The Year's Highlights in Blame Shifting
Politicians and cops found creative ways to dodge responsibility in 2021.
Drugs
Californians Learn That Raising Taxes on Marijuana Fuels Black Markets for Drugs
If only they would apply that lesson to other goods and services.
Biden Doubles Down on a Lethal Anti-Drug Strategy
Prohibition has driven opioid-related deaths to record levels.
The FDA Still Hasn't Approved 2 New Drugs That Could Help End the Pandemic
Bureaucratic foot-dragging is costing lives.
A Judge Has Ordered Him Released From Prison—Twice. The Government Still Won't Set Him Free.
Bobby Sneed's story highlights how far some government agents will go to keep people locked up, flouting the same legal standards they are charged with upholding.
The Great Libertarian Gift Guide of 2021
It's time to spread cheer. Reason is here to help.
A Scientific Life on the Edge
Stanton Peele's memoir of his "lonely quest to change how we see addiction" contradicts the prejudices that still dominate the drug policy debate.
Federal Drug Laws Force Pot Shops To Carry Lots of Cash and No Insurance. Now They're Getting Robbed.
Despite state legalization, federal prohibition makes break-ins harder on marijuana shops and manufacturers.
Feds Pledge $30 Million To Fund Drug Harm Reduction Programs
Less punitive responses to drug addiction are good, but what about people still stuck in federal prison?
Vaping Regulation Threatens a Lifesaving Smoking Alternative
Policy makers are acting as if saving the lives of smokers via harm-reducing alternatives counts for nothing.
After Avoiding a Government Shutdown, What Will Congress Do With the Waning Days of 2021?
Plus: Formerly imprisoned NSA contractor Reality Winner gets interviewed by 60 Minutes, San Francisco tries the novel approach of not taxing businesses to death, and more...
New York City Is Funding America's First Official Safe Injection Site for Drug Users
As the U.S. reaches new terrible milestones in overdose deaths, a harm reduction system that has proven itself elsewhere finally launches where it’s needed most.
South Dakota's Governor Succeeds in Blocking Voter-Approved Marijuana Legalization
The South Dakota Supreme Court ruled that the ballot initiative violated the "single subject" rule for constitutional amendments.
Every Year, Police Pull People Over To Give Out Turkeys Instead of Tickets. That Could Be Illegal.
There are better ways to build trust in the community than by violating the Fourth Amendment.
Should We Blame Pharmacies or the Government for Opioid-Related Deaths?
Restrictions on pain medication have undermined patient care while making drug use more lethal.
Is Fentanyl-Tainted Marijuana 'Something Real' or 'Just an Urban Legend'?
The meager evidence cited by Connecticut officials makes their warnings seem overwrought.
Man Faces 30-Year Sentence in the Self-Defense Case Everyone Ignored Last Week
Some are using Kyle Rittenhouse's acquittal to argue for harsher laws and punishments. Andrew Coffee IV's case is a study in why that's an awful idea.
The TSA's 20th Birthday Should Be Its Last
Plus: A dispatch from the National Conservatism Conference, a progressive FCC nominee gets a surprising backer, and more...
Dopesick Reinforces These Pernicious Misconceptions About Opioids, Addiction, and Pain Treatment
The Hulu miniseries portrays opioid pain medication as unacceptably dangerous in nearly every context.
Two Courts Debunk Widely Accepted Opioid Myths
Undertreatment of pain is a real problem, and bona fide patients rarely become addicted to their medication.
This Republican's Marijuana Legalization Bill Aims To Build Bipartisan Support for Repealing Federal Prohibition
Rep. Nancy Mace is touting "a framework which allows states to make their own decisions on cannabis."
Oklahoma Supreme Court Overturns a Landmark Decision Blaming Johnson & Johnson for the State's Opioid Problems
The justices rejected a broad definition of "public nuisance" that would cover the manufacture of pain medication.
A Shuttered West Virginia Pharmacy Shows the DEA's Role in Escalating America's Overdose Crisis
A drug that treats opioid addiction may also be abused. That’s not a good reason to restrict access.
Videos Are Making It Hard To Trust the Cops
It’s difficult to avoid the suspicion that the powers-that-be habitually lie about their conduct.
A Cop Was Indicted for Homicide After Shooting a Fleeing Driver. He Still Got Qualified Immunity.
Bau Tran might go to jail for his conduct, but he will be insulated from having to face a jury in civil court.
Detroit Becomes the Second-Largest U.S. City To Urge Tolerance of Psychedelic Use
Voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that makes "entheogenic plant" possession the city's "lowest law-enforcement priority."
A Scathing Rejection of the Case Against Four Drug Companies Highlights Misconceptions About the 'Opioid Crisis'
A California judge said the four jurisdictions that filed the lawsuit failed to prove a "public nuisance" or "false advertising."
Ethan Nadelmann: How To End the Drug War (and What Comes Next)
The Drug Policy Alliance founder and Psychoactive podcast host on how to build a post-prohibitionist America.
Dopesick Resurrects an Opioid Narrative That Is 'Neat, Plausible, and Wrong'
Prohibition forces doctors to cut patients off from essential pain-killing medication.
Taxes and Red Tape Hobble California's 'Legal' Marijuana
Legalizing a market isn’t enough; you have to set the participants free.
No One Is Wasting Their Ecstasy on Your Kids' Halloween Candy
The myth of the candy poisoner
This Woman Served 11 Years in Prison on a Marijuana Charge. She's Been Sent Back Over a Clerical Error.
Raquel Esquivel, convicted of a nonviolent drug offense in 2009, was put on home confinement during COVID-19.
Montana Supreme Court Unanimously Overturns a Pot Conviction, Saying Cops Stopped the Defendant for No Good Reason
Cops thought Hoang Vinh Pham, who received a 15-year prison sentence, was suspicious because he stared at a police van full of marijuana.
South Dakota Lawmakers, Activists Try To Work Around Gov. Kristi Noem's Opposition to Marijuana Legalization
Legislation advances and a ballot initiative circulates in response to a constitutional amendment that was struck down by the courts.
A Man Overdosed on Drugs. The Dealer Was Convicted of Murder and Faces Life in Prison.
It might represent justice in this case. But the approach is rife for abuse.
California Seizes 1.2 Million Dangerously Untaxed Marijuana Plants
Plus: Seattle businesses embrace private security in response to a police officer shortage, the FDA is set approve "mix and match" booster shots, and more...
Are Democrats Serious About Legalizing Marijuana?
Democrats need to decide whether they want to legalize marijuana or just want credit for seeming to try.
Woman Convicted of Manslaughter, Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Having a Miscarriage
Whatever this system is, it is not pro-life.
Keeping Warm This Winter Could Be More Costly As Inflation Heats Up
Plus: Psychedelic entrepreneurs, American seafood stuck in Canada, and more...
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Bans Private Businesses From Mandating Vaccines for Workers
Plus: A dangerous misunderstanding about what caused America's opioid overdose epidemic, a look at this year's Nobel Prize winners, and more...
The Vain Search for Marijuana in Trick-or-Treat Bags
Police are still pushing this discredited scare, but it seems fewer people are falling for it.
Seattle Just Became the Largest U.S. City To Approve Quasi-Decriminalization of Natural Psychedelics
The resolution urges police to refrain from arresting people for noncommercial production and distribution as well as possession.
Marijuana Arrests Plunged Last Year, Reflecting the Impact of Legalization
The 36 percent drop may also be partly due to pandemic-related restrictions that drove cannabis consumers indoors.
House Passes EQUAL Act to Erase Sentencing Disparity Between Crack and Powder Cocaine
The Senate now has the chance to finally end one of the most disastrous legacies of the drug war.
DEA Still Insists Marijuana Has No 'Accepted Medical Use'
In the DEA's view, the fact that most states allow patients to use marijuana for symptom relief is irrelevant.
Oregon Legalizes a Breakthrough Treatment: Magic Mushrooms
Oregon will license and regulate psilocybin-assisted therapy by 2023. Some health care professionals aren't willing to wait.
Most Opioid Settlement Funds Aren't Going to Addiction Services
Despite what the media and politicians have said, that isn't how this works.
