Dear Cath, Poppy and Fynn, dear colleagues and friends,
Over the more than two decades that I’ve known Dave, he became a close and trusted friend. One of those few you feel you can share anything with, workwise as well as private matters. We’ve written papers together, travelled together, organized meetings together, brainstormed together, laughed together and made wild plans – many of them still unfinished business.
In the picture, behind the candle, is a beer glass I stole from the ‘Eisvogel’ restaurant (‘Kingfisher’ or ‘Pescador Martin’) in Vienna where we met several times over the years to plot about options for drug treaty reform and fairtrade cannabis. We still gathered there this March to prepare a joint seminar in Amsterdam planned for June, but by then Dave was already no longer able to attend in person.
Next to the candle is the picture Ann sent to me from abroad in 2012, the moment when she first told Dave about our developing relationship, still in an early stage at the time. Dave was one of the first people to hear, immediately calming our worries about sharing the news by saying: “It’s the best news ever. Two of my favourite people in love!”
As abundantly clear from many other messages, Dave has had a huge impact in the drug policy field, and will continue to do so thanks to his prolific writing. He served as an important bridge between academia, advocacy and activism, worlds that are often too far apart. Dave’s reputation as a scholar and teacher was as solid as the trust he earned in the drug policy reform movement for his commitment to the struggle for change. Drug policy for Dave was never just an interesting research topic, he wanted his work to have a real impact. He challenged his academic colleagues to translate analysis into recommendations for policy change, just as he tried to keep his civil society colleagues close to the evidence and away from easy ideological positioning.
Dave’s different hats as a Swansea University professor, GDPO director, IDPC consultant, TNI Fellow, and others, were not always easy to combine. But he still made sure to make time to join key events and share his knowledge with anyone who asked for it, and to travel including to places like Colombia, Afghanistan, India or Morocco to not loose sight of drug war realities on the ground. I will dearly miss Dave’s friendship and wisdom, and the only things that soothe my sadness are the many good memories and the confidence that his legacy will live on.
With love, Martin
Dear Cath, Poppy and Fynn, dear colleagues and friends,
Over the more than two decades that I’ve known Dave, he became a close and trusted friend. One of those few you feel you can share anything with, workwise as well as private matters. We’ve written papers together, travelled together, organized meetings together, brainstormed together, laughed together and made wild plans – many of them still unfinished business.
In the picture, behind the candle, is a beer glass I stole from the ‘Eisvogel’ restaurant (‘Kingfisher’ or ‘Pescador Martin’) in Vienna where we met several times over the years to plot about options for drug treaty reform and fairtrade cannabis. We still gathered there this March to prepare a joint seminar in Amsterdam planned for June, but by then Dave was already no longer able to attend in person.
Next to the candle is the picture Ann sent to me from abroad in 2012, the moment when she first told Dave about our developing relationship, still in an early stage at the time. Dave was one of the first people to hear, immediately calming our worries about sharing the news by saying: “It’s the best news ever. Two of my favourite people in love!”
As abundantly clear from many other messages, Dave has had a huge impact in the drug policy field, and will continue to do so thanks to his prolific writing. He served as an important bridge between academia, advocacy and activism, worlds that are often too far apart. Dave’s reputation as a scholar and teacher was as solid as the trust he earned in the drug policy reform movement for his commitment to the struggle for change. Drug policy for Dave was never just an interesting research topic, he wanted his work to have a real impact. He challenged his academic colleagues to translate analysis into recommendations for policy change, just as he tried to keep his civil society colleagues close to the evidence and away from easy ideological positioning.
Dave’s different hats as a Swansea University professor, GDPO director, IDPC consultant, TNI Fellow, and others, were not always easy to combine. But he still made sure to make time to join key events and share his knowledge with anyone who asked for it, and to travel including to places like Colombia, Afghanistan, India or Morocco to not loose sight of drug war realities on the ground. I will dearly miss Dave’s friendship and wisdom, and the only things that soothe my sadness are the many good memories and the confidence that his legacy will live on.
With love, Martin
