Drug Policy Reform Forum

[Neatrends]

Anybody have any good info/experience in drug policy reform internships? DPA? ACLU Drug Policy Reform Project? MPP?

Looking for leads in my 1L summer internship search.

[kalvano]

You know how people say "it doesn't matter what you do 1L as long as it's legally related"? I think this would be an exception to that general statement.

[Neatrends]

You know how people say "it doesn't matter what you do 1L as long as it's legally related"? I think this would be an exception to that general statement.

I'm talking about laying the groundwork for a career in drug policy reform/criminal justice reform.

I know your vanilla appearance is of more concern to you than millions locked away and billions wasted and increasingly powerful cartels, but i'm looking for real, useful, information about opportunities related to this issue.

[06102016]

..

[kalvano]

You know how people say "it doesn't matter what you do 1L as long as it's legally related"? I think this would be an exception to that general statement.

I'm talking about laying the groundwork for a career in drug policy reform/criminal justice reform.

I know your vanilla appearance is of more concern to you than millions locked away and billions wasted and increasingly powerful cartels, but i'm looking for real, useful, information about opportunities related to this issue.

The odds of you getting a job in that area are pretty low. The odds of having to search for jobs and try and explain why that is on your resume is pretty high. If that's what you want to do, then look for a general criminal internship and go from there.

Also, if you're going to look for advice, it's probably helpful not to be a dick when someone tries to give it to you. If you can't see why having pro-drug use work on your resume is a bad idea unless you've got a guaranteed job in that field waiting for you, then that speak to a larger problem.

[LawIdiot86]

I would suspect that everything "good" like the ACLU has already been taken by people either dedicated 2Ls or 1Ls who applied months ago. Also, I would suspect that everything "good" won't hire its interns on a permanent basis because of the vast number of people with experience in this field. I further suspect that lesser organizations won't hire their interns on a permanent basis because even dedicated individuals straight out of law school have few skills useful in this field (no publications, no contacts, no experience as a PD, no experience in a statehouse drafting legislation on this). While your concern for the less fortunate is admirable, I would suggest you focus on a "vanilla" internship, like with a PD or professor doing research in this area, so that you'll be able to get a position that someday might grow into a position where you can help the less fortunate.