A week after being honored by Citizens Against Recidivism, Parent Advocate and harm reduction practitioner Dinah Ortiz-Adames stopped by to give me a hard time about the state of my office and my lack of technical expertise with the recording equipment. We also talked about her work and a little-known aspect of drug policy and criminal justice: their effects on families of color. In this interview, we discuss stigma and the word "addict," and what it means to be "functional" in the eyes of the court.

Dinah Ortiz-Adames is a Parent Advocate at a Public Defense practice where she represents parents impacted by the Child Welfare System. During the past seven years, she has been working with and advocating for vulnerable women, the formerly incarcerated, and substance using mothers and fathers.  As an advocate for women’s rights, Dinah has served as a member of several not-for-profit organizations focusing on the education and well-being of current and formerly incarcerated women, pregnant women and mothers battling addiction