Voters Used Ballot Initiatives To Defy Power-Mad Politicians
Tax hikes? Drug wars? Racial Preferences? Not today.
Drugs
A Big Night for Drug Legalization
Voters in four states voted to legalize recreational marijuana. In Oregon, they went much further.
Yesterday's Clean Sweep for Drug Policy Reform Suggests That Prohibition May Collapse Sooner Than Expected
Ballot initiatives continue to reverse marijuana prohibition while making the treatment of other drugs less oppressive and more tolerant.
On Election Night, the Real Winner Was Drugs
Plus: Presidential results still unclear (but Trump declares victory in a few states anyway), California approves Proposition 22, and more...
Montana Becomes the 15th State to Legalize Marijuana
The ballot initiative allows recreational consumers to grow their own or buy cannabis from state-licensed stores.
South Dakota Voters Legalize Medical and Recreational Marijuana
It is the first state to do both at the same time.
Oregon Becomes the First State to Legalize Psilocybin
The ballot initiative allows adults to use the promising psychedelic at state-licensed "psilocybin service centers."
Arizona Voters Approve Marijuana Legalization
The initiative makes Arizona the 13th state to allow recreational use.
Mississippi Voters Approve Medical Use of Cannabis
Mississippi is the 35th state, and the second in the Deep South, to recognize marijuana as a medicine.
D.C. Voters Tell Cops and Prosecutors to Leave Psychedelic Users Alone
The ballot measure applies to noncommercial production, distribution, and possession of "entheogenic plants and fungi."
New Jersey Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Marijuana Legalization
The constitutional amendment charges state legislators and regulators with writing specific rules.
News Outlets Are Increasingly Skeptical of Warnings About Marijuana Edibles in Trick-or-Treat Bags
Although the Halloween scare stories continue, journalists are starting to recognize the lack of evidence to support this mythical menace.
These DUI Laws Are an Irrational Hangover From Pot Prohibition
States should stop treating sober cannabis consumers as public menaces.
Shrooms Are on the D.C. Ballot
The reformers who canvassed for signatures for the initiative say they're optimistic it will pass despite objections from Congress, which controls D.C. spending.
Clobbering Purdue Pharma Makes Drug Warriors Feel Good, but It Won't Reduce Opioid-Related Deaths
The $8.3 billion DOJ settlement is part of a crackdown that has perversely pushed drug users toward more dangerous substitutes.
$465 Million Judgment Against Johnson & Johnson Threatens Freedom of Speech
A brief supporting the company's appeal argues that its discussion of pain treatment was constitutionally protected.
The Long, Dark History of Family Separations
How politicians used the drug war and the welfare state to break up black and Native American families
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.
After Climbing 3 Years in a Row, U.S. Pot Busts Fell by 18% Last Year
The odds of getting arrested for consuming cannabis are getting smaller.
Here's Where Marijuana Is on the Ballot in November
Two states are voting to permit medical marijuana. Four are voting for legalization.
Marijuana Federalism
How do we resolve the cannabis conflict between state legalization and federal prohibition?
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?
Is COVID-19 Causing a New Wave of Opioid-Related Deaths?
As of March 2020, combined fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses were nearly 20 percent higher than through the same month in 2019.
Federal Proposal Would Expand Hair Testing of Job Applicants and Employees To Make Sure They Are Obeying Drug Prohibition
The method, which can detect drug metabolites for up to a year, does not measure impairment or recent use.
Be Skeptical of Stories About TikTok 'Benadryl Challenge' Overdoses
One very sketchy story about an Oklahoma City teen’s tragic death has gone viral.
The Feds Who Made America's Fentanyl Freakout Worse
Leaked police documents show how U.S. counterterrorism agencies spread myths and panic about fentanyl.
More Than a Year Before Breonna Taylor's Death, Some of the Same Cops Were Involved in Another Home Invasion Based on Dubious Evidence
The overlap suggests a pattern of shoddy investigation and reckless paramilitary tactics in Louisville.
The Cops Took This Guy's $15,000 Jeep Because His Girlfriend Allegedly Used It for a $25 Marijuana Sale
Kevin McBride argues that Arizona's civil forfeiture law is unconstitutional.
Breaking the Bloody Mexican Drug Cartels
Support for legalizing recreational drugs is sweeping Latin America.
Democratic Party Platform Calls for End to Drug War, But Not Really
Substituting drug courts for prosecution unfortunately still often leads to incarceration.
Florida Inmates Serving Outdated Drug Sentences Released Early Following Reason Investigation
A Florida prosecutor's office reviewed the cases and agreed to resentencing for nearly two dozen inmates, calling it "a matter of fundamental fairness."
Red-Pilled? Actually Most U.S. Drug Ingredients Are Made Here, Not in China
The Trump administration is spending big money to make sure America's drug supply chains aren't dependent on China. But that's not really necessary.
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.
Mike Pence Comes Out Against Marijuana Banking Bill That Would Actually Save Taxpayers Money
The SAFE Banking Act is not a pork-barrel spending bill. Is that why it’s struggling?
Kamala Harris Is So 'Radical,' Trump's Campaign Says, That She Criticized Joe Biden's Criminal Justice Record. So Does Trump.
Harris and Trump are both right that the Democratic nominee has a long record of championing draconian penalties.
The Weed Warriors Who Mistook Tea for Marijuana
The Hartes were the victims of a comically inept publicity stunt executed by cops who did not realize that hydroponic equipment could be used to grow tomatoes and did not know what loose-leaf tea looked like.
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).
Sen. Brian Schatz Says 'Libertarians Should Be Freaking Out About Portland.' Where Has He Been?
The Hawaii senator fails to fully consider the causes of bad policing.
Washington, D.C., Might Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms
The Decriminalize Nature D.C. initiative has gathered enough signatures to land on the ballot this November.
Touching Your Phone While Driving Is Now Illegal in Idaho, Illinois, and Indiana
Plus: More (bad, weird, and occasionally good) new state laws that start taking effect today.
Drugs and Ammo
A look at war through the lens of the performance enhancers that help make it possible
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.
'People Should Have the Fundamental Right To Change Their Consciousness'
Rick Doblin, a leading force in America's psychedelic renaissance, imagines a world of "mass mental health" facilitated by formerly demonized drugs.
Armed Agents of the State Shouldn't Be Enforcing Traffic Laws
Interactions between the public and the police should be kept to a minimum.
Adler v. Larkin on Marijuana Federalism
A podcast debate and discussion about the virtues and vices of Marijuana Federalism.
'It's Not Easy Doing Time in Here': Michael Thompson Shouldn't Die in Jail for Pot Crimes
Michael Thompson is serving a 40- to 60-year sentence for a pot crime in a state where both recreational and medicinal marijuana are currently legal
Hydroxychloroquine 'Is Not a Treatment for COVID-19. It Doesn't Work.'
The antimalarial drug is being removed from United Kingdom's RECOVERY trial evaluating COVID-19 therapies.
