Peter Moskos: What Does Good Policing Look Like?
Peter Moskos, criminal justice professor and former Baltimore police officer, discusses ways to reform policing and turn failing cities around on the latest Just Asking Questions podcast.
Drug Policy
Biden Decries Criminalization of Cannabis Consumers Even As He Insists They Have No Second Amendment Rights
Hours before the president said "no one should be jailed" for marijuana use, his Justice Department was saying no one who uses marijuana should be allowed to own guns.
Because 'Marijuana Is Dangerous,' 2 Inveterate Drug Warriors Say, 'Legalizing It Was a Mistake'
William Barr and John Walters ignore the benefits of legalization and systematically exaggerate its costs.
RIP Marc Sandhaus, Whose Obsession With Cannabis Landraces Finally Bore Flower
The far-traveling smuggler turned breeder "never gave up" on his dream of recovering neglected marijuana strains.
Expanding the Drug War To Include Tobacco Would Be a Big Mistake
The judicially approved Brookline ban reflects a broader trend among progressives who should know better.
Biden's Inaccurate and Inadequate Lip Service to Marijuana Reform Ignores Today's Central Cannabis Issue
The president has not expunged marijuana records or decriminalized possession, which in any case would fall far short of the legalization that voters want.
After 17 Years, Feds Stop Trying To Imprison a Licensed Medical Marijuana Provider
Charlie Lynch’s ordeal is a vivid reminder of a senseless prohibition policy that persists thanks to political inertia.
Oregon Legislators Overwhelmingly Vote To Recriminalize Low-Level Drug Possession
The reversal of a landmark reform was driven by unrealistic expectations and unproven assertions.
DEA Shuts Down Drug Factory Even as Adderall Shortage Persists
The DEA is cracking down on manufacturers, hurting patients who genuinely need those drugs.
Biden Is Trying To Motivate Voters Who Oppose Pot Prohibition. Maybe He Should Stop Supporting It.
The supposedly reformed drug warrior's intransigence on the issue complicates his appeal to young voters, who overwhelmingly favor legalization.
Did Decriminalization Boost Drug Deaths in Oregon?
Recent research finds "no evidence" that it did, undermining a key claim by critics of that policy.
Biden's Cognitive Shrinkflation
Plus: A listener asks if the state of Oregon’s policy on drug decriminalization should be viewed as a success.
12 Senators Urge the DEA To Legalize Marijuana, Which Only Congress Can Do
Under the Controlled Substances Act, the agency does not have the discretion to "deschedule marijuana altogether."
David Stockman: Trump's War on Capitalism and Freedom
Reagan's former budget director says Donald Trump killed prosperity—and the GOP's core beliefs in capitalism and freedom.
David Stockman on Why Trump Can't Fix the Debt: 'This Guy Is Part of the Swamp'
Reagan's former budget director says pro-inflation policies destroyed prosperity—and that the only solution is a new, anti-statist political party.
A New Pain Medication Could Reinforce the Disastrous Crackdown on Prescription Opioids
When the government is systematically interfering with medical decisions, a non-opioid alternative may not actually increase treatment options.
Tennessee Says Residents Can't Vote If They Have Lost Their Gun Rights
People who were disenfranchised based on felony convictions face a new obstacle to recovering their voting rights.
The Newly Unveiled HHS Rationale for Rescheduling Marijuana Underlines Drug Warriors' Dishonesty
The points about marijuana's risks and benefits that the department now concedes were clear long before last August.
Let Elon Musk Enjoy Drugs
Intoxicants might be a source of problems—or enhance our ability to cope.
Newsom Nixes Psychedelic Decriminalization and Cannabis Cafés
Gavin Newsom supported a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in California but rejected a social consumption measure.
'I Relied on Others,' 'Documents Were Filed in the Wrong Place,' and Other Memorable Excuses
The year's highlights in blame shifting.
Hunter Biden's Lawyers Say the Gun Ban He Violated Is Unconstitutional, Widely Flouted, and Rarely Enforced
The president's son is seeking dismissal of three felony charges based on his illegal 2018 firearm purchase.
Ohio Republicans Drop Last-Minute Effort To Derail Voter-Approved Pot Legalization
As of today, adults 21 or older in the Buckeye State may possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and grow up to six plants at home.
Justice O'Connor's Parting Dissents Highlighted the Twin Perils of Local Tyranny and Federal Overreach
The late Supreme Court justice eloquently defended property rights and state autonomy.
OxyContin's Reformulation Linked to Rising Suicides by Children
The study is one of several documenting the perverse impact of an intervention aimed at reducing substance abuse.
Two 15-Year Sentences Illustrate the Ugly Interaction of Drug and Gun Laws
The Supreme Court mulls how to apply a mandatory minimum for gun possession by people convicted of drug felonies.
Shane Mauss: Is the End of the Drug War Inevitable?
Comedian Shane Mauss on the democratization of mushrooms, LSD, cannabis, DMT, and ketamine
Review: Painkiller Falls for Drug War Misconceptions
The series foregrounds cases of OxyContin addiction, despite their rarity.
Prosecutors of 6-Year-Old Shooter's Mother Claim Gun-Owning Pot Users Are 'Inherently Dangerous'
Deja Taylor is going to federal prison because of a constitutionally dubious gun law that millions of cannabis consumers are violating right now.
The New York Times Credulously Embraces the 'Super Meth' Theory
There is no solid evidence that P2P meth is more dangerous than pseudoephedrine-derived meth and no reason to think it would be.
Remember the Teen Vaping 'Epidemic'?
Policies inspired by that exaggerated threat continue to undermine the harm-reducing potential of e-cigarettes.
Ohio Becomes the 24th State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana
Voters approved a ballot initiative that will allow possession, home cultivation, and commercial distribution—assuming that state legislators don't interfere.
State-Licensed Pot Suppliers Say Federal Prohibition Is Unconstitutional As Applied to Them
A federal lawsuit argues that it is time to reassess the Commerce Clause rationale for banning intrastate marijuana production and distribution.
Matthew Perry, Drug Abuse, and Prohibition
The death of the Friends star should remind us of the costs of the war on drugs.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Nixes Psychedelic Decriminalization and Cannabis Cafés
Newsom vetoed both reforms, which he deemed excessively permissive.
The Shady Statistics Behind the War on Painkillers
The government has doubled down on failed policies, citing deeply flawed studies and misrepresenting data.
The 'Whack Jobs' Were Right
Plus: A listener asks the editors to weigh in on a hypothetical executive order to establish an American Climate Corps.
On Guns, Drugs, and National Security, Dianne Feinstein Was Consistently Authoritarian
The late California senator always seemed to err on the side of more government power and less individual freedom.
The Truth About Ron DeSantis' Fentanyl Horror Story
The culprit is prohibition, not lax border policing.
Punishment Is Not the Point: Puzzle #9
"Gavin Newsom eating at French Laundry during a COVID-19 surge, for example"
Ban Teenagers From Social Media, Vivek Ramaswamy Says, Because Fentanyl
The Republican presidential candidate ignores the lethal impact of the drug policies he avidly supports.
A Study Finds 'No Evidence' That Decriminalization Boosted Drug-Related Deaths in Oregon
The researchers reached a similar conclusion about overdose trends in Washington, where penalties for simple possession were reduced in 2021.
Oregon's Drug Problems Were Not Caused by Decriminalization
Prohibition is at the root of the hazards that have led to record numbers of opioid-related deaths.
Erika Dyck: Are We Living in a Psychedelic Renaissance?
Historian Erika Dyck contextualizes the deep roots of and battles over LSD, psilocybin, and other psychoactive substances.
Hunter Biden Gets Caught in America's Double War on Drugs and Guns
Plus: A listener asks for the editors’ advice on how to spend his money.
Fake Sudafed Is Bullshit, Just As You Suspected
Legal restrictions on pseudoephedrine have not reduced meth use, but they have driven people with colds or allergies toward substitutes that seem to be completely ineffective.
The Secret History of Psychedelics
Historian Erika Dyck wants to document the deep roots of and battles over LSD, psilocybin, and other psychoactive substances.