The Real Opioid Crisis Isn't Prescriptions—It's Prohibition
West Virginia's overdose data prove it: Officials misunderstood the problem, and patients paid the price.
Pharmaceuticals
Review: A Doctor Changes His Mind About Opioid Prescriptions
In Greed to Do Good, a former CDC physician calls the agency's war on opioids a disaster.
These 4 Industries Successfully Lobbied Trump for Tariff Exemptions
Trump's trade war has created a carve-out bonanza for industries with political connections and big lobbying budgets.
How Making GLP-1s Available Over the Counter Can Unlock Their Full Potential
Drugs like Ozempic might not only address obesity but also alcoholism, smoking, and drug addiction.
Alton Brown on Cultural Appropriation, Ozempic, and the USDA
"If a Greek family starts a pizzeria, if a Chinese family straight from Beijing opens a hot dog shop, are they appropriating or are they just smart?" says the Food for Thought author and former Good Eats host.
What Did We Learn From DOGE?
Plus: A listener asks which domestic policy changes could realistically boost U.S. manufacturing without raising costs for consumers.
No More Government Assistance
Plus: RFK Jr.'s plan to squash Big Pharma, J.D. Vance vs. the bishops, and more...
Can RFK Jr. Fix Our Dysfunctional Public Health Agencies?
His priorities may not be the drastic reforms that are actually needed.
Abolish the FDA
Many seriously ill people die waiting for the FDA to approve drugs that regulators in other advanced countries have already approved.
Mark Cuban on Pharmacy Prices, Health Care, and 'Good' Billionaires
"If you were an asshole when you were poor, you're going to be a bigger asshole when you're wealthy," the Shark Tank personality tells Reason.
In a Victory for the Free Market, FDA Approves New Schizophrenia Drug
Despite billions of taxpayer dollars spent on mental illness research, Cobenfy was developed by a private biopharmaceutical company.
Season 2, Episode 1 Free Markets
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Can Mark Cuban Make Prescriptions Affordable Again?
Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs project brings a bit of free market flair to the health care industry, but the lack of meaningful price signals is only part of the problem.
At Rally, RFK Jr. Says He'll Stop Forever Wars, Seed Oils From Trump's Cabinet
Kennedy said that Trump would be the superior candidate on his three major, "existential" issues of "free speech, the war in Ukraine, and the war on our children."
FDA Declines To Approve MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy as a PTSD Treatment
The FDA, which approved the protocols for the studies it now questions, is asking for an additional Phase 3 clinical trial, which would take years and millions of dollars.
The 'Pro-Worker' GOP Is Anti-Worker
The New Right talks a big populist game, but their policies hurt the people they're supposed to help.
Biden's Big Government Solutions Dismiss Customer Welfare
Sen. Rand Paul writes that repealing the Robinson-Patman Act would help bust inflation.
Feds Make a Pharma Patent Grab
A Biden administration ploy could give the federal government control over drug prices.
The Sindex: Cigarette Prices Outpacing Inflation
The Reason Sindex tracks the price of vice: smoking, drinking, snacking, traveling, and more.
COVID Vaccine Injuries Deserve a Day in Court
Injury claims for COVID vaccines are subject to a different process than other vaccines.
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.
Major Pharmacies Give Cops Patient Records Without a Warrant, Lawmakers' Investigation Finds
Three major pharmacy chains admitted to encouraging staff to hand prescription records over to law enforcement without a warrant, and without a legal review.
The Case for Letting Medicare Bureaucrats Haggle With Drug Makers
Medicare's new price-setting process for drug purchases is better than its current one if the result is lower government spending.
The High Costs of Biden's Price-Controlled Drugs
Americans will be sicker and deader in the long run than they otherwise would have been.
Prohibition Gave Us Tranq-Laced Fentanyl
Mixing other drugs with xylazine is driven by the economics of prohibition.
Did Fox Really Fire Tucker Carlson for Crossing the 'Red Line' of Criticizing Big Pharma, as RFK Jr. Claims?
If so, the network failed to enforce the supposed rule before and after cancelling its top-rated host.
Patient Privacy at Risk in Senate Bill Aimed at Pharmacy Managers
Prosecutors could end up with a trove of patient-level data regarding highly personal drugs like Viagra, abortion pills, and more.
The Abortion Debate Is Messy. Two Lawsuits Against the FDA May Make It Worse.
Litigation over abortion drugs turns disagreements about individual rights into a bureaucratic tussle.
I Finally Caught COVID. The Government Made the Experience Even Worse.
Thanks to onerous regulations, life-saving drugs are more expensive and harder to get.
Texas Man Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Friends Who Helped His Ex-Wife Obtain an Abortion
"I know either way he will use it against me.... And after the fact, I know he will try to act like he has some right to the decision," said the woman in text messages to her friends named as defendants in the suit.
Short on Adderall? Blame DEA Production Caps
Each year, the DEA sets production limits for certain drugs, including some ingredients in common amphetamine pills like Adderall.
The End of Obesity?
The advent of effective new weight loss drugs offers hope for millions of overweight people.
FTC Investigating, but Not Thwarting, Amazon Acquisition of One Medical
Since the Federal Trade Commission didn't sue in time, the deal went through. But will FTC Chair Lina Khan keep trying to attack Amazon for its bigness?
The Fight To Criminalize Opioid Prescribing
Over 88 percent of opioid overdose deaths now involve either heroin or fentanyl. Targeting prescriptions is not an efficient way to address mortality.
Biden's Drug Price Controls Will Kill More Patients in the Long Run
And increase total health care costs to boot.
How To Use Drugs in Space
It's best to avoid sparking up a doobie on a spaceship, but there are other ways to consume substances in the cosmos.
It's Long Past Time for the FDA To Approve Over-the-Counter Birth Control
Despite experts recommending that birth control be sold over the counter, the U.S. still treats the pill like it's 1960.
Blame the Government for the Adderall Shortage
Limiting the supply of a controlled substance does not remove demand. Users simply look elsewhere, including more unsavory sources.
Some Patients Report Being Denied Autoimmune Drugs over Abortion Fears
Paralyzing caution reveals the risks of vague anti-abortion legislation.
The FDA Will Consider Whether To Approve a Birth Control Pill for Over-the-Counter Use
If approved, the drug could increase access to effective birth control.
Updating Coronavirus Vaccines Is Good, But a Universal Coronavirus Vaccine Would Be Better
Time for a new Operation Warp Speed?
Mark Cuban's Drug Company Could Save Medicare Billions
The new company uses a simple approach to provide lifesaving drugs to consumers at radically discounted prices.
Did Prescription Opioids Cause The Overdose Epidemic?
Doctors Adriane Fugh-Berman and Jeffrey Singer debate the harms of prescription opioids
Dopesick
The new Hulu miniseries promotes pernicious misconceptions about opioids, addiction, and pain treatment.
Two Courts Debunk Persistent Opioid Myths
Both rulings emphasized that opioids have legitimate medical uses and concluded that drug companies could not be held responsible for abuse of their products.
Biden's Drug Price Controls Would Make Americans Sicker and Shorten Their Lives
The plan would reduce supply while increasing demand, resulting in harmful shortages.
Abolish the FDA
The role of the state is to protect rights and guard against fraud, not to prevent people from making risky choices.
Ronald Bailey: Covid-19 Should Be Our Last Pandemic
Technological breakthroughs mean we'll never again have to suffer with disasters like the novel coronavirus—if politicians will get out of the way.
What It's Like To Treat Opioid Addiction in Appalachia
Psychiatrist Sally Satel on her eye-opening year at a clinic in Ironton, Ohio
