Ethan has played a leading role in harm reduction and other drug policy reform efforts in the United States and globally since the late 1980s. He was born in New York City, received his BA, JD, and PhD from Harvard, and taught politics and public affairs at Princeton University (1987-1994). He then founded first The Lindesmith Center (1994-2000, a drug policy institute created with the philanthropic support of George Soros) and then the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), which he directed from 2000 until 2017. His TED Talk, “Why we need to end the drug war,” has two million views.