Trump's Boat Strikes Killed 221 People, but Didn't Win the War on Drugs
Operation Southern Spear has struck 67 small fishing boats without denting the fentanyl or cocaine supply.
Drug Policy
Did Decriminalizing Drugs Lead to More Deaths in Washington and Oregon?
The Manhattan Institute’s Charles Fain Lehman overstates the evidence supporting that conclusion.
Calling Cartels 'Narcoterrorists' Turns Drug Enforcement Into War Making
Brazil’s gangs show why the “narcoterrorist” label is tempting, misleading, and unlikely to stop drugs.
Drugs Keep Winning in the Global War on Drugs
The United Nations’ latest World Drug Report makes that very clear.
No, a New Study Does Not 'Lay To Rest' the Debate Over Drug 'Legalization'
The Manhattan Institute’s Charles Fain Lehman misstates the findings of a new paper to claim he was right all along.
Supreme Court Begins Answering Lingering Questions About Constitutional Constraints on Gun Control
After upholding the Second Amendment rights of drug users and carry permit holders, the justices will address the constitutionality of "assault weapon" bans.
Supreme Court Ruling Offers Hope to an Iowa Marijuana User Who Got 4 Years for Owning Guns
The Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Hemani could open the door to relief for cannabis consumers convicted of illegal gun possession.
Trump Says His Task Force Is Fighting a Foreign 'Invasion.' It's Busting Americans for Drugs Instead.
How Trump rebranded the war on drugs as a fight against illegal immigration
Secret Emails Reveal Sketchy Tactics in California Public Health's Tobacco Ban 'Endgame'
Here are the sketchy tactics California’s public health agency is using to convince towns and cities to ban tobacco sales.
'Find Some Kids': How Health Officials Drummed Up Fake Support for Tobacco Bans in Massachusetts Towns
State health officials scouted towns, scripted hearings, recruited teen witnesses, and celebrated each ban as a "win."
Mitch McConnell's Hemp Ban Betrays the Industry He Helped Create
Federal prohibition of hemp-derived THC products would destroy a $37.5 billion industry to solve a problem states are already handling.
The Least Surprising Headline Ever: 'Blowing Up Boats Hasn't Slowed Cocaine Traffic to U.S.'
After nine months of murdering suspected cocaine smugglers, the Trump administration has no evidence that the strategy is working as advertised.
Just 1 World Record at the Enhanced Games Shows the Integrity of the Competition
I watched hours and hours of the Enhanced Games so you didn’t have to.
The FDA's New Psychedelic Rules Are Groovy, but the Agency Is Still a Bad Trip
The new rules will fast track clinical testing, but a far cry from legalization or decriminalization.
Marty Makary's Irrational Resistance to Flavored Nicotine Vapes Drove His FDA Resignation
On the subject of tobacco harm reduction, the former commissioner let his emotions override his avowed commitment to following the science.
Condemning Nicotine Pouches, Trump's Surgeon General Nominee Reveals Her Hostility to Harm Reduction
Nicole Saphier seems determined to obscure the health advantages of a much less hazardous alternative to cigarettes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
Photo: Venezuela's Political Prisoners
As of early February, only about 300 prisoners have been freed, leaving hundreds still detained despite official promises.
The NRA and NORML Unite To Oppose the Federal Gun Ban for Marijuana Users
Drug policy reformers and Second Amendment advocates team up in a case before the Supreme Court.
Disarming Millions of Americans Simply Because They Use Marijuana Is Unconstitutional, a SCOTUS Brief Says
The Liberty Justice Center is urging the Supreme Court to uphold a 5th Circuit decision rejecting the claim that cannabis consumers have no Second Amendment rights.
Eric Trump Congratulates His Father for a Drop in Fentanyl Deaths That Happened Before He Took Office
The president's son also claims destroying cocaine boats somehow reduces fentanyl overdoses, echoing his father's confusion.
19 States That Legalized Marijuana Use Nevertheless Say It Should Disqualify People From Owning Guns
They are joining the Trump administration in urging the Supreme Court to uphold a federal law that disarms "unlawful" drug consumers.
Why the DOJ Has Stopped Describing Maduro as the Head of a Literal Drug Cartel
That embarrassing mistake highlights the slipperiness of Trump's attempts to justify legally dubious policies by invoking the specter of "foreign terrorist organizations."
The DOJ Thinks Cocaine Couriers Are Not Worth Prosecuting. Trump Thinks They Deserve To Die.
Even as the president blows up drug boats, the government routinely declines to pursue charges against smugglers nabbed by the Coast Guard.
From Nixon to Trump, the 'War on Drugs' Has Been a Disaster for Americans' Freedom
The Trump administration's chest-pounding approach is costing lives and eroding freedoms.
Trump's Marijuana Order Vindicates Longstanding Criticism of the Plant's Legal Classification
In addition to its symbolic significance, rescheduling the drug will facilitate research and provide tax relief to state-licensed cannabis suppliers.
Trump's Designation of Fentanyl As a 'Weapon of Mass Destruction' Is a Drug-Fueled Delusion
The executive order does not accomplish much in practical terms, but it jibes with the president's conflation of drug trafficking with violent aggression.
Trump Orders the 'Expeditious' Reclassification of Marijuana
The long-awaited move will facilitate medical research and provide tax relief to the cannabis industry, but it falls far short of legalization.
Hegseth Won't Let Us See a Video That Might Undermine Support for Trump's Bloodthirsty Anti-Drug Strategy
The defense secretary claims the video, which shows a second strike that killed two floundering survivors, would compromise "sources and methods."
Trump's Plan To Reclassify Marijuana Would Leave Federal Prohibition Essentially Untouched
The main practical benefits would be tax relief for the cannabis industry and fewer barriers to medical research.
Stoner King Trump
Plus: Universal childcare, Canada's abortion industry, the new media personality cults, and more...
The DOJ Says It Will Challenge Unconstitutional Gun Policies. Maybe It Should Stop Defending Them.
The Justice Department's litigation positions are at odds with its avowed intent to protect Second Amendment rights.
Trump's Word Games Can't Conceal the Murderous Reality of His Anti-Drug Strategy
Calling suspected cocaine smugglers "combatants" does not justify summarily executing them.
Trump Is Still Claiming He Saves '25,000 American Lives' When He Blows Up a Suspected Drug Boat
So far, by the president's reckoning, he has prevented 650,000 U.S. drug deaths—eight times the number recorded last year.
Hegseth Mulls Releasing a Video That Illustrates the Brutality of Trump's Murderous Anti-Drug Strategy
The footage shows what happened to the survivors of the September 2 attack that inaugurated the president's deadly campaign against suspected drug boats.
The 'Threat' That Supposedly Justified Killing 2 Boat Attack Survivors Was Entirely Speculative
The commander who ordered a second missile strike worried that the helpless men he killed might be able to salvage cocaine from the smoldering wreck.
Boat Attack Commander Says He Had To Kill 2 Survivors Because They Were Still Trying To Smuggle Cocaine
Adm. Frank M. Murphy reportedly told lawmakers a controversial second strike was necessary because drugs on the burning vessel remained a threat.
Rand Paul Bashes Pete Hegseth Over Boat Bombings: 'He Was Lying…or He's Incompetent'
Paul says Hegseth misled Congress about deadly strikes on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean.
Hegseth's 'Fog of War' Is No Excuse for Summarily Executing Suspected Drug Smugglers
Regardless of what the defense secretary knew or said about the September 2 boat attack, the forces he commands are routinely committing murder in the guise of self-defense.
