“All politics is local.” Public policy is fundamentally decided at the polls. It is more important than ever for those concerned about drug, alcohol and nicotine prevention, treatment and recovery to put these issues on the political agenda. The upcoming general election provides wonderful opportunities to get our issues on candidates’ radar screens.
Congressional and presidential candidates must hear from constituents about the importance of solving drug and underage drinking issues through effective community-based prevention, treatment and recovery approaches. To help you in this process, CADCA has created an Election Guide for the 2024 General Election.
The CADCA Election Guide gives you the tools you need to raise and address prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery issues at campaign events around the country.
The CADCA Guide includes the following information:
- Candidates for the President of the United States and their Contact Information (page 3).
- How to raise drug misuse and underage drinking issues with the candidates (page 4)
- Sample questions to get the candidates on record (pages 5-7)
- The Election Center (Appendix 1) (pages 7-11)
- Points of Contact for State Boards of Elections (Appendix 2) (pages 12-16)
- A follow-up survey to document the candidates’ positions (Appendix 3) (pages 17-18)
- A summary of relevant federal tax and election laws for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations (Appendix 4) (page 19)
CADCA’s hope is that coalitions around the country will use this guide to let as many candidates as possible running for office in 2024 know that they must seriously address alcohol, nicotine and drug issues as part of their campaigns. In that way, the winners of these elections will know these issues are of great concern to their constituents when they take office.
