After Approving Medical Marijuana 5 Years Ago, Oklahoma Voters Reject Broader Legalization
A ballot initiative that would have allowed recreational use was defeated by a large margin in a special election.
Drug Legalization
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...
'America Has Lost the War on Drugs,' The New York Times Says, but Should Keep Fighting It Anyway
The paper pushes modest reforms while endorsing continued criminalization.
The Argument That 'America Has Gone Too Far in Legalizing Vice' Ignores the Cost of Prohibition
Is it just to punish the many for the excesses of the few?
How a Drafting Error Made It Harder for New Yorkers To Obtain Relief From Marijuana Felony Records
Because legislators omitted a crucial letter, there is no straightforward way to downgrade convictions for offenses that are no longer felonies.
Under No Circumstances Did Joe Biden Save Social Security
Plus: a listener question on prohibition and a lightning round on the editors' favorite Super Bowl moments
New California Bill Proposes Legalizing Authentic Cannabis Cafes
Cannabis consumers should have the same commercial leisure spaces that alcohol drinkers do.
Mike Pompeo Says He 'Grew Up Libertarian'
These days, he may run for president. His politics have changed.
After Repeatedly Opposing Marijuana Banking Reform, Cory Booker Says It Is Urgently Needed
The senator bemoans the "cannabis crisis" he helped maintain by blocking the SAFE Banking Act.
Are We Making Any Progress on Police Brutality?
Plus: The editors consider the ongoing debt ceiling drama and answer a listener question about ending the war on drugs.
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.
Andrew Tatarsky and Maia Szalavitz: How 'Harm Reduction' Is Transforming Drug Policy
As the drug war retreats, individualist approaches to substance use and abuse will make us all better off.
How 'Harm Reduction' Is Transforming Drug Policy
Andrew Tatarsky and Maia Szalavitz push individualist approaches to substance abuse as the drug war retreats.
Colorado Voters Delivered a Win for Pharmacological Freedom
A ballot initiative approved in November decriminalizes consumption of natural psychedelics.
Rand Paul Complains That Democrats Squandered Their Opportunity To Enact Marijuana Reforms
The prospects in the next session, when Republicans will control the House, are iffy.
Why Take Responsibility When You Can Blame Somebody Else?
The year’s highlights in buck passing feature petulant politicians, brazen bureaucrats, careless cops, loony lawyers, and junky journalists.
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.
The Failure To Enact Marijuana Banking and Crack Sentencing Reforms Is a Window on Congressional Dysfunction
Although both bills have broad bipartisan support, they never got a vote in the Senate and were excluded from the omnibus spending bill.
Chuck Schumer Scrambles To Save the Marijuana Banking Bill He Blocked Last Year
The Senate majority leader is suddenly keen to pass legislation that he portrayed as a threat to broader reform.
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.
Merchants of Death, Swaps, and Shake-ups
Plus: The editors briefly celebrate a noteworthy shake-up in the Senate.
The FDA Is Doing Something That Could Actually Cut Overdose Deaths
Naloxone could be available without a prescription by spring.
Brittney Griner Has Finally Been Released
While Griner's release is welcome news, it's important to remember the thousands of Americans imprisoned for drug offenses here in the U.S.
Biden's 'Marijuana Reform' Leaves Prohibition Untouched
While Biden issued pardons and ordered a review of marijuana's Schedule I status, he still supports the federal ban on weed.
Wallowing Around in a Gerontocracy
Plus: The editors consider what type of fresh attacks the marijuana legalization movement is likely to encounter.
New York Is Setting Up Legal Marijuana Merchants for Failure
Nearly 20 months after the state legalized recreational use, no licensed pot shops have opened, but the black market is booming.
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.
Washington Has Been Much More Successful Than California in Displacing the Black Market for Pot
Lighter regulation is one likely explanation.
The Election Betting Markets Fell Short. They're Still the Most Flexible Predictor.
People with money on the line try harder than pundits to be right, and they adjust quickly when they've made a mistake.
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.
Missouri Becomes the 21st State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana
Some reformers opposed the initiative, deeming it anti-competitive and needlessly prescriptive.
South Dakotans Say No to Marijuana Legalization After Saying Yes Two Years Ago
A 2020 initiative was overturned by the courts, and this year's version was rejected by voters.
Arkansas Voters Reject Marijuana Legalization
Early polling showed a majority favored the change, but support fell in the face of opposition from leading Republicans and conservative groups.
North Dakota Voters Reject Marijuana Legalization
Since approving medical marijuana by a wide margin in 2016, North Dakotans have said no twice to allowing recreational use.
Maryland Becomes the 20th State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana
Voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing adults 21 or older to use cannabis and instructing legislators to authorize commercial production and distribution.
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.
Undeterred by Pushback, Cops and Journalists Are Still Warning Parents About THC-Laced Halloween Candy
The unsubstantiated threat that strangers with cannabis candy allegedly pose to trick-or-treaters is an urban legend that never dies.
Biden's Marijuana Pardons Did Not Free a Single Federal Prisoner or Deliver the Expungement He Promised
A protest at the White House calls attention to the thousands of federal cannabis offenders who remain incarcerated.
Marijuana Legalization in California Has Gone Miserably, So Officials Are Expanding Drug Enforcement
The Golden State promises a progressive, environmentally conscious, labor-friendly war on weed.
Review: Can Legal Weed Win? Yes, but Only Through Deregulation
Extreme taxes and regulations are hampering legal marijuana markets.
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.
Federal Bureaucrats Say We Can't Reschedule Marijuana Because of How It's Scheduled
Cannabis has long been classified as having "high potential for abuse" and "no currently accepted medical use." That makes it harder to study and, therefore, harder to reclassify.
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.
Missouri Libertarian Party Declines To Endorse Marijuana Legalization Initiative
Despite opposing the drug war, and indicating that he will even vote for the measure himself, the state LP's chairman said the initiative would not get the party's stamp of approval.
More States Poised To Ease Marijuana Laws After Election Day
Ten years after Colorado and Washington embraced legalization, the movement looks unstoppable.
New York Set to Hobble 'Legal' Cannabis with Taxes and Regulations
Empire State politicians will soon wonder why the marijuana black market still thrives.
