Debate's Best Moment: Trump and Biden Bragging on Prison Reform
The U.S. incarceration rate peaked in 2008, but it's good to see two "law and order" candidates talking about clemency.
Drug Policy
Kamala Harris Promises To Decriminalize Marijuana and Expunge Records
The position is likely the strongest any major-party candidate for president or vice president has taken on the issue in such a prominent venue.
Democrats Scuttle Marijuana Decriminalization Vote Over Fears of Not Being Deferential Enough to Cop Lobbyists
If Congress is too afraid to vote on marijuana reform, how the hell are they ever going to pass policing reform?
A New Bill Would Stop the Feds From Tossing Drug Defendants in Prison Before They're Convicted
A proposed bipartisan change in pretrial detention rules could free thousands annually.
Oregon Ballot Initiative Would Decriminalize Low-Level Possession of All Drugs
Measure 110 would reduce felony convictions for drug possession by an estimated 95 percent.
Democratic Party Platform Calls for End to Drug War, But Not Really
Substituting drug courts for prosecution unfortunately still often leads to incarceration.
Former Drug Warrior Kamala Harris Wants To Legalize Pot. Can She Flip Joe Biden?
Once a staunch prohibitionist, the Democratic vice-presidential pick is arguably the most libertarian senator on marijuana.
Democrats Wimp Out on Federal Marijuana Legalization. Thanks, Joe Biden!
The party rejects a position shared by two-thirds of the country (but not its presidential nominee).
RIP Arnold Trebach, Who Helped Make Opposition to the Drug War Respectable
The American University professor called for "drug peace" at a time when both major parties were committed to ever-escalating violence.
Washington, D.C., Might Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms
The Decriminalize Nature D.C. initiative has gathered enough signatures to land on the ballot this November.
Want to Reform the Criminal Justice System? End the Drug War.
Drug prohibition increases conflict between citizens and the police.
RIP Lester Grinspoon, Who Encouraged Americans To Reconsider Demonized Drugs
For half a century, Grinspoon tirelessly advocated a more rational and tolerant approach to marijuana and other psychoactive substances.
New Louisiana Law Will Let Doctors Decide When Marijuana Is Right for Their Patients
While there are still numerous barriers to access in Louisiana's medical marijuana system, a specific list of "qualifying conditions" will no longer be one of them.
Treating Mental Illness With Care, Not Punishment, Goes Beyond Defunding Police
We need to remove all the ways that government deters people from seeking treatment.
3 Libertarian Tips for the #DefundPolice Movement
Reducing law enforcement requires more than merely cutting and shifting a budget.
The FDA Is Stunting the Growth of America's Nascent Legal Hemp Industry
The hemp boom has failed to materialize, and regulatory uncertainty is to blame.
Have a Good Trip Explores Psychedelic Celebrities
New documentary features Sting, Sarah Silverman, Anthony Bourdain, Carrie Fisher, and others discussing the good, bad, and ugly of LSD.
Charlotte Figi, Who Showed Americans the Value of Medical Marijuana, Dies of COVID-19 Complications at Age 13
A strain of CBD oil used to treat children with a rare epileptic disorder is named after her.
Keep Coronavirus Out of Jails by Arresting Fewer People in the First Place
Police departments turn to summons instead of processing people into cells—a change they should keep after this is all over.
Trump Attacks Biden on Drug Policy From the Left
It's an interesting strategy for a president who ran in 2016 on a Nixonian "law and order" platform.
Philadelphia Safe Injection Site Opening Delayed
Blame angry neighbors, not the feds.
Philadelphia Poised To Open America's First Public Safe Injection Site in Just a Week
Federal judge confirms ruling that it doesn’t violate federal “crack house” law.
Marijuana Vaping Madness Is Reaching 'Reefer' Proportions
A new generation of marijuana prohibitionists is reviving old talking points with vaping products substituting for joints.
How Rob Long Went from Cheers to National Review to LSD
The long, strange, and unfinished trip of a sitcom-writing legend who turned right after the Cold War, co-founded a podcast empire, turned on to psychedelics, and got turned off to politics.
Smart Debate Responses Against Drug War Lead Inevitably to Big Pharma Bashing
Government solutions to the opioid overdose crisis have contributed to the problem, and no candidate really wants to acknowledge it.
Is Joe Biden Getting Closer to Supporting Marijuana Legalization?
In New Hampshire, Biden says marijuana should be "basically legalized." That's an accurate representation of his proposed policies, but it also shows how he's lagging on the issue.
Canada Still Not Raking in as Much Marijuana Revenue as Planned
A lesson for other governments making legalization plans
The Austin City Council Voted for Marijuana Reform. Austin's Police Chief Says He'll Keep Arresting People.
Council member Gregorio Casar: "I think the state of Texas should come out of the Stone Ages and not only decriminalize but legalize marijuana in the state."
L.P. Presidential Hopeful Lincoln Chafee Is Against Iraq War and Drug War
The former Rhode Island governor and senator said state-level legalization efforts are “interesting, positive experiments.”
Atlanta Disbands Its Narcotics Unit To Focus on Violent Crimes Instead
A reduced emphasis of busting low-level dealers and users would be good news for scaling back the drug war.
Illinois Dispensaries Ran Out of Weed During First Week of Legal Sales
In one week alone, newly legal dispensaries made $11 million in sales.
Pete Buttigieg Says We Should Decriminalize All the Drugs
“Incarceration should not even be a response to drug possession.”
Police Union Chief Claims That Lax Marijuana Enforcement Killed a College Freshman
Tessa Majors may have been on way to buy illegal pot when she was stabbed to death. But if that's true, it's an argument against prohibition, not for it.
Will Philadelphia Host America's First Supervised Injection Site?
There are no supervised injection facilities openly operating in the United States. That might change soon.
All Drug Offenders Should Be Treated Like Hunter Biden: Leniently
When the vice president's son was caught using illegal drugs, he escaped legal problems. We should all be so lucky.
This Was the Decade When Politicians Stopped Panicking About Marijuana and Started Panicking About Nicotine
Despite notable progress in policies regarding pot and psychedelics, the war on drugs always finds new targets.
California Threatens Landlords of Unlicensed Pot Shops With Prosecution
The drug wars will continue until the state gets its cut of the money.
Pete Buttigieg Open to Sending U.S. Troops To Fight Mexican Cartels
Afghanistan taught us the risks of miring troops in entrenched domestic security problems.
California's War on Weed Continues Thanks to a Red Tape-Fueled Black Market
The Golden State is still taking punitive, costly, and pointless measures to fight illegal grow operations.
It Seems Highly Doubtful That a President Sanders Could Unilaterally Legalize Marijuana
While the Controlled Substances Act generally gives the attorney general the authority to deschedule drugs, it also invokes treaty obligations that seem to preclude doing that with cannabis.
Canada Hobbles 'Legal' Marijuana With Burdensome Rules
Once again, underground suppliers step in when over-regulated markets can’t satisfy customers.
As Tennessee Forces Opioid Prescription Cutbacks, More People Are Dying of Overdoses
Deaths continue to rise, thanks to increased use of less-safe black market pain pills.
Should All Drugs Be Legal? A Soho Forum Debate
Reason's Jacob Sullum and former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson debate eliminating laws that prohibit the use and sale of narcotics.
Russia Sentences Israeli-American Traveler to 7.5 Years in Prison for 9 Grams of Pot
Naama Issachar, a 26-year-old woman who was arrested while catching a connecting flight in Moscow, was charged with drug smuggling.
Tulsi Gabbard Blames Both Sides for Waging 'These Wasteful Wars'
“As though the only way that we can relate with other countries in the world is by bombing them.”
Congressional Report on 'Deaths of Despair' Highlights the Hazards of Drug Prohibition
Policies aimed at curtailing the harms caused by substance abuse may instead magnify those harms.
Berkeley Might Become Third City in the Country to Decriminalize Shrooms
Next week, the Berkeley city council will consider a measure to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms and other "entheogenic" substances.
How Innovative Responses to Prohibition Set Off a Deadly Fentanyl Explosion
A RAND report highlights the importance of new synthesis methods, cheap international shipping, and online distribution aided by privacy-protecting technologies.
