Zyn Pouches Are Safer Than Cigarettes. Why Are Some Politicians Targeting Them?
Making less harmful products harder to get pushes people toward more dangerous ones.
War on Drugs
The FDA Fast-Tracks Its Review of Psilocybin and Methylone, 2 Promising Psychedelics
The agency issued "national priority vouchers" for the two drugs six days after President Donald Trump promised to facilitate approval of psychedelic therapies.
Allowing Censorship of Military Retirees Like Sen. Mark Kelly Would Set a Chilling and Dangerous Precedent
To justify punishing a legislator for his speech, a FIRE brief notes, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth relies on a Supreme Court precedent that is clearly inapposite.
'Shoot and Kill'
Plus: California fails to unmask ICE agents, the illogic of medical-only marijuana rescheduling, driverless cars in D.C., and more...
Medical Marijuana Rescheduling Is Legally Puzzling but a 'Huge Win' for Patients, Suppliers, and Scientists
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's distinction between medical and recreational cannabis is hard to reconcile with the relevant scientific and statutory criteria.
Marijuana Rescheduled
Plus: skyway socialism, reconsider the lobster, D.C.'s urban growth, and more...
Brits Don't Need Government Mandates To Create a 'Smoke-Free Generation.' The Market Is Already Doing So.
With smoking rates already declining, the infantilization of future adults is unlikely to be a big win for public health.
Trump's Embrace of Psychedelic Therapy Leaves Most Users on the Wrong Side of the Law
The medical model assumes that people should be allowed to use psychedelics only for government-approved reasons.
The Least Psychedelic President in History Supports Psychedelic Research More Than Any of His Predecessors
Donald Trump is an unlikely but powerful champion of drug reform.
The COVID Reckoning Doesn't Go Far Enough
Real medical freedom will require something greater than replacing the public health establishment: ending the FDA's monopoly.
Trump's Pro-Union Labor Secretary Out
Plus: Scandal at the Department of Labor, the real reasons people use psychedelics, more problems with Trump's triumphal arch, and more...
Can New York Survive Mamdani's Tax Plan?
Plus: Trump orders psychedelic drug research, Palantir calls for national service, and confusion surrounds Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
The Promise and Limits of Trump's Psychedelic Therapy Order
The president's facilitation of research and FDA review could help make psychedelics available to approved patients. But what about everyone else?
3 Disasters That Legal Weed Didn't Unleash—Despite the Forecasts
From higher crime to teenage stoners, here are things that the weed debate got wrong.
Afroman on Becoming the 2028 Libertarian Presidential Nominee
Afroman discusses his free speech court victory, why he thinks he could unite America, and whether he feels pressure to always be high.
Trump Signs Psychedelics Order
Plus: ship seizures, the best free bread in America, and more...
Pete Hegseth Wants the D.C. Circuit To Let Him Punish a Senator for Criticizing Him
The defense secretary's asserted authority to control the speech of retired military officers "would chill public participation by veterans," a brief supporting Mark Kelly warns.
Another Drug Boat Bombing
Plus: The U.S. blockade widens, Los Angeles teachers get a pay bump, the sunny side of a treeless national mall, and more...
FBI Goes After Whistleblower Who Helped Unmask the 'Fort Bragg Cartel'
The feds have arrested an Army staffer who spoke to a journalist for a book about special operations. The journalist says it's retaliation for exposing corruption.
Colorado Becomes First State To Protect Defendants Against Faulty Roadside Drug Tests
A 2024 study estimated that 30,000 people every year may be getting wrongly arrested due to unreliable roadside drug tests used by police.
Justice Department Drops 23,000 Cases To Make Room for Trump's Immigration Crackdown
The agency refused to prosecute alleged national security, labor, and white-collar crime while increasing immigration cases, a new report finds.
New York's Governor Seems Indifferent to the Health Consequences of a Steep Tax on Nicotine Pouches
Kathy Hochul’s proposed levy would deter smokers from switching to a much less dangerous habit.
No Preliminary Injunction Over Residents' Claim That S.F. Failed to Adequately Police Tenderloin Sidewalks
"[P]laintiffs have failed to respond to the City's evidence that changes in its policies have actually improved conditions in the Tenderloin such that Plaintiffs are no longer at risk of the harms they cited in their motion."
Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Colombian Coca, Seattle PayUp Law, Dog Bombs (Vol. 21)
Good intentions, bad results.
Donald Trump and Markwayne Mullin Insist That Politics Should Prevail Over Principle
The president and his new DHS secretary are enraged by jurists and legislators who refuse to toe the party line.
The DOJ Wants To Drop Charges Against 2 Cops Who Played a Crucial Role in Breonna Taylor's Death
But for a fraudulent and misleading warrant affidavit, Taylor would not have been killed during a fruitless late-night drug raid.
Rodrigo Duterte's 'Death Squads' Fought in the Philippines' War on Drugs. Now He Might Get Life in Prison.
As many as 30,000 people may have died at the hands of the state-sponsored death squads.
Andrew Kent on the Alien Enemies Act
His work further demonstrates that the AEA cannot be used in response to illegal migration or drug smuggling, but only when there is a military attack.
Review: This Podcast Details the Brutal Effects of the War on Drugs
Collateral Damage tells some of the many stories of drug enforcement gone wrong.
Department of Homeland Security
Markwayne Mullin's History of Condoning Murder and Resisting Transparency Makes Him Ill-Suited To Run DHS
The Oklahoma senator, nominated to replace Kristi Noem, is blasé about the use of deadly force.
Josh Hawley Moves To Ban Abortion Pills
His push relies on dubious data about the pills' safety.
U.S. Vows More Military Action in Latin America While Bombing Iran
The Trump administration’s plan to end drug cartels in Latin America is another interventionist boondoggle.
He Was Arrested Over Bogus Drug Tests. Now He's Suing.
Bryan Getchius was arrested, jailed, and spent seven months on house arrest before eventually being cleared by official lab results.
Will the War in Iran Crash the Global Economy?
Plus: Kristi Noem is fired as DHS secretary, a listener asks about libertarian drug use, and new polling reveals Americans distrust AI and each other.
Killing Drug Lords Won't End Mexico's Cartels. Ending the Drug War Might.
The death of El Mencho shows why decades of prohibition enforcement have only strengthened cartels.
Florida Legislators Advance a Bill Authorizing Government Surveillance Based on 'Views' or 'Opinions'
House and Senate committees were unfazed by the obvious First Amendment problems with the proposed Statewide Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Unit.
3 Reasons Why Trump's Math on Drug Boat Bombings Doesn't Add Up
The president claims that thousands of American lives are saved every time the government blows up a suspected drug boat.
Civil Libertarians Left and Right Unite To Oppose Disarming Cannabis Consumers
A Supreme Court case illustrates the potential for trans-partisan alliances between critics of gun control and critics of the war on drugs.
An Iowa Pot User Serving 4 Years for Gun Possession Gets Another Chance To Challenge His Prosecution
Alexander Ledvina was convicted of violating a federal law at the center of a Second Amendment case that the Supreme Court is considering.
SCOTUS Seems Skeptical of the Federal Ban on Gun Possession by Cannabis Consumers
Most of the justices seemed unsatisfied by the Trump administration's argument that the law is constitutional as applied to a Texas marijuana user.
Photo: Venezuela's Political Prisoners
As of early February, only about 300 prisoners have been freed, leaving hundreds still detained despite official promises.
The ACLU, Long Leery of the Second Amendment, Joins the NRA in Urging SCOTUS To Uphold Pot Users' Gun Rights
"We see this as an important civil liberties issue," says an ACLU lawyer.
5 Reasons To Doubt Trump's Boast About Bringing Down Fentanyl Smuggling
A drop in seizures doesn't necessarily mean a decline in the supply.
Police Drug Tests Are Notoriously Unreliable. They Got This Man Wrongly Charged With Trafficking Fentanyl.
Roughly 30,000 people every year may be getting wrongfully arrested because of unreliable field drug tests, according to one estimate.
FDA Commissioner Says 'Everything Should Be Over the Counter.' Don't Count on Big Pharma To Lead the Way.
A system that allows drug makers to profit from restricted access will never liberalize on its own—and patients will continue to bear the cost.
A Federal Judge Explains Why Trump Can't Jail Legislators for Producing a Video That Offended Him
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon notes that Sen. Mark Kelly's comments about unlawful military orders were "unquestionably protected" by the First Amendment.
The El Paso Drone Scare Is the Future of National Security Paranoia
Fear over mysterious objects in the sky keeps disrupting society.
The Heavy Pot Taxes Favored by The New York Times Would Undermine Legalization
The newspaper’s plan to address marijuana abuse would compound the disadvantages that state-licensed suppliers face in competing with the black market.
