David Borden

David Borden is founder and Executive Director of StoptheDrugWar.org. Borden played the leading role in pioneering use of the Internet for education and organizing in drug policy reform after founding the organization, then under the name "Drug Reform Coordination Network," or "DRCNet," in late 1993.

Since 2000, Borden has overseen work of the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform, an effort to repeal a federal law that denies students financial aid because of drug convictions, and in which capacity he played a critical role in the founding of the national organization Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Borden has initiated programs including the John W. Perry Fund scholarship program and the Out from the Shadows international conference series on legalization.

In August 2003, Borden sent an open letter to the District of Columbia's chief judge, Rufus G. King, explaining his decision to refuse to report for jury service as a protest of the drug war, a civil disobedience action which was covered by the Washington Post.

Borden has written hundreds editorials on drug policy, and is the executive editor of the in-depth weekly newsletter Drug War Chronicle.

Borden earned an A.B. with honors in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University in 1988, and completed an M.M. in Jazz Composition from New England Conservatory in 1990. He is a native of Englewood, New Jersey, one of the first communities in the state to achieve racial integration in its school system. Borden is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Common Sense for Drug Policy, Flex Your Rights and the International Anti-Prohibitionist League, and of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy Council of Advisors.