Alabama Bill Would Require Negative Pregnancy Test To Buy Medical Marijuana
Plus: Colorado cyberbullying law ruled unconstitutional, the new nicotine prohibitionists, and more...
War on Drugs
Police Seized Almost $10,000 From Him. A Court Ruled He Had No Right to an Attorney.
Terry Abbott couldn't afford representation, because the state took the cash he'd use to pay for it.
The House Just Approved Marijuana Legalization Again, but GOP Support Remains Nearly Nonexistent
Just three Republicans voted for the MORE Act, two fewer than in 2020.
Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy
The new documentary revisits the draconian political response to the crack cocaine "epidemic" of the 1980s.
Deadly Pot Shop Robberies Underline the Need for Marijuana Banking Reform While the Senate Dithers
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer worries that approving the SAFE Banking Act would make broader changes less likely.
South Dakota's Governor Blocks Voters on Legal Pot
Though voters simultaneously approved initiatives aimed at legalizing both recreational and medical use of marijuana, Amendment A got quickly tied up in court.
Tom Cotton's Absurd Question About Contacting a Heroin Dealer's Victims Reveals a Drug Warrior's Demagoguery
The mindlessly punitive senator grilled Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson about her resentencing of a drug offender.
Tom Sachs: Taking NFTs Where No Man Has Gone Before
The artist's Rocket Factory project, which lets users build and own their own virtual spacecraft, is changing how we think about reality.
Artist Tom Sachs: 'Apple Could Never Make Anything as Shitty as the Things I Make'
The Rocket Factory NFT project stands at the intersection of crypto, the metaverse, and persistent human longing for the new frontier.
50 Years After Nixon's Commission Said Cops Should Stop Busting Pot Users, the Federal Ban Remains Unchanged
But 37 states allow medical or recreational use, and arrests are falling.
This Jail Won't Provide Drug Addicts With Essential Meds
Inmates with opioid addiction suffered severe withdrawal after the Jefferson County Correctional Facility stripped them of their medication.
Who Will Be the First Person To Go to Prison for Selling Flavored Tobacco or E-Cigarettes?
It’s likely to happen any day now.
Tackling Mass Incarceration Requires More Than Freeing Nonviolent Drug Offenders
A new report emphasizes that the U.S. would still have a very high incarceration rate even if all drug war prisoners were released.
Snitches Get Riches From the FBI
Turning in your innocent friends and neighbors for having large amounts of cash is touted as a new source of income by the FBI.
Corruption and Crackdowns in California's Marijuana Market
Black markets thrive under mismanaged legalization.
Compassionate Releases of Federal Prisoners Surged During the Pandemic
The record number of reduced sentences still represented a tiny share of the federal prison population.
Enforcing Abortion Bans Is Much Harder Than Passing Them
The experience in Texas shows that workarounds pose daunting obstacles to such laws.
Man With No Criminal History Gets 5-Year Sentence for Selling Weed
The federal mandatory minimum didn't leave many options.
Prosecutor Extorts $300,000 Out of Alleged Drug Dealer by Threatening His Entire Family With Charges
Patrick Card's story is a case study in how the state uses civil forfeiture to try to coerce plea bargains.
A Jury Concludes That Blindly Firing 10 Rounds Into Breonna Taylor's Apartment Was Not 'Wanton Endangerment'
Brett Hankison's acquittal shows how difficult it is to hold cops accountable for abusing their power.
Several Justices Seem Dismayed at the Idea That Doctors Can Be Accidentally Guilty of Drug Trafficking
The Supreme Court is considering what standard should apply to prescribers accused of violating the Controlled Substances Act.
The Stossel State of the Union
"If I do my job right, you should barely know I'm here."
SCOTUS Needs to Clarify the Line Between Doctors and Drug Dealers
Patients suffer when physicians who prescribe opioids in good faith can face decades in prison.
Criminal Justice Campaign Promises Absent From Biden's State of the Union Speech
More than a year into the Biden administration, promises to expand clemency, decriminalize marijuana, and end solitary confinement and the federal death penalty remain unfulfilled.
All But 2 Utah Legislators Just Voted to Investigate the Psychotherapeutic Potential of Psychedelics
The bill is the latest sign of strange new respect for drugs that were once routinely depicted as menaces to body and soul.
Dopesick
The new Hulu miniseries promotes pernicious misconceptions about opioids, addiction, and pain treatment.
Brett Hankison Is Not the Only Cop Who Acted Recklessly the Night Breonna Taylor Was Killed
The former detective's trial should not obscure the responsibility of the drug warriors who authorized, planned, and executed the deadly raid.
Missouri Marijuana Legalization Bill Aims High but Expectations Remain Low
Previous efforts languished in committees.
Dallas Police Seized an Airline Passenger's Cash. New Information Only Makes Their Case Weaker.
Police seized more than $100,000 in cash from a 25-year-old Chicago woman for not correctly describing what her suitcase looked like.
No, California Shouldn't Keep Crazy High Marijuana Taxes 'For the Children'
Child care workers benefit from state subsidies. They’re fighting against possible cuts by encouraging regressive taxes that fuel a new drug war.
Two Courts Debunk Persistent Opioid Myths
Both rulings emphasized that opioids have legitimate medical uses and concluded that drug companies could not be held responsible for abuse of their products.
How Drug Cartels and Federal Import Restrictions May Cancel Your Guacamole Plans
Almost all of America’s avocados come from a single Mexican state. A threatening message threw it into disarray.
Olympic Athletes Can Take Drugs so Long as They Also Get an Unfair Advantage
Allowing Kamila Valieva to compete evokes memories of Sha'Carri Richardson, who was suspended from competition for using marijuana.
The ATF Suggests You Call SWAT Raids on Your Exes for Valentine's Day
Ever wonder where people get the idea that police are thin-skinned bullies?
When Is Drinking Ayahuasca a Religious Experience?
It should not matter whether would-be ayahuasca drinkers sincerely believe in shamanism or simply believe they will derive mental health benefits from the experience.
Pot Won't Be Advertised at Super Bowl, Though Players Will Probably Use It After
A proposed commercial by dispensary-locator company Weedmaps was sacked by NFL and NBC suits.
How California Deputies Became Highway Robbers
San Bernardino County deputies stopped the same armored-car driver twice and took nearly $1.1 million in cash owned by legal marijuana dispensaries.
Psychedelic Drugs Win Growing Respect
Not only won’t they blow your mind, but they may even save it (sometimes legally).
The CDC's New Pain Treatment Advice Aims To Correct the Damage Done by the 2016 Version
The proposed guidelines emphasize the need for individualized treatment and collaboration with patients.
A California Sheriff Remains Free To Rob Armored Cars Carrying Money From State-Licensed Marijuana Businesses
A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order, saying the evidence of legal violations is insufficient at this point.
Michael K. Williams' Death Sparks Charges Against Drug Dealers
The actor's overdose death was a tragedy, but overzealous prosecution of the dealers who sold him the drugs will only make the problem worse.
Now That Pot-Averse Conservatives Are Openly Defying the Federal Marijuana Ban, What Excuse Does Congress Have for Maintaining It?
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves' grudging support for medical marijuana speaks volumes about the erosion of support for prohibition.
West Virginia Mulls New Criminal Penalties for Imaginary Threat of Police Fentanyl Exposure
A medical myth that responders can overdose by touching or inhaling synthetic opioids may lead to harsher jail sentences.
