Drugs
Chuck Schumer Scrambles To Save the Marijuana Banking Bill He Blocked Last Year
The Senate majority leader is suddenly keen to pass legislation that he portrayed as a threat to broader reform.
Attorney General Orders Prosecutors To End Crack Cocaine Sentencing Disparity as Congress Dithers
The move comes as legislation flounders in Congress to end the crack-powder sentencing disparity once and for all.
Don't Let Police, Media Mislead You About Fentanyl Exposure Overdoses
Another officer claims to have been laid out just by being close to the drug. That’s not how it works.
Even States That Have Already Decriminalized Marijuana Use See Fewer Possession Arrests After Legalization
A study credits "an overall lower police search rate," the result of new priorities and legal constraints.
New Zealand Bans Cigarette Sales to Anyone Born After 2008. Forever.
The country's strategy ignores the failures of prohibition.
Merchants of Death, Swaps, and Shake-ups
Plus: The editors briefly celebrate a noteworthy shake-up in the Senate.
The FDA Is Doing Something That Could Actually Cut Overdose Deaths
Naloxone could be available without a prescription by spring.
It's Far Past Time To Decriminalize Fentanyl Test Strips
Plus: Lawmakers "demanding action" against slurs on Twitter, FTC sues to stop Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard, and more...
Brittney Griner Has Finally Been Released
While Griner's release is welcome news, it's important to remember the thousands of Americans imprisoned for drug offenses here in the U.S.
A Law That Facilitates Cannabis Research Exemplifies the Modesty of the Reforms We Can Expect From Congress
Making it easier for scientists to study marijuana is a far cry from the liberalization that most Americans want.
Drug Shortages? Ham-Handed Pandemic Interventions Deserve Much of the Blame
You can’t turn lives and economies off and on without inflicting lingering harm.
After a Crackdown on a Pain Clinic, a Tragic Double Suicide
After losing access to opioids, many patients can’t live with constant pain.
Cops Return Cash Seized From Afroman in Bogus Drug Raid…With $400 Missing
Plus: What's going on with Iran's morality police? Two more days to give to Reason's 2022 webathon, and more...
Biden's 'Marijuana Reform' Leaves Prohibition Untouched
While Biden issued pardons and ordered a review of marijuana's Schedule I status, he still supports the federal ban on weed.
Drug Dealers Are Now Being Charged With Human Trafficking
Plus: Chinese authorities contact protesters, smoking rates fall dramatically, and more…
Pardon People, Not Turkeys
Biden should exercise his pardon power to help some of the people whose lives his criminal justice policies destroyed.
The Best Ever Libertarian Gift Guide
Until next year's, because capitalism is always making things better.
Oregon Governor Pardons 45,000 Marijuana Offenders
The ACLU of Oregon is calling on other state governors to follow suit.
Oregon's Newly Legal Magic Mushroom Industry Could Be Strangled by Restrictive Zoning Regulations
Local governments are considering rules that could force "psilocybin service centers" to locate near highways and go through expensive, discretionary permitting processes.
Wallowing Around in a Gerontocracy
Plus: The editors consider what type of fresh attacks the marijuana legalization movement is likely to encounter.
New York Is Setting Up Legal Marijuana Merchants for Failure
Nearly 20 months after the state legalized recreational use, no licensed pot shops have opened, but the black market is booming.
Kentucky Governor's Order Protects Medical Marijuana Users From Prosecution for Possession
To be eligible for a pardon, patients will have to obtain cannabis from other states and document their diagnoses and purchases.
Will Congress Manage To Pass Marijuana Reform During the Lame-Duck Session?
Legalization is unlikely in the foreseeable future, but banking reform and expungement could be feasible.
The Brutality of Brittney Griner's New Home
"People die from hard physical labor and inability to access medical treatment that they need," said one former inmate.
How To Use Drugs in Space
It's best to avoid sparking up a doobie on a spaceship, but there are other ways to consume substances in the cosmos.
Washington Has Been Much More Successful Than California in Displacing the Black Market for Pot
Lighter regulation is one likely explanation.
The Election Betting Markets Fell Short. They're Still the Most Flexible Predictor.
People with money on the line try harder than pundits to be right, and they adjust quickly when they've made a mistake.
Colorado Voters Approve Decriminalization of 5 Natural Psychedelics
Proposition 122 is the broadest liberalization of psychedelic policy ever enacted in the United States.
Pot Prohibition Continues Collapsing, and Psychedelic Bans Could Be Next
Two more states legalized recreational marijuana on Tuesday, while decriminalization of five natural psychedelics looks like a winner in Colorado.
Missouri Becomes the 21st State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana
Some reformers opposed the initiative, deeming it anti-competitive and needlessly prescriptive.
South Dakotans Say No to Marijuana Legalization After Saying Yes Two Years Ago
A 2020 initiative was overturned by the courts, and this year's version was rejected by voters.
Arkansas Voters Reject Marijuana Legalization
Early polling showed a majority favored the change, but support fell in the face of opposition from leading Republicans and conservative groups.
A Judge Accepts the Biden Administration's Dubious Argument for Banning Gun Possession by Marijuana Users
Even people who use cannabis for medical purposes risk severe penalties for daring to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
North Dakota Voters Reject Marijuana Legalization
Since approving medical marijuana by a wide margin in 2016, North Dakotans have said no twice to allowing recreational use.
Maryland Becomes the 20th State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana
Voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing adults 21 or older to use cannabis and instructing legislators to authorize commercial production and distribution.
Abortion, Pot, Slavery, and More: 34 Ballot Initiatives We're Watching Today
Plus: California's latest faux-trafficking sting, judge suspends New York gun restrictions, and more...
These Sisters Tried To Start a Business. Police Seized Their Cash and Accused Them of Being Drug Traffickers
California police seized more than $17,000 from Vera and Apollonia Ward and accused them of laundering drug money, all without charging them with a crime. The two sisters were trying to start a dog-breeding business.
The CDC's New Opioid Prescribing Advice Still Invites the 'Misapplication' It Blames for Harming Patients
The damage done by the original guidelines, including undertreatment and abrupt dose reductions, could have been avoided if the CDC had not presumed to advise doctors on how to treat pain.
Colorado Voters Will Soon Decide Whether To Decriminalize 5 Natural Psychedelics
The ballot initiative also would authorize state-licensed "healing centers" where adults could obtain psychedelics for supervised use.
Undeterred by Pushback, Cops and Journalists Are Still Warning Parents About THC-Laced Halloween Candy
The unsubstantiated threat that strangers with cannabis candy allegedly pose to trick-or-treaters is an urban legend that never dies.
Russian Court Denies Appeal From Brittney Griner
The WNBA player's nine-year sentence was upheld on Tuesday, paving the way for her transfer to a Russian penal colony.
Outside the White House, Protesters Urge Biden To Release Nonviolent Marijuana Offenders
While Biden's mass pardons for those with low-level marijuana possession convictions were greeted with cautious optimism, protesters expressed frustration over Biden's lack of action to actually release those imprisoned for nonviolent drug crimes.
Biden's Marijuana Pardons Did Not Free a Single Federal Prisoner or Deliver the Expungement He Promised
A protest at the White House calls attention to the thousands of federal cannabis offenders who remain incarcerated.
Federal Government Still Tells Kids To Wear Masks on Halloween, For COVID-19 Safety
"Keep safe from COVID by following CDC advice to wear a mask."
For the Umpteenth Time, No One Wants To Give Your Kid Rainbow Fentanyl
Myths about drug-laced Halloween candy just won't go away—no matter how stupid they become.
Review: Better Call Saul Could Only Happen Under Drug Prohibition
The black market for drugs empowers bad actors while imposing serious burdens on innocents.
