January 15, 2025

Christina Dent: The Evangelical Christian Fighting To End the Drug War

1 hour 26 minutes

This week's guest is Christina Dent, whose organization, End It For Good, seeks to change the approach to addiction from a criminal justice issue to a health-centered one. But Dent is not your typical anti–drug war activist. She's an evangelical Christian who believes legalizing drugs is the conservative thing to do—a position she adopted after an encounter she had as a foster mom.

Reason's Billy Binion and Dent talked about her conservative religious upbringing, the surprising history of the war on drugs, how the current approach to substance abuse fuels crime, misconceptions about people struggling with addiction, and why prohibition is actually a progressive response. She has also offered to send a copy of her recent memoir, Curious, free of charge to anyone interested in learning more, which you can request at [email protected].

0:00—Introduction

4:45—The foster experience that changed Dent

11:43—What causes addiction?

16:55—Addiction and recovery are not one-size-fits-all.

25:57—Drug criminalization is anti-Christian conservative values

33:14—Helping families struggling with addiction

41:34—Decriminalization efforts in the U.S.

46:52—The costs and tradeoffs of legalization

59:43—Is Dent conservative or Republican?

1:02:15—Dent's law enforcement outreach

1:17:26—Effective treatment is not cold turkey or zero-sum.