Last month, more than one hundred harm reductionists and drug policy advocates gathered in New Orleans for the Southern Harm Reduction and Drug Policy Conference. The conference was an amazing opportunity for groups across the region and nation to come together to learn about and discuss how drug policy impacts marginalized populations and our community as a whole. Conference attendees had an opportunity to address the need to reform drug laws in the southern United States and to increase access to services proven to reduce transmission of HIV and hepatitis, and prevent overdose.
Hosted by Women With A Vision and the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, the conference’s theme was Working with the Red (Republican Allies, Blood and Heart) with a special focus on creating allies around 911 Good Samaritan Laws and Naloxone Access.
On day two of the conference, there was a march to city hall to highlight the findings from a new Human Rights Watch investigation on the HIV epidemic in Louisiana and how deep poverty combines with harmful laws and policies to increase the risk of acquiring, transmitting, and dying of HIV in New Orleans and across the state.
Watch highlights from the march here:

Below are two recordings from the conference, courtesy of 91.5 FM WTUL News and Views.
This is a recording of a panel on stigma, including Zina Mitchell, Louise Vincent, Shilo Murphy, Derwin Wilright, Nora Fuller, Maggie McNeil, Danita Muse, Art Jackson, and Nsombi Lambright.
This is audio that includes from John Zibell of the CDC, Mark Allen, M.D., Megan McLemore of Human Rights Watch, Deon Haywood of WWAV, and Milan Alexander of BreakOUT!
WTUL News and Views host Gahiji Barrow speaks with Ethan Nadelmann, the director of the Drug Policy Alliance, about the trajectory of marijuana decriminalization and a U.S. drug policy that is based in human rights.