Defending the Summary Execution of Suspected Drug Smugglers, Trump Declares an 'Armed Conflict'
The president thinks he can transform murder into self-defense by executive fiat.
Drug Policy
How Oregon's Drug Experiment Backfired
The lesson isn’t that decriminalization can’t work. It’s that Portland-style governance is broken.
Cannabis Isn't the Cure for Chronic Pain
Flawed research methods are misleading patients and might embolden prohibitionists. Marijuana has promise in treating certain sorts of discomfort, but some conditions still require powerful narcotics.
Psychedelics Are Not Just for Hippies and Tech Bros
Author Joe Dolce explains how psychedelics are moving from counterculture to mainstream, with new science, shifting laws, and surprising therapies that promise to change how we treat addiction, anxiety, and self-discovery.
Another Military Strike on a Speedboat Confirms Trump's Policy of Murdering Suspected Drug Smugglers
The president's new approach to drug law enforcement represents a stark departure from military norms and criminal justice principles.
Trump Calls His Drone Strike on an Alleged Drug Boat 'Self-Defense.' It Looks More Like Murder.
Equating drug trafficking with armed aggression, the president asserts the authority to kill anyone he perceives as a threat to "our most vital national interests."
Advocates of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Complain that 'the FDA Moved the Goalposts'
The agency's puzzling concerns about the Lykos Therapeutics drug application
'Botched' Drug Raids Show How Prohibition Invites Senseless Violence
The war on drugs authorizes police conduct that otherwise would be readily recognized as criminal.
The 10th Circuit Agrees That Prosecuting Cannabis Consumers for Gun Possession May Be Unconstitutional
The appeals court rejected most of the arguments in favor of that policy, saying "the government must show non-intoxicated marijuana users pose a risk of future danger."
The 11th Circuit Revives a Constitutional Challenge to the Federal Law That Disarms Medical Marijuana Patients
The appeals court concluded that the government had failed to show that policy is consistent with "this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."
Hiking Tariffs on Canada, Trump Demands 'Adequate Steps' To Achieve an Impossible Drug War Goal
Canada accounts for a tiny percentage of fentanyl smuggling, which cannot be stopped by trying harder.
Hunter Biden Walks Free While This Iowa Man Serves 4 Years for the Same 'Crime'
The contrast between the two cases illustrates the haphazard impact of an arbitrary, constitutionally dubious gun law.
Although Meth Is Irresistible, The New York Times Says, Addicts Often Prefer Small Cash Rewards
The success of "contingency management" belies the notion that addiction is an uncontrollable disease caused by a drug's impact on dopamine levels.
Everything Got Worse During COVID
By almost every measure, America during the pandemic was a more dangerous, deadly, and dysfunctional place.
How Charlie Rangel Changed His Mind About the War on Drugs
The former congressman, who died this week, transformed from a zealous prohibitionist into a drug policy reformer.
Texas Bans Delta-8 THC, Which Is Only Popular Because of Prohibition
Six years after legalizing hemp and its by-products, the state is revising its drug policies and criminalizing products sold by thousands of Texas businesses.
By Trump's Logic, Biden Deserves Credit for a Dramatic Drop in Overdose Deaths
That logic implausibly assumes presidents have the power to curtail substance abuse by attacking the drug supply.
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.
A New Survey Suggests Illicit Opioid Use Is Much More Common Than the Government's Numbers Indicate
The survey estimates that 7.5 percent of America adults use illegally produced fentanyl each year, 25 times the rate indicated by a government-sponsored survey.
The Bad Data Backing Josh Hawley's Attack on Abortion Pills
A new study being used to call for mifepristone restrictions relies on vague and dubious definitions of drug-related complications.
Pam Bondi's Absurd Claim About Fentanyl Overdoses Epitomizes the Illogic of the War on Drugs
Even when they are less patently ridiculous, the metrics of success favored by government officials make little sense.
Pam Bondi Says Trump's Fentanyl Seizures Have Saved Over 250 Million Lives
Bondi said the president's drug policy prevented the deaths of 75 percent of Americans, in just his first 100 days.
How Far Will the Trump Administration Go Against Mexican Drug Cartels?
Using the military to wage the drug war in Mexico raises practical and constitutional issues.
A New Study Adds to the Evidence That Drug Busts Result in More Overdose Deaths
The researchers found that drug seizures in San Francisco were associated with a substantial increase in fatal opioid overdoses.
A Federal Judge in Utah Orders Local Officials To Return a Religious Group's Psychedelic Sacrament
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish emphasizes that religious freedom must protect "unpopular or unfamiliar religious groups" as well as "popular or familiar ones."
New York's Weed Nightmare
How pot bureaucrats used legal weed to push their social justice agenda
The Most Controversial Paper in the History of Psychedelic Research May Never See the Light of Day
Researchers gave psilocybin to two dozen religious clergy. Was it guided by science, religion, or some awkward combination?
Trump's Tariff Threats Can't Win the Unwinnable War on Drugs
After promising to stop the flow of drugs during his first term, the president blames foreign officials for his failure.
Here Is How Trump Can Falsely Claim His Tariff Threats Helped Win the Drug War
The president can cite meaningless "adequate steps," ambiguous drug seizure numbers, and a decline in drug deaths that began before he took office.
An Unprecedented 22 Percent Drop in Drug Deaths Does Not Mean Prohibition Is Finally Working
Drug warriors deserve blame rather than credit for their role in recent overdose trends.
The Country's Largest Police Union, Which Repeatedly Endorsed Trump, Is Dismayed by His Capitol Riot Pardons
The Fraternal Order of Police mistakenly thought that the president "supports our law enforcement officers" and "has our backs."
Biden and Trump Show Presidents How To Abuse Clemency
Biden’s preemptive pardons and Trump’s blanket relief for Capitol rioters both set dangerous precedents.
Trump Goes After Mexico by Designating Drug Cartels Terrorist Organizations
Designating cartels as terrorist organizations could allow the feds to prosecute people who pay protection money—and might pave the way for undeclared war.
Why Trump Should Keep His Promise To Free Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht
A life sentence for facilitating peaceful transactions among consenting adults is hard to fathom, let alone justify.
Biden Has Now Issued Far More Commutations Than Any of His Predecessors
The president's record-shattering clemency actions help ameliorate the damage caused by the draconian drug policies he supported for most of his political career.
Why Donald Trump Made a Deal To Free Ross Ulbricht
A second chance for the creator of the dark web drug site the Silk Road might be coming…from an unlikely savior.
The FDA Proposes a De Facto Cigarette Ban, Which Would Expand the Disastrous War on Drugs
Mandating negligible nicotine levels in tobacco products would create a big black market and criminalize currently legal transactions.
Christina Dent: The Evangelical Christian Fighting To End the Drug War
The evangelical Christian argues that drug legalization is the conservative thing to do.
The Law That Disarmed Trump Is Unfair, Illogical, and Constitutionally Dubious
The president-elect lost his Second Amendment rights thanks to a nonsensical gun ban.
Reminder: Donald Trump Promised To Free Ross Ulbricht on 'Day One'
Will he follow through on the promise he made at the Libertarian National Convention—and to his crypto fans?
5th Circuit Reaffirms That Prosecuting a Marijuana User for Illegal Gun Possession Was Unconstitutional
Patrick Darnell Daniels Jr. was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for violating a federal law that bars drug users from owning firearms.
Medical Marijuana Legalization Takes Effect in Nebraska After Lawsuit Dismissal
Voters overwhelmingly favored the new policy, which a former state legislator unsuccessfully tried to block.
Jimmy Carter Supported Federal Pot Decriminalization for Half a Century. It Still Has Not Happened.
Although marijuana prohibition has collapsed in one state after another, Congress has yet to take even the modest step that Carter recommended back in 1977.
Shooting the Messenger and Blaming the Victim
How cops, politicians, and bureaucrats tried to dodge responsibility in 2024
Even Without the Sex and Drug Allegations, Matt Gaetz's Nomination Should Have Been Doomed
The House Ethics Committee's findings, combined with Gaetz's lack of relevant experience, again raise the question of why Donald Trump picked him for attorney general.
Don't Credit Drug Warriors for Reducing Overdoses
While a federal crackdown reduced opioid prescriptions, the number of opioid-related deaths soared.
5 Years After Giving Birth, a Mississippi Mother Was Arrested for a Felony Based on a Postnatal Drug Test
Brandy Moore, who stopped using meth midway through her pregnancy, was charged with "aggravated domestic violence" because she decided not to have an abortion.
