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.
Even when they are less patently ridiculous, the metrics of success favored by government officials make little sense.
Bondi said the president's drug policy prevented the deaths of 75 percent of Americans, in just his first 100 days.
The president's bizarre insistence that Kilmar Abrego Garcia "had MS-13 tattooed" on "his knuckles" makes him seem like a confused old man.
Using the military to wage the drug war in Mexico raises practical and constitutional issues.
Plus: New York state cut off from federal funding, Phil Magness on tariffs for JAQ, and more...
The researchers found that drug seizures in San Francisco were associated with a substantial increase in fatal opioid overdoses.
If tariffs are a poor method of collecting revenue or strengthening trade, they're even less effective at stopping the flow of illegal drugs.
The bill would permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs—and impede therapeutic research.
After promising to stop the flow of drugs during his first term, the president blames foreign officials for his failure.
The president can cite meaningless "adequate steps," ambiguous drug seizure numbers, and a decline in drug deaths that began before he took office.
Drug warriors deserve blame rather than credit for their role in recent overdose trends.
One 2022 study found that 91 percent of women given fentanyl in their epidurals later tested positive for the drug.
If stopping drugs from entering the country is as straightforward as the president-elect implies, why didn't he do it during his first term?
Since the president-elect refuses to admit that levies on imports are taxes paid by Americans, he sees no downside to raising them.
The attorney general nominee's record as a drug warrior epitomizes the predictably perverse consequences of prohibition.
The problems with these test kits are well-known, and there have been hundreds of documented cases of wrongful arrests based on them.
Each party's candidate is jockeying to be more aggressive on fentanyl, whose use has proliferated as a direct result of government aggression.
Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris support supply-side tactics that are worse than ineffective.
One thing seems clear: Drug warriors do not deserve credit for the turnaround, although they deserve blame for the previous explosion in fatal overdoses.
At least he draws the right conclusion from this imaginary hazard, acknowledging the dangers created by prohibition.
Prosecutors' attempts to convert accidental overdoses into homicides are dangerous and morally dubious.
As the DEA relentlessly tightens regulations on pain meds, the FDA refuses to approve a safer alternative already being used in similar countries.
Since he favors aggressive drug law enforcement, severe penalties, and impunity for abusive police officers, he may have trouble persuading black voters that he is on their side.
The CDC’s numbers show that pain treatment is not responsible for escalating drug-related deaths.
If drug warriors really wanted to punish "those responsible" for the transgender activist's death, they would start by arresting themselves.
Oregon lawmakers recently voted to recriminalize drugs after voters approved landmark reforms in 2020.
The total appropriations package would cut $200 billion over 10 years, as the national debt expands by $20 trillion.
The reversal of a landmark reform was driven by unrealistic expectations and unproven assertions.
Recent research finds "no evidence" that it did, undermining a key claim by critics of that policy.
When the government is systematically interfering with medical decisions, a non-opioid alternative may not actually increase treatment options.
The year's highlights in blame shifting.
"We're going to build a wall...I am not going to sit there and let sex trafficking go unabated," DeSantis said.
The study is one of several documenting the perverse impact of an intervention aimed at reducing substance abuse.
A New York Times podcast tells a story about both the drug war and institutional incompetence.
Plus: A listener asks the editors to weigh in on a hypothetical executive order to establish an American Climate Corps.
A 2022 Canadian case involving what looks like a stoned mistake seems to be the closest real-world example of this purported danger.
Just as there are adult reasons for vape companies to sell flavored vape pods, there are adult reasons for drug dealers to color their fentanyl.
The culprit is prohibition, not lax border policing.
The Republican presidential candidate ignores the lethal impact of the drug policies he avidly supports.
Prohibition is at the root of the hazards that have led to record numbers of opioid-related deaths.
Legislators abuse the emergency label to push through spending that would otherwise violate budget constraints.
Mixing other drugs with xylazine is driven by the economics of prohibition.
While the lethal effects of Iran’s booze ban are widely recognized, politicians ignore similar consequences from U.S. drug laws.
A Republican-sponsored resolution would authorize the president to "use all necessary and appropriate force" against foreigners involved in fentanyl trafficking.
Plus: SCOTUS won't hear Reddit sex trafficking case, debt deal would increase spending on SNAP benefits, and more...
A House-approved bill that the president supports would expand the draconian penalties he supposedly wants to abolish.
An expanded surveillance state can’t solve problems created by drug prohibition.
Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.
This modal will close in 10