Drugs
The Best of Reason: Anti-Chinese Xenophobia Fueled America's First Drug War
San Francisco's prohibitionists worried that opium dens were patronized by "young men and women of respectable parentage" as well as "the vicious and the depraved."
Government Data Refute the Notion That Overprescribing Caused the 'Opioid Crisis'
The CDC’s numbers show that pain treatment is not responsible for escalating drug-related deaths.
Anti-Chinese Xenophobia Fueled America's First Drug War
San Francisco's prohibitionists worried that opium dens were patronized by "young men and women of respectable parentage" as well as "the vicious and the depraved."
Don't Forget To Claim Drug Dealing Income on Your Taxes
According to IRS guidance, any income derived from illegal activity is taxable, and there's no statute of limitations on when they can go after you.
Georgia Cops Are Still Hassling Vape Stores Over Legal Products
Courts have repeatedly ruled that delta-8 and delta-10 products are legal. So why are officers and district attorneys still raiding shops?
Report: Adderall Shortage Led to 10 Percent Fewer Prescriptions Filled
The government still blames the private sector despite its own role in creating, exacerbating, and prolonging the shortage.
Drug Dealers Did Not Kill Cecilia Gentili. Prohibition Did.
If drug warriors really wanted to punish "those responsible" for the transgender activist's death, they would start by arresting themselves.
New York's Pot Legalization 'Disaster' Was Entirely Predictable
The state’s policies and practices seemed designed to strangle the legal cannabis supply.
DARE Didn't Make Kids 'Say No' to Drugs. It Normalized Police in Schools.
DARE to Say No details the history of an anti-drug campaign that left an indelible mark on America.
Don't Blame Decriminalization for Oregon Drug Deaths
Oregon lawmakers recently voted to recriminalize drugs after voters approved landmark reforms in 2020.
New York Regulators Shut Down a Marijuana Processor After She Criticized the State's Lax Enforcement
New York's botched recreational marijuana rollout just keeps looking worse.
Political Stupidity and Bureaucratic Bungling Created New York's Pot Legalization 'Disaster'
Three years after the state legalized recreational marijuana, unauthorized weed shops outnumber licensed dispensaries by 23 to 1.
Peter Moskos: What Does Good Policing Look Like?
Peter Moskos, criminal justice professor and former Baltimore police officer, discusses ways to reform policing and turn failing cities around on the latest Just Asking Questions podcast.
Biden Decries Criminalization of Cannabis Consumers Even As He Insists They Have No Second Amendment Rights
Hours before the president said "no one should be jailed" for marijuana use, his Justice Department was saying no one who uses marijuana should be allowed to own guns.
Because 'Marijuana Is Dangerous,' 2 Inveterate Drug Warriors Say, 'Legalizing It Was a Mistake'
William Barr and John Walters ignore the benefits of legalization and systematically exaggerate its costs.
Review: Tripping on Utopia Complicates the History of Psychedelics
Mind-altering drugs have long been seen as tools for both liberation and control.
Rats Dine on Marijuana Confiscated by Police
New Orleans police found rats eating marijuana the department had confiscated as part of the War on Drugs.
New Orleans Police Say Rats Are Eating Drug Evidence
The admission came as the agency pushed for funding. It's a reminder that the cops should spend fewer resources seizing cannabis and more on solving serious crimes.
RIP Marc Sandhaus, Whose Obsession With Cannabis Landraces Finally Bore Flower
The far-traveling smuggler turned breeder "never gave up" on his dream of recovering neglected marijuana strains.
Biden's Inaccurate and Inadequate Lip Service to Marijuana Reform Ignores Today's Central Cannabis Issue
The president has not expunged marijuana records or decriminalized possession, which in any case would fall far short of the legalization that voters want.
Republicans Use Fuzzy Math To Claim Large FBI, ATF Cuts in Budget Bill
The total appropriations package would cut $200 billion over 10 years, as the national debt expands by $20 trillion.
After 17 Years, Feds Stop Trying To Imprison a Licensed Medical Marijuana Provider
Charlie Lynch’s ordeal is a vivid reminder of a senseless prohibition policy that persists thanks to political inertia.
A Belated Bureaucratic Reversal on Pot
Marijuana's classification has always been a political question, not a medical one.
Oregon Legislators Overwhelmingly Vote To Recriminalize Low-Level Drug Possession
The reversal of a landmark reform was driven by unrealistic expectations and unproven assertions.
Dune: Part Two Is a Glorious Sci-Fi Spectacle
The sequel is about ecology, politics, economics, imperialism, and much more. But mostly it's about worms.
Sheriff Who Presided Over Violent 'Goon Squad' Tries To Play Dumb
"Nobody's ever reported that to me," Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said after his deputies admitted to brutalizing innocent people.
Losing the Home State
Plus: Adderall shortages, infrastructure lessons, Kanye West, and more...
Biden Is Trying To Motivate Voters Who Oppose Pot Prohibition. Maybe He Should Stop Supporting It.
The supposedly reformed drug warrior's intransigence on the issue complicates his appeal to young voters, who overwhelmingly favor legalization.
The Sindex: Cigarette Prices Outpacing Inflation
The Reason Sindex tracks the price of vice: smoking, drinking, snacking, traveling, and more.
This Prosecutor Secretly Worked for the Judges Overseeing His Cases. Will His Victims Be Able To Sue?
Ralph Petty likely violated the Constitution. In a rare move, a federal court signaled this week that lawsuits against him may not be dead on arrival.
Iowa Cops Arrested a Sober College Student for Driving Intoxicated. His Lawsuit Is Moving Forward.
A federal judge ruled that Tayvin Galanakis' lawsuit against the officers who arrested them could go forward. He also approved part of the officers' defamation case against him.
Did Decriminalization Boost Drug Deaths in Oregon?
Recent research finds "no evidence" that it did, undermining a key claim by critics of that policy.
Biden's Cognitive Shrinkflation
Plus: A listener asks if the state of Oregon’s policy on drug decriminalization should be viewed as a success.
An Alabama Couple's Lives Were Upended by an Unconstitutional Police Raid. A Jury Awarded Them $1 Million.
Greg and Teresa Almond lost their house and livelihood over a misdemeanor drug crime. Sheriff's deputies never got a warrant to search their house.
Rachel Nuwer: MDMA Is On the Cusp of Legalization
In 2024, the FDA will decide whether or not MDMA can be used to treat patients suffering from PTSD.
12 Senators Urge the DEA To Legalize Marijuana, Which Only Congress Can Do
Under the Controlled Substances Act, the agency does not have the discretion to "deschedule marijuana altogether."
A New Pain Medication Could Reinforce the Disastrous Crackdown on Prescription Opioids
When the government is systematically interfering with medical decisions, a non-opioid alternative may not actually increase treatment options.
The Newly Unveiled HHS Rationale for Rescheduling Marijuana Underlines Drug Warriors' Dishonesty
The points about marijuana's risks and benefits that the department now concedes were clear long before last August.
Let Elon Musk Enjoy Drugs
Intoxicants might be a source of problems—or enhance our ability to cope.
It's Not a Cigarette. It's Not a Vape. And It's Big in Japan.
Heated tobacco products are coming to America, at long last. How will they change the landscape for smokers and prohibitionists?
Guns, Germs, and Drugs Are Largely Responsible for the Decline in U.S. Life Expectancy
The Washington Post hectors Congress to make U.S. life expectancy a "political priority."
Newsom Nixes Psychedelic Decriminalization and Cannabis Cafés
Gavin Newsom supported a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in California but rejected a social consumption measure.
In 2024, Teens Will Get Pregnant in Driverless Cars
Plus: State officials attempt to ban Donald Trump from 2024 election ballots.
Here's Why Charity Is Better at Solving Problems Than Government
Big government has been ruinous for millions of people. Charities aren't perfect, but they are much more efficient and effective.
'I Relied on Others,' 'Documents Were Filed in the Wrong Place,' and Other Memorable Excuses
The year's highlights in blame shifting.