When Fixing the Problem Makes It Worse
Our best hope is that commercial and cultural change will overcome the tendency to force top-down, one-size-fits-all solutions onto complicated problems.
Drugs
Trooper Stops Driver Twice Within 3 Hours, Gropes Her for No Apparent Reason
The cop's boss says he did nothing wrong; the local D.A. disagrees.
At Gov. Butch Otter's Request, Idaho Senator Goes to Crazy Lengths to Kill CBD Oil Bill
"The governor's office does not want to hear this bill....The state police do not want to hear this bill," committee chairman explains behind closed doors.
Trump, Slayer of Pushers
If drug dealers have blood on their hands, so do drug warriors.
The 2010s Have Been a Banner Decade for Unintended Consequences
The war on drugs looks crueler by the day.
Trump and Trial Lawyers Target Drug Companies Over Opioid Addiction
Making drug-company shareholders foot the bill for a public health crisis is flaky and counterproductive.
When It Comes to Pot, Pain, and Cancer, Jeff Sessions Is An Idiot
Our top federal law enforcement officer has no idea what real pain is really like-or what doctors do to manage it.
Home Pot Delivery Is Cool, but California's Taxes and Regulations Are Still Onerous
The current regime makes it hard for licensed cannabusinesses to compete with the black market.
Ted Cruz Challenger Rep. Beto O'Rourke, on a Possible DACA Deal: 'I'm Not Seeing It'
El Paso Democrat, trying to change Texas from red to blue, talks about guns, weed, and how we've already got "record safety and security on our border"
Duterte Fanboy Donald Trump Wants America to Start Executing Drug Dealers
The president has never encountered a problem he can't imagine solving with violence.
At CPAC, a Pitch to End the Drug War: 'It's a Parkland, Florida, Every Two Days'
There's little discussion of the war on drugs at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Howard Wooldridge wants to change that.
After Pablo Escobar: Murder, Chaos, and the Failure of U.S. Drug Policy in Colombia
The Drug Policy Alliance's Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno talks about her new book.
Admitting You Smoked Pot Can Get You Bounced From White House Job
It's all a matter of the suddenly important "security clearance."
Congress Has Failed (Yet Again) to Close the Martin Shkreli Loophole
Restricted distribution is a barrier to generic competition.
Jeff Sessions' Cruel Prescription for Pain
The attorney general does not seem to understand how the drive to minimize opioid use hurts innocent people.
Alabama Prosecutor, Sheriff Threaten to Put More People in Prison in Order to Keep Seizing Massive Amounts of Property
Lawmakers are considering long-overdue civil asset forfeiture reform, and law enforcement leaders aren't happy.
Stossel: Silk Road Founder Jailed, Drug Sales Up
People applauded when government shut down the drug website Silk Road. But online drug sales increased.
To Placate Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Blocks Medical Marijuana Exports
The interference seems inconsistent with the president's support for cannabis as a medicine.
The FDA Is Still Trying to Ban Kratom, a Potential Solution to the Opioid Epidemic
"No reliable evidence to support the use of kratom as a treatment for opioid use disorder and significant safety issues exist."
Judge Reduces Woman's Prison Sentence Because She Got Sterilized, but It Was Totally Her 'Choice'
Paternalistic nudging in action
Jeff Sessions' Advice to Pain Patients: 'Take Some Aspirin' and 'Tough It Out'
The attorney general thinks people should suffer needlessly, just like John Kelly.
Despite Tough Talk, Oregon's U.S. Attorney Doesn't Plan to Shut Down the Pot Industry
Billy Williams wants to work with state marijuana regulators to address his concerns about "overproduction and diversion."
Jeff Sessions Says Opioid Addiction Starts With Marijuana. Here Are 6 Studies That Say Otherwise
Sessions: "We think a lot of this is starting with marijuana and other drugs, too."
Legal Limits on Opioid Prescriptions May Increase the Number of Pills Dispensed
When initial prescriptions are too short, refills are more likely.
Silk Road's Founder Is in Jail for Life, but the Dark Web Only Grows
Making popular things illegal rarely diminishes their use.
San Francisco to Open Safe Drug Injection Sites by Summer
They will be privately funded and operated by nonprofits.
Trump Wants Us 'To Get Really, Really Tough, Really Mean with the Drug Pushers'
Doubling down on a drug war that has failed for 40 years.
America's Secret Death Penalty Drugs
Governments have gone to great effort to keep the sources and methods of their death penalty regimes secret.
Showtime Documentary Highlights Drug War's Futility
The Trade offers access to cartels, addicts, and cops alike.
Renewed War on Marijuana Spurs Congress to Defend Federalism
Next week's budget showdown will include a fight over an amendment prohibiting the DOJ from preventing states from legalizing medical marijuana.
California Politicians Want to Create a Government-Owned Marijuana Bank
Federal pot prohibition breeds state socialism.
Starting Today, San Francisco Is Erasing Everybody's Misdemeanor Pot Convictions
Retroactivity is a powerful tool we don't use often enough.
Addicts Use Imodium to Help With Detox. That's a Terrible Reason for the FDA to Make It Harder to Get.
The opioid crisis is starting to drive people crazy.
How to Legally Buy Weed In D.C. Without Actually Buying Any Weed at All
D.C.'s marijuana gift economy shows that markets exist whether we want them to or not.
ALEC Urges State to Reform Drug-Free School Zone Laws
"Most Drug-Free Zone laws were established decades ago but have not been reformed despite evidence they're arbitrary and often unnecessarily broad."
Wormwood's Bad Trip Peddles CIA Conspiracies
The facts don't add up in re-enactment of famous LSD death of Frank Olson.
Man Incarcerated for 6 Years Without a Trial Because He Demanded a Speedy Trial
What the 2nd Circuit's opinion in U.S. v. Tigano reveals about the state of our criminal justice system
Poll Commissioned by Pot Prohibitionists Shows How Unpopular Pot Prohibition Is
A survey by an anti-marijuana group finds that only 16 percent of Americans support the current federal policy.
Alabama Raked in $2.2 Million in Civil Asset Forfeiture in 2015
A new bill introduced by state lawmakers would require a criminal conviction for the government to keep someone's property.
Philadelphia's Government 'Expresses Interest' in Safe Injection Sites
The city's new district attorney also supports the idea.
The Feds Are Willing to Let More Medical Workers Treat Opioid Addicts. Now the States Need to Step Up and Allow It.
It's time we unleashed non-physicians to help opioid addicts.
Most U.S. Attorneys in States With Legal Pot Don't Seem to Be Planning a Crackdown
Eight out of 13 have indicated that Jeff Session's marijuana memo won't affect their prosecutorial decisions.
New Psilocybin Research Suggests 'Set and Setting' Are Crucial to Helping Patients Get Better
How patients feel on psilocybin has a huge impact on how they feel weeks and possibly months later.
Vermont Becomes the Ninth State to Legalize Recreational Marijuana
Today the governor signed a bill that eliminates penalties for possession and home cultivation.
Study of Postsurgical Patients Shows Addiction to Pain Pills Is Rare
While the risk of "opioid misuse" increased with the duration of the prescription, the overall rate was low.
