Ethan founded and directed (from 2000 to 2017) the Drug Policy Alliance. He was born in New York City and received his BA, JD, and PhD from Harvard, and a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. He then taught politics and public affairs at Princeton University from 1987 to 1994, where his speaking and writings on drug policy attracted international attention. He has authored two books on the internationalization of criminal law enforcement and his writings have appeared in most major media outlets in the U.S. as well as top academic journals, policy journals, and political publications from the right to the left.
In 1994, Ethan founded the Lindesmith Center, a drug policy institute created with the philanthropic support of George Soros. A year later, he co-founded the Open Society Institute’s International Harm Reduction Development (IHRD) program. In 2000, the growing Center merged with the Drug Policy Foundation to form the Drug Policy Alliance. Ethan currently serves on the advisory board of the Open Society Foundation’s Global Drug Policy Project (GDPP) and as an advisor to the Global Commission on Drug Policy. He has played a key role as drug policy advisor to George Soros and other prominent philanthropists as well as elected officials ranging from mayors, governors and state and federal legislators in the U.S. to presidents and cabinet ministers outside the U.S.