The McGregor Fund was proud to co-sponsor, along with the Detroit Justice Center and others, the Drug Policy Alliance’s 2025 Reform Conference. Hosting the conference in Detroit was an intentional decision to connect with a community where the ground is fertile for the work of DPA and its partners.
DPA engages with local service providers, people with lived experience, and advocates working to reduce harm and build healthier communities. The 2025 Reform Conference brought together more than 1,500 leaders working on the full range of drug policy issues — including harm reduction, criminal justice, civil rights and civil liberties and more — to listen, learn and strategize.
Also of note: while at the conference, Detroit Phoenix Center presented an exhibit on and merchandise from Beyond the Ashes. This social enterprise is “dedicated to supporting youth while breaking the generational cycle of youth homelessness and poverty…providing meaningful employment opportunities, skills development, holistic support, and community engagement.”
Kassandra Frederique, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and Sheba Rogers, leader of the Divest/Invest Initiative at the Detroit Justice Center wrote in the Detroit News:
“It’s no coincidence that the Drug Policy Alliance chose to bring the International Drug Policy Reform Conference to Detroit. This city has always been a place where people turn obstacles into movements.
By investing in community care and supporting local organizations already leading this work, Detroit can model public safety rooted in trusted relationships, health and dignity. Safety begins when we take care of one another. It grows in community gardens, block clubs and schoolyards, and is sustained by neighbors who refuse to give up on one another.
That’s the Detroit we know — resilient, resourceful and ready to show leaders from across the world what community-driven health and people-centered drug policy reform look like.”
