The War on People
A narrative project exploring the social processes that produce and reproduce harm, alongside models for collective care and liberation, associated with the War on Drugs in Philadelphia.

The War on Drugs has clearly been a failure. It has separated and proved especially devastating for Black, Brown, and poor families and communities, and continues to drive mass incarceration and racial disparity in judicial systems. This amounts more to a War on People than a War on Drugs. Despite changes in public perception about substance use and criminalization, the War on People incessantly resurges with new actors and threats. How can we resist logics of control, coercion and compliance? How can we seriously disinvest from the War on Drugs and instead invest in the neighborhoods that it has harmed?
By platforming the perspectives of those most affected, our digital and print publication aims to offer new insights, tools, and strategies to understand the War on People, while igniting collaboration amongst local voices whose stories are essential to support change. There is no united front between Philadelphia’s harm reduction, mental health, and criminal justice reform movements, and we hope to facilitate dialogue across these spaces.
For the latest information please visit waronpeople.org
WAR ON PEOPLE IS MADE POSSIBLE BY