy for
Ithaca grounded in public health. Drawing on the experiences of other cities and evidence
from here in New York, we’ve organized our city-wide drug policy committee around four
pillars – prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and law enforcement.
We know however, that no city-wide reform of our approach to drugs can be truly
transformative without the input of our most crucial constituency - Ithaca community
members. That’s why next week I am hosting a free community-wide screening of The
House I Live In, a gripping film that explores the havoc wreaked on communities and
families around the country due to the war on drugs. Following the screening, I will sit on a
panel along with other Ithaca stakeholders to discuss insights from the film.
As residents of this Ithaca, we are all stakeholders in this community. Together we can
develop public health-oriented approaches drug policies that save lives, strengthen
communities, reduce the harms associated with drug misuse, enhance public safety, and
conserve our scarce tax dollars. I hope you’ll join us.

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