Dopesick Reinforces These Pernicious Misconceptions About Opioids, Addiction, and Pain Treatment
The Hulu miniseries portrays opioid pain medication as unacceptably dangerous in nearly every context.
War on Drugs
Two Courts Debunk Widely Accepted Opioid Myths
Undertreatment of pain is a real problem, and bona fide patients rarely become addicted to their medication.
Cops Thought Sand From Her Stress Ball Was Cocaine. She Spent Nearly 6 Months in Jail.
And now an appeals court has ruled the cops who arrested her aren't entitled to qualified immunity from her lawsuit.
This Republican's Marijuana Legalization Bill Aims To Build Bipartisan Support for Repealing Federal Prohibition
Rep. Nancy Mace is touting "a framework which allows states to make their own decisions on cannabis."
Oklahoma Supreme Court Overturns a Landmark Decision Blaming Johnson & Johnson for the State's Opioid Problems
The justices rejected a broad definition of "public nuisance" that would cover the manufacture of pain medication.
A Shuttered West Virginia Pharmacy Shows the DEA's Role in Escalating America's Overdose Crisis
A drug that treats opioid addiction may also be abused. That’s not a good reason to restrict access.
Videos Are Making It Hard To Trust the Cops
It’s difficult to avoid the suspicion that the powers-that-be habitually lie about their conduct.
A Cop Was Indicted for Homicide After Shooting a Fleeing Driver. He Still Got Qualified Immunity.
Bau Tran might go to jail for his conduct, but he will be insulated from having to face a jury in civil court.
After the DEA Stole $70,000 From This Filmmaker, He Got His Money Back, Plus a $15,000 Settlement
Keddins Etienne's experience shows that bullies who seize innocent people's property tend to back down when their victims put up a fight.
Detroit Becomes the Second-Largest U.S. City To Urge Tolerance of Psychedelic Use
Voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that makes "entheogenic plant" possession the city's "lowest law-enforcement priority."
A Scathing Rejection of the Case Against Four Drug Companies Highlights Misconceptions About the 'Opioid Crisis'
A California judge said the four jurisdictions that filed the lawsuit failed to prove a "public nuisance" or "false advertising."
Ethan Nadelmann: How To End the Drug War (and What Comes Next)
The Drug Policy Alliance founder and Psychoactive podcast host on how to build a post-prohibitionist America.
Dopesick Resurrects an Opioid Narrative That Is 'Neat, Plausible, and Wrong'
Prohibition forces doctors to cut patients off from essential pain-killing medication.
Taxes and Red Tape Hobble California's 'Legal' Marijuana
Legalizing a market isn’t enough; you have to set the participants free.
No One Is Wasting Their Ecstasy on Your Kids' Halloween Candy
The myth of the candy poisoner
This Woman Served 11 Years in Prison on a Marijuana Charge. She's Been Sent Back Over a Clerical Error.
Raquel Esquivel, convicted of a nonviolent drug offense in 2009, was put on home confinement during COVID-19.
Montana Supreme Court Unanimously Overturns a Pot Conviction, Saying Cops Stopped the Defendant for No Good Reason
Cops thought Hoang Vinh Pham, who received a 15-year prison sentence, was suspicious because he stared at a police van full of marijuana.
In a New Survey, Victims of Philadelphia's Forfeiture Racket Highlight the Hazards of Giving Cops a License To Steal
"What they're doing is like robbery," observed one property owner.
South Dakota Lawmakers, Activists Try To Work Around Gov. Kristi Noem's Opposition to Marijuana Legalization
Legislation advances and a ballot initiative circulates in response to a constitutional amendment that was struck down by the courts.
A Man Overdosed on Drugs. The Dealer Was Convicted of Murder and Faces Life in Prison.
It might represent justice in this case. But the approach is rife for abuse.
California Seizes 1.2 Million Dangerously Untaxed Marijuana Plants
Plus: Seattle businesses embrace private security in response to a police officer shortage, the FDA is set approve "mix and match" booster shots, and more...
Are Democrats Serious About Legalizing Marijuana?
Democrats need to decide whether they want to legalize marijuana or just want credit for seeming to try.
Woman Convicted of Manslaughter, Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Having a Miscarriage
Whatever this system is, it is not pro-life.
Keeping Warm This Winter Could Be More Costly As Inflation Heats Up
Plus: Psychedelic entrepreneurs, American seafood stuck in Canada, and more...
Top Cop Who Presided Over Deadly Corruption in Houston Loses His New Job in Miami 6 Months After He Was Hired
Art Acevedo provoked many complaints, but they paled in comparison to his prior record of negligence and obliviousness.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Bans Private Businesses From Mandating Vaccines for Workers
Plus: A dangerous misunderstanding about what caused America's opioid overdose epidemic, a look at this year's Nobel Prize winners, and more...
A Pending Pardon for George Floyd Shows How the Drug War Gives Cops a License To Lie
Floyd was arrested for selling crack by a crooked Houston narcotics cop who repeatedly lied to implicate people in drug crimes.
The Vain Search for Marijuana in Trick-or-Treat Bags
Police are still pushing this discredited scare, but it seems fewer people are falling for it.
Seattle Just Became the Largest U.S. City To Approve Quasi-Decriminalization of Natural Psychedelics
The resolution urges police to refrain from arresting people for noncommercial production and distribution as well as possession.
Marijuana Arrests Plunged Last Year, Reflecting the Impact of Legalization
The 36 percent drop may also be partly due to pandemic-related restrictions that drove cannabis consumers indoors.
House Passes EQUAL Act to Erase Sentencing Disparity Between Crack and Powder Cocaine
The Senate now has the chance to finally end one of the most disastrous legacies of the drug war.
DEA Still Insists Marijuana Has No 'Accepted Medical Use'
In the DEA's view, the fact that most states allow patients to use marijuana for symptom relief is irrelevant.
Oregon Legalizes a Breakthrough Treatment: Magic Mushrooms
Oregon will license and regulate psilocybin-assisted therapy by 2023. Some health care professionals aren't willing to wait.
Most Opioid Settlement Funds Aren't Going to Addiction Services
Despite what the media and politicians have said, that isn't how this works.
White House Offers Clemency for Drug Offenders on Home Confinement, but Advocates Say Plan Will Still Send Thousands Back to Prison
Clemency for nonviolent offenders would still send white-collar and other offenders back to prison after they've started putting their lives together again.
Undoing Drugs
Harm reduction invites a radical reconsideration of the way the government deals with politically disfavored intoxicants.
Lawsuit Challenging Houston Asset Forfeiture Program Says Police Use Stock Language To Seize Cash Without Probable Cause
A couple claims the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Texas seized their life savings two years ago on suspicion of drug trafficking. A new lawsuit says they're not the only ones.
This Navy Veteran Was Deported Over a One-Time Marijuana Offense. After Nearly a Decade in Exile, He's Back in the U.S.
Howard Bailey spent years serving his country, supporting his family, and running two small businesses. Then he got kicked out of the country.
Cops Are Dressing Up Like FedEx Guys and Arresting People for Drugs
A little-known agreement allows police officers to seize packages at FedEx sorting centers.
Opium Suppression in Afghanistan Was a US-led Failure
The basics of supply and demand still applied.
A Houston Man Framed on Drug Charges Is Suing the Lethally Corrupt Cop Who Sent Him to Prison
Otis Mallet's ordeal, like the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, involved a fictional drug purchase.
DEA Seizes Life Savings of New Orleans Grandfather Without Charging Him With a Crime
The case is the latest example of people who say their savings were seized in airports, despite it being perfectly legal to fly domestically with large amounts of cash.
Six Marijuana Legalization Lessons
What have policy makers learned since Colorado became the first state to allow recreational use in 2012?
Why Do the Media Keep Uncritically Repeating Implausible Police Fentanyl Overdose Stories?
Recycling a government press release is not good journalism.
A New Study Finds That Reducing Pain Medication Is Associated With an Increased Risk of Overdose and Suicide
The study highlights the dangers that government-encouraged "tapering" poses to patients on long-term opioid therapy.
Oregon Decriminalized All Drugs To Stop Overdoses. Will It Work?
Small-scale drug possession is now a $100 infraction that can be dismissed with a call to a drug abuse assessment hotline.
