A 25-Year Prison Sentence for Beating Up a Dog Is Not Justice
Frank Javier Fonseca's punishment, which may amount to a life sentence, is a microcosm for many of the issues with the U.S. criminal legal system.
War on Drugs
A New Study Finds No Correlation Between Opioid Prescriptions and Drug-Related Deaths
The CDC, which issued disastrous pain treatment advice in 2016, is still pushing a narrative contradicted by recent data.
Judicial Rubber-Stamping of Search Warrants Can Be Deadly
Lethal drug raids in Louisville and Houston were based on fishy police affidavits that turned out to be fraudulent.
The Biden Administration Defends the Federal Ban on Gun Possession by Medical Marijuana Users
The Justice Department says that policy is rational and consistent with the right to keep and bear arms.
Why Is Anyone Still Surprised That a Fox News Libertarian Is OK With Psychedelics?
The millennial news site called them hypocrites, but Greg Gutfeld and Kat Timpf have a long history of advocating drug legalization.
Brittney Griner's 9.5-Year Sentence Is Harsh Even by Russian Standards
It is unclear if, or when, she could be freed by a prisoner exchange.
Brittney Griner's 9-Year Sentence Highlights Stark Differences Between Russian and U.S. Pot Penalties
Travelers caught with small amounts of marijuana at the U.S. border face much less severe punishment.
Four Cops Implicated in Breonna Taylor's Death Now Face Federal Charges
So far no one has been held criminally liable for the disastrous drug raid, which was based on a flimsy and falsified search warrant affidavit.
California Lawmakers Approve Drug Injection Sites for Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco
Supervised facilities aim to make a dent in the dramatic increase in overdose deaths.
San Francisco's New D.A. Leans Into Prohibition, Will Roll Back Plea Agreements Offered by Her Predecessor
"We have to make changes now to save lives," Brooke Jenkins said, announcing tougher penalties for fentanyl dealers.
Scofflaws Lead the Way To Legalizing Psychedelic Drugs
With 28 percent of Americans trying hallucinogens, the days are numbered for bans.
How Many People Have To Be Assaulted or Killed Before Chuck Schumer Stops Resisting Marijuana Banking Reform?
The Senate majority leader has repeatedly blocked a bill that would address the robbery threat to state-licensed pot shops.
Chuck Schumer Learned Nothing From the Failure of Pot Legalization in California
The Senate majority leader’s marijuana bill would pile on more taxes and regulations, despite years of complaints about the barriers they create.
Did Congress Just Attempt To Do Its Job?
Plus: The editors each consider a book they might secretly want to write one day.
A Houston Drug Cop's Lies Sent This Man to Prison for 25 Years
The case shows how lax supervisors, incurious prosecutors, deferential judges, credulous jurors, and inattentive defense attorneys abet police misconduct.
Russia's Imprisonment of Britney Griner Has Some Unfortunate American Parallels
The U.S. justice system also has a staggeringly low acquittal rate and over-charges on drug offenses.
Chuck Schumer's Doomed Marijuana Monstrosity Is Not a Serious Attempt To Repeal Pot Prohibition
The Senate majority leader's 296-page bill would compound the barriers to successful legalization.
California Bill Would Mandate That Legal Marijuana Products Come With Warning Labels, Brochures
An earlier draft of the bill, favored by the Los Angeles Times, would have required the labels be huge, with 12-point font and yellow backgrounds.
Supreme Court Tells Cops To Stop Playing Doctor
The unanimous decision is a good first step for getting law enforcement out of prescription decisions.
New Footage Shows Bodega Clerk Trying To Avoid Deadly Fight. Will Manhattan D.A. Drop the Murder Charges?
Alvin Bragg campaigned on "ending mass incarceration." But that promise apparently does not apply to Jose Alba.
Democrats Are Trying To Push Through Another 'Build Back Better' Bill. It Would Only Make Inflation Worse.
Here's hoping we don't wind up with more of the spending and favoritism that's become so common.
Modest Tax Relief Comes to California's Cannabis Growers
Unfortunately, so do more regulations and potential fines.
The FDA Perversely Seeks To Make Both Cigarettes and Harm-Reducing Alternatives Less Appealing
The agency’s policies would boost the black market and smoking-related deaths.
Brittney Griner's Russian Detention Is a Reminder of What Happens When You Declare War on Drugs
The WNBA player has been detained in Russia on drug possession charges since February.
The War on Weed Continues in California, Which Supposedly Legalized Marijuana Six Years Ago
Federal and state agencies are busting unlicensed marijuana merchants, who face decades in prison.
The FDA's War on Juul Will Kill People
Bureaucrats say they want to save lives. But they're moving to block a tool that is proven to help smokers quit entirely.
A Broader Perspective on "My Body, My Choice"
The principle has implications that go far beyond abortion. Some of them deserve far more attention than they have gotten to this point.
The Dirty Pictures That Revolutionized Art
Brian Doherty's history of underground comix chronicles how Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, and others challenged censorship and increased free speech.
Marijuana Banking Legalization Gets Scrapped Again
Members of Congress keep saying they want to allow state-legal pot businesses to have access to the banking system, but they keep refusing to actually do it.
SCOTUS Rules That Doctors Who Write Prescriptions in Good Faith Can't Be Convicted of Drug Trafficking
The unanimous decision will rein in prosecutions that have long had a chilling effect on pain treatment.
Colombia Could Have Had a Coke-Legalizing, TikTok-Famous President. They Elected a Socialist Instead.
President-elect Gustavo Petro could easily take Colombia in an illiberal direction.
Legalizing Pot Requires GOP Support
With its unnecessarily complicated and contentious provisions, the MORE Act received only three Republican votes in April.
Did Doctors Overtreating With Opioids Cause the Overdose Crisis? A Soho Forum Debate
Doctors Adriane Fugh-Berman and Jeffrey A. Singer debate the harms of prescription opioids.
Jared Polis Wants To Leave You Alone
Colorado's governor on parenting, partisanship, and sensible pandemic responses
Did Prescription Opioids Cause The Overdose Epidemic?
Doctors Adriane Fugh-Berman and Jeffrey Singer debate the harms of prescription opioids
America's Failed Opioid Policy Drove the Tulsa Shooter to Violence
Doctors can’t help people in pain because of restrictive opioid policy.
COVID-19 Measures Magnified the Wars on Drugs and Sex Work
Plus: International Whores' Day, U.S. Postal Service sued over the seizure of Black Lives Matter masks, and more...
Delta-8 Cannabis Compound Is Legal, Says Federal Appeals Court
Plus: Libertarian Party changes abortion and bigotry planks, the FDA's weird rejection of fluvoxamine for treating COVID-19, and more...
Rhode Island Becomes the 19th State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana
Meanwhile, Delaware's governor has blocked a more modest step, and a legalization initiative has qualified for the ballot in South Dakota.
Delaware's Democratic Governor Vetoes Cannabis Decriminalization Bill
The bill would've removed civil penalties but stopped well short of taxation and regulation.
Dr. Oz Warns That Legalizing Marijuana in Pennsylvania Would Aggravate Unemployment by Weakening 'Mojo'
The Republican Senate candidate is echoing decades of anti-pot propaganda, but evidence to support his hypothesis is hard to find.
The Drug War Is Keeping Truckers Off the Road
Federal regulations make it more likely that a driver can be suspended or fired for drug use, regardless of whether they ever drove unsafely.
Teenagers Who Use Marijuana Are Shifting From Smoking to Vaping. Should We Be Alarmed?
The overall prevalence of cannabis consumption among adolescents rose between 2017 and 2019 but has fallen since then.
Michigan Couple Says Town Seized Their Building and Offered To Return It if They Bought Two Cars for Police
"Extortion, there's no other way to explain it," the couple's attorney says.
Democrats Pivot to Pot for Votes. Will It Work?
It may not translate to victory in November, but increased support for marijuana legalization is a welcome change.
Gov. Newsom Proposes Eliminating One of California's Many Marijuana Taxes
The cultivation tax has driven up the cost of growing cannabis, fueling illegal operations and the state’s enormous black market.
