News & Blogs
Drug prohibition impacts…birds?
We know that the far-reaching collateral consequences of drug prohibition have harmed millions of people ... but what about animals? It turns out that even birds are feeling the...
Changed Lives = Stronger Families
Browse our database of articles, resources and videos.
Core Resources
If you’re new to our organization, or still deciding what you think about the ideas we elevate, these six pieces of content are your next best step.
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Healthy & Hired
Growing Mississippi’s workforce through a health-centered approach to drug use.
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An Introduction to End It For Good
America views addiction as a criminal justice matter, and it’s not working for anybody. In this powerful video, founder Christina Dent presents an alternative approach and the foundational mission of End It For Good.
Our Founder, Christina Dent
TEDx: Changing My Mind on the Best Path Forward With Drugs
In this thoughtful talk, Christina Dent shares her learning journey about the destructive impact of a criminal justice approach to drugs and addiction, as well as the mounting evidence that a health-centered approach would be much more effective.
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3 Things You Might Not Know About Drugs
If we want a better solution, we have to solve the root cause of the problem.
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Three Ways You Can Help Someone Struggling With Addiction
Focus on the pain driving an addiction, not the behavior of the addiction.
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The Cycle of Harm
For decades, the criminal justice system has been the primary tool for addressing drug use and addiction. But is it the right tool? Explore the outcomes with us.
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News & Blogs
Unraveling myths: the truth about fentanyl exposure…
Multiple times this summer, I've been talking to people at conferences and was told some variation of, "Fentanyl is just so deadly. I mean, you can die just from getting it...
News & Blogs
A snapshot of drug policy history…
Sixty years ago, the Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health marked a huge moment in public health, significantly impacting smoking rates in the United States. It was a groundbreaking report. Adult smoking rates then were...
News & Blogs
Historic News out of Maryland!
I want to recognize and celebrate a significant milestone in the movement toward a better approach to drug policy. Maryland Governor Wes Moore recently signed an executive order pardoning 175,000 cannabis...
News & Blogs
A closer look at Oregon’s decriminalization policy…
A couple of weeks ago I got a request from a reader for my thoughts on Oregon and their recent changes to drug policy. This is a longer newsletter, but...
Video Content
TEDx: Changing My Mind on the Best Path Forward With Drugs
In this thoughtful talk, Christina Dent shares her learning journey about the destructive impact of a criminal justice approach to drugs and addiction, as well as the mounting evidence that...
News & Blogs
Study Shows Mom Might Be Best Medicine for Opioid Dependent Babies
I was standing next to the water fountain at the Mississippi Agricultural Museum when the person I was chatting with mentioned an article they just read. In the article, babies...
News & Blogs
No, don’t bomb Mexico…
Recently, I’ve heard political rhetoric that says we can lay blame for the fentanyl crisis on Mexico and the cartels — AND we should take direct military action against them....
News & Blogs
There’s a seat at the table for you…
Two weeks ago I got a call from Patrick (name changed to protect his privacy), a young man I interviewed almost 3 years ago for my book. He's been in a Mississippi prison for 4 years...
News & Blogs
How many more do we have to lose?
Yesterday I gave a presentation to graduate students, and one of them made a comment that struck me. She mentioned that her family was deeply impacted by addiction as well as death from overdose, and my presentation made...
News & Blogs
The sooner we understand opioid use as a health issue, the better
At last week's End It For Good Community Discussion in Natchez, MS, an attendee mentioned how cracking down on opioid prescribing led to many doctors being unable to adequately treat...
News & Blogs
There are better solutions, and change IS possible
Last week I wrote a piece for Mississippi newspapers that's also available here. In the article, I share the story of a young family in a Mississippi courtroom. A father was facing...
News & Blogs
Fatherlessness too high a price for non-violent drug charge
In the last 6 months, the number of non-violent drug offenders in Mississippi prisons has increased a staggering 27%, to over 4,000 people. Mississippi already imprisons more of its citizens...
News & Blogs
Does being “tough on crime” lead to a brighter future?
For those of us who live in Mississippi, where End It For Good is based, several things are happening right now. First, we now rank #1 in the country for the imprisonment...
News & Blogs
Changing laws isn’t the only way to effect change!
Last week I spoke at the Mississippi Center for Re-Entry's conference. The topic came up of whether or not criminal justice reform would continue to be on legislative agendas across the...
News & Blogs
Honor our lost loved ones by ending the war on drugs
By Lee Clark Malouf My son, Robert, passed away in January 2017. He died of an accidental overdose of opioids. For me and my family, the last five years have...
News & Blogs
A Reply: ‘Don’t Fall for “Conservative” Pitch to Legalize Hard Drugs’
“Do you think drugs should be legalized?” The first time I was asked this question, I got so angry I left the room. My response was typical of my demographic as...
News & Blogs
There is a growing chorus of voices!
Last week Brett Montague, our CEO, and I spent several days in Washington, D.C. Wemet with lawmakers on behalf of End It For Good as well as the Cannabis Freedom Alliance,...
News & Blogs
I Give People Fentanyl. We’ve Misdiagnosed the Overdose Crisis.
By Dr. Carr McClain I give patients the synthetic opioid fentanyl almost every day in my surgical practice. It’s safer and has fewer side effects than Morphine, yet it’s now...
News & Blogs
Is stigmatizing drug use a helpful prevention tool?
I got a lot of feedback on last month's newsletter commentary on whether stigmatizing drug use is a helpful prevention tool or a harmful barrier to getting help. It was...
News & Blogs
What if we opted for honest and open conversations?
A couple of weeks ago I was on an introductory call with the leader of a faith-based organization that works on other justice issues. As we talked he made the comment that...
News & Blogs
A lesson on harm reduction…
A couple weeks ago a mutual friend connected me with Jim, a father who lost his only child to an opioid overdose at 19 years old. Shortly after Zach passed...
News & Blogs
Criminalizing drug use is crippling our workforce
By Brett Montague Arresting people for drug use can make them virtually unemployable because of a criminal record. At a time when finding employees is difficult already, a punitive response...
News & Blogs
A Christian Case for Cannabis Legalization
By Christina Dent Seven years ago, I became a foster mom. Through serving children and families in the foster care system, I saw that there are times when cannabis use...
News & Blogs
Savings Lives From Fentanyl Requires Reckoning With Prohibition
By Christina Dent When my son was four years old, he was given the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Twice. We were in the emergency room at the hospital after his finger was crushed in a...
News & Blogs
Prioritizing life and allowing others to thrive
"We pray people change their thinking on this issue. It’s a matter of prioritizing life and allowing others to thrive." — Lana Butler Hi friends, In early December I got...
News & Blogs
Prison not the answer: To reduce drug addiction, we have to thoughtfully face it
By Dr. William Sansing Recently a colleague and I were discussing taking new approaches to crime and addiction, and he said something I hope will stick with me for the rest...
News & Blogs
What if we took a different path?
Last week I got an email from a woman who is walking with her husband as he struggles with a drug addiction. It is incredibly painful and brings up an...
News & Blogs
How can we reduce the collateral damage of a mother’s addiction?
Yesterday I got an email from a young woman in Mississippi who agreed to let me share part of her message with you: “I am a single mother and am in...
News & Blogs
Valuing prevention requires imagination
You may have seen on social media that I'm working on my first book! This week I've been writing about my childhood and how we use our imaginations. This movement...
News & Blogs
50th anniversary of war on drugs: It never worked. Different approach needed
By Brett Montague Fifty years ago this week, on June 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon held a press conference in the White House Briefing Room to officially declare a “war...
News & Blogs
The 50th Anniversary of the “War on Drugs”
This month marks the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon declaring a "war on drugs." We need to ask ourselves a very important question: Has it worked in the United States? ...
News & Blogs
Drug use, overdose complex: We must understand the pain behind the addiction
By Ranarda Wright A staggering 87,000 people died of a drug overdose in America in the 12 months ending September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I’m a...
News & Blogs
As a doctor, I have seen the damage from the War on Drugs. It’s not the answer
By Carr McClain Gen. William Sherman said, “War is cruelty. You cannot refine it.” Our generations-long War on Drugs should be viewed through this prism. The damage wrought by this war is...
News & Blogs
Criminalizing Drugs Has Accomplished the Opposite of Its Intent
By Bryan Keller It’s becoming clearer every day that our experiment in the criminalization of drugs has been a failure, just as the prohibition of alcohol proved to be. In...
News & Blogs
Fifty Years in Prison for Drug Possession Is Wasteful
By Ken Flynt Mississippi has 78 people each serving 50+ years in prison on a non-violent drug charge, with no eligibility for parole. Twenty-one of them are serving that sentence...
News & Blogs
A Time To Roar: New Year, New Decade Bring New Opportunities to Combat Addiction
By Brett Montague For more than a century now, America has struggled to combat the harms of drugs. Today, we continue to suffer unnecessary drug-related losses through overdose and incarceration...
News & Blogs
Banning Kratom Will Do More Harm Than Good
By Christina Dent What in the world is Kratom and why is it in the news? The answers to these questions and how we respond to them will either increase...
News & Blogs
Expand treatment, not jail, for opioid use
By Bradley Wellborn, Esq. There are 121,000 Mississippians currently in need of treatment for substance use disorders, according to Dr. Mary Currier, the State Medical Officer. But in all of...
News & Blogs
Good Samaritan who saved my son from overdose should be protected
By Christi Berrong It was Christmas time when I got the call. My son, who was addicted to drugs, had been missing for a few weeks. I slept with scrubs...
News & Blogs
The right way to respond to drug addiction
Today in Mississippi, taxpayers are funding two contradictory approaches to people struggling with drug addiction. One approach results in an arrest and possibly jail time. The other approach offers people...
News & Blogs
When trauma drives drug addiction, jail makes it worse
By Guitta Hogue We are spending millions of dollars keeping people addicted to drugs in the criminal justice system. We could be using that money to restore them to their...
News & Blogs
Everyone benefits by ending our criminal approach to drug use
Opioid Overdoes. Drug Addictions. Lives Torn Apart. Those are the headlines today. These are terrible problems in our society and I think they have been caused in part because we...
News & Blogs
Do you think drugs should be legalized?
That question was first directed at me 6 years ago. My response was typical for my demographic as a politically conservative Christian woman. Have you lost your mind not to...
News & Blogs
Pregnant moms using drugs need help, not jail
When we became a foster family three years ago, I was certain of at least one thing: mothers who used drugs while they were pregnant should have their babies taken...
Reports & Whitepapers
Misplaced Priorities
There are two different documents that can be downloaded. The first is the Misplaced Priorities Full Report, and the second is the Misplaced Priorities Introductory Excerpt. Please click the links...
Radio & Podcasts
Save Lives, Reduce Crime, and End the Opioid Epidemic
IMAGINE A WORLD where fewer loved ones are lost to drug overdose and there’s less crime in our communities. This is the audio version of our TedxTalk for ending a...
Reports & Whitepapers
3 Things People Misunderstand About Drugs (and why it matters)
Tap or click here to view and download a copy of our guide, "3 Things People Misunderstand About Drugs (and why it matters)."