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.
Decriminalization
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.
Oregon Legislators Overwhelmingly Vote To Recriminalize Low-Level Drug Possession
The reversal of a landmark reform was driven by unrealistic expectations and unproven assertions.
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.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Nixes Psychedelic Decriminalization and Cannabis Cafés
Newsom vetoed both reforms, which he deemed excessively permissive.
Minnesota's Top Court Rebukes Cops Who Searched a Car After Claiming To Smell Pot That Wasn't There
In light of the state's marijuana reforms, the court says, the odor of weed is not enough to establish probable cause.
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.
California Lawmakers Approve Bill Decriminalizing Magic Mushrooms
Plus: The Biden administration weighs a "remain in Texas" policy, California slowly but surely reforms its housing-killing environmental review law, and more...
The Psychedelic Renaissance Is Here
Inside the gathering of the scientists, psychonauts, capitalists, and comedians committed to mainstreaming psychedelics without repeating the errors of the 1960s.
Did Drug Decriminalization Cause a 'Catastrophe' in Oregon?
Many of the problems the state is experiencing are caused by the continuing impact of prohibition.
Desperate To Avoid Decriminalization, Washington Legislators Lovingly Threaten Drug Users With Jail
The imminent expiration of a law that recriminalized drug possession triggered a bipartisan panic.
Studies Link Marijuana Legalization to All Sorts of Positive Public Health Outcomes
Plus: San Francisco claims to have "significantly disrupted" sex trafficking, a nationwide injunction on abortion pills, and more...
Can Larry Krasner Fix Philly's Crime Problem?
Philadelphia's progressive district attorney tried to enact criminal justice reform—and got impeached for his trouble.
Decriminalize Moonshine!
Ohio might be on the verge of making home distilling legal—but federal law will still prohibit it.
Pot Possession Cases Have Plummeted in Federal Courts, but Prior Marijuana Convictions Still Boost Penalties
Federal sentences for simple marijuana possession dropped by 93 percent over seven years.
California Bill Builds on Reforms That Could Herald the Surprisingly Fast Collapse of Psychedelic Prohibition
S.B. 58, which emulates an initiative that Colorado voters approved last month, would legalize the use of five psychoactive substances found in fungi and plants.
Even States That Have Already Decriminalized Marijuana Use See Fewer Possession Arrests After Legalization
A study credits "an overall lower police search rate," the result of new priorities and legal constraints.
Will Congress Manage To Pass Marijuana Reform During the Lame-Duck Session?
Legalization is unlikely in the foreseeable future, but banking reform and expungement could be feasible.
Colorado Voters Approve Decriminalization of 5 Natural Psychedelics
Proposition 122 is the broadest liberalization of psychedelic policy ever enacted in the United States.
Pot Prohibition Continues Collapsing, and Psychedelic Bans Could Be Next
Two more states legalized recreational marijuana on Tuesday, while decriminalization of five natural psychedelics looks like a winner in Colorado.
Colorado Voters Will Soon Decide Whether To Decriminalize 5 Natural Psychedelics
The ballot initiative also would authorize state-licensed "healing centers" where adults could obtain psychedelics for supervised use.
Divided Government Is Good. In 2023, Bipartisanship Would Be Better.
From immigration to drug reform, there is plenty of potential for productive compromise.
Biden's Support for Pot Prohibition Belies His Recognition of the Harm It Causes
Even as he pardons thousands of marijuana users, the president stubbornly resists legalization.
Biden's Marijuana Reforms Are Long Overdue but Will Have Just a Modest Impact
The president's mass pardon does not extend to pot suppliers, and his rescheduling plans won't make marijuana a legal medicine.
Storms and Reforms
Plus: The editors unpack a philosophical question from a listener concerning foreign policy.
'I Have My Own Life': The Case for Legalizing Sex Work
It would be far easier to prosecute sex trafficking if voluntary sex work were legal.
Young Adults Used Pot and Psychedelics in Record Numbers Last Year, While Adolescent Drug Use Fell Sharply
The results confirm that the ongoing collapse of marijuana prohibition has not boosted underage consumption.
Brittney Griner's 9-Year Sentence Highlights Stark Differences Between Russian and U.S. Pot Penalties
Travelers caught with small amounts of marijuana at the U.S. border face much less severe punishment.
Delaware's Democratic Governor Vetoes Cannabis Decriminalization Bill
The bill would've removed civil penalties but stopped well short of taxation and regulation.
Belgium Decriminalizes Prostitution
Belgium is the first country in Europe to decriminalize selling and paying for sex.
50 Years After Nixon's Commission Said Cops Should Stop Busting Pot Users, the Federal Ban Remains Unchanged
But 37 states allow medical or recreational use, and arrests are falling.
Seattle and Detroit Move Toward Decriminalizing Psychedelics
Though state laws in both places have not yet adapted, consumers of "entheogenic" plants and fungi are now less likely to be arrested and prosecuted in the two cities.
'Should Police Arrest Sex Workers for Standing Around?' No, of Course Not.
Plus: Censorship in New York, how zoning laws are creating a housing crisis, and more...
Detroit Becomes the Second-Largest U.S. City To Urge Tolerance of Psychedelic Use
Voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that makes "entheogenic plant" possession the city's "lowest law-enforcement priority."
Seattle Just Became the Largest U.S. City To Approve Quasi-Decriminalization of Natural Psychedelics
The resolution urges police to refrain from arresting people for noncommercial production and distribution as well as possession.
Six Marijuana Legalization Lessons
What have policy makers learned since Colorado became the first state to allow recreational use in 2012?
Oregon Decriminalized All Drugs To Stop Overdoses. Will It Work?
Small-scale drug possession is now a $100 infraction that can be dismissed with a call to a drug abuse assessment hotline.
Psychonautical Journalist Michael Pollan Is Finally Ready To End the War on Drugs
The evolution of Pollan's thinking reflects the confusion caused by arbitrary pharmacological distinctions.
The Biden Administration's Obfuscation on Using Clemency To Free Pot Prisoners Is Not a Hopeful Sign
Press Secretary Jen Psaki repeatedly tried to muddy the issue by changing the subject to reclassifying marijuana.
Manhattan Will Drop Charges for Prostitution and Unlicensed Massage but Continue Prosecuting Prostitution Patrons
The Nordic Model comes to Manhattan.
Marijuana News in 3 States Shows Stark Differences As Prohibition Crumbles
New Mexico could be the 16th state to legalize pot, while Texas considers tinkering with its onerous penalties and Pennsylvania continues to arrest cannabis consumers.
Science-Based Policy Means Decriminalizing Sex Work, Say Hundreds of Researchers
Plus: ACLU joins fight for donor privacy, Parler drops lawsuit against Amazon, and more...
The Washington Supreme Court Just Decriminalized Simple Drug Possession. Legislators Shouldn't 'Fix' the Overturned Law.
The court said criminalizing unknowing possession violates the right to due process.
Virginia's on the Verge of Legalizing Marijuana
If passed, the bill would allow for legal possession by July 1.
Drugs Declare Victory in War on Drugs
States where recreational use has been legalized now include about a third of the U.S. population.