Another Way Fentanyl Phobia Can Be Deadly: It Undermines Good Samaritan Laws
Irrational fear of incidental contact with opioids can lead to criminal charges that make overdose bystanders less likely to call 911.
War on Drugs
Cory Booker's 'Second Look' Reforms Would Create More Chances To Reduce Federal Prison Sentences
Judges would be permitted to rethink sentences after 10 years have been served, particularly for inmates over the age of 50.
The Harris-Nadler Marijuana Bill Goes Further Than Others in Ways Good and Bad
The MORE Act combines laudably broad legalization and expungement provisions with taxes and spending that may alienate potential Republican allies.
Another Benefit of Legalizing Hemp: It Makes the War on Weed Harder to Wage
Without expensive tests that measure THC content, Texas prosecutors can't prove that green stuff is marijuana.
RIP Mark Kleiman, Who Brought Rigor, Dispassion, and Candor to a Frequently Overheated Drug Policy Debate
The widely quoted and consulted academic died yesterday at the age of 68.
Psychonaut Hamilton Morris on Drugs After Prohibition
Nick Gillespie speaks with Viceland's Hamilton Morris about why he's so interested in drugs.
Thousands Freed from Federal Prison by FIRST STEP Act Reforms
Many benefit from an increase in "good time" credits and from retroactive reductions in crack cocaine mandatory minimum sentences.
The Washington Post 's Simplistic Assumption That More Opioid Prescriptions Mean More Drug Overdoses Is Demonstrably Wrong
The causes of opioid-related deaths are more complicated than "too many pain pills."
Congressman Asked Bureau of Prisons Three Times About Nonviolent Offender Who Later Died in Maximum Security Lockup
A congressman forwarded messages to the Bureau of Prisons from Rick Turner's family begging for his relocation. Two were ignored.
Two Senators With Business Degrees Want the FDA to Tell Doctors They Should Not Treat Chronic Pain With Opioids
The FDA Opioid Labeling Accuracy Act would aggravate the widespread problem of involuntary dose reductions and patient abandonment.
Mike Gravel and His Online Teens Want Weed in the Constitution
It's an unconventional approach befitting of an unconventional presidential candidate.
'Historic' Congressional Hearing on Marijuana Legalization Highlights Strategic Differences
Should federal marijuana reform be tied to a broader "racial justice" agenda?
Florida Sheriff Deputy Arrested After Planting Drugs on Innocent People
Reason uncovered body camera footage of the officer lying about a roadside field test for drugs.
State Regulators Punish Doctor for Cutting a Pain Patient's Opioid Dose and Dropping Him After He Became Suicidal
The decision by the New Hampshire Board of Medicine suggests state officials are beginning to recognize the harm caused by the crackdown on pain pills.
After Marijuana Is Legalized, a New Study Finds, Adolescent Use Declines
Survey data contradict fears that underage cannabis consumption would rise after states allowed recreational use by adults.
If Cops Don't Die From Incidental Fentanyl Exposure, a Drug Treatment Specialist Warns, They 'Could Become Addicted to It Instantly'
Such scaremongering poses a potentially deadly threat.
New York City Officially Launches Absurd Ban on Adding CBD to Food, Coffee
Cannabidiol products are legal for sale and consumption, but adding it to other things is somehow forbidden.
John Hickenlooper's Bragging About the Pot Legalization Measure He Opposed Shows That Reality Can Change People's Minds
Colorado's former governor came around on the issue when he realized that legalization was not the disaster he had anticipated.
Drug Warriors Peddle Fears About Cocaine. Again.
Cocaine offers better value than the market in prohibitionist fears.
Facing Legal Challenge, Washington Weed Regulators Lift Ban on Cannabusiness Signs at Seattle Hempfest
The state's Liquor and Cannabis Board changed its policy after Hempfest and two marijuana retailers challenged it on constitutional grounds.
Illinois Becomes 11th State to Legalize Weed
Participants in Illinois' new recreational market will have to contend with a lot of taxes and regulations.
House Resoundingly Approves Broad Marijuana Federalism
A solid majority of congressmen, including 41 Republicans, voted for a spending rider that bars the Justice Department from interfering with the legalization of cannabis for medical or recreational use.
Attempts to Build a Safe Injection Site for San Francisco Drug Users Pushed to 2020
Lawmakers struggle to pass a bill protecting operators from arrest and prosecution.
Cory Booker Proposes Thousands of Drug War Commutations If Elected President
Booker would move the process away from prosecutors and into the White House.
No, 'MILLIONS' of Lives Were Not Saved by That Gigantic Philly Coke Bust
Seventeen tons of coke is nothing to sneeze at, but the dangers of the drug were wildly overhyped by law enforcement.
A Judge Called His Mandatory Sentence 'Excessive' and 'Wrong.' Less Than a Year Later He Died In Federal Prison
Frederick Turner was sentenced to a mandatory 40 years on nonviolent drug and firearm charges. He ended up in a high-security federal prison, and now he's dead.
To Hold but Not to Have: California's Marijuana Laws Get Weird When You're in Jail
It's not illegal for inmates to have marijuana, but it's still a felony if they try to smoke it.
Violent Crackdown In Hong Kong as Residents Protest Bill Allowing Extradition to Mainland China
Also: Mike Lee says Congress must reassert power over the presidency. And so long to Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Veterans Who Work In the Legal Cannabis Industry Are Being Denied Benefits
"After all our service members have sacrificed, how can we penalize them for working in their state's legal economy?"
These People Are Risking Prison To Help Philadelphia's Drug Users
"All we want to do is save some young people from dying needlessly," says former Gov. Ed Rendell, who's on the board of Safehouse, the nation's first supervised injection site to operate out in the open.
1,051 Crack Sentence Reductions Illustrate Painful Progress Toward a Less Mindlessly Punitive Justice System
On average, crack offenders who have benefited from the FIRST STEP Act will serve 14 years instead of 20.
The Costs of Monitoring Your Prescriptions
State databases that track the medications we take invade our privacy without reducing opioid-related deaths.
House Will Vote on AOC's Proposal to Expand Medical Research on Marijuana, Magic Mushrooms
Clearing the way for additional research into those drugs will help craft public policy regarding their use, and could open the door to additional medical uses.
Does Medical Marijuana Reduce Opioid-Related Deaths or Not?
The answer may depend on how you measure patients' legal access to cannabis.
Cancer Patient Who Bought Marijuana To Self-Medicate Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison
Thomas J. Franzen is going to prison for ordering too much medicine.
The Fight Conservatives Are Having Over Theocracy and Classical Liberalism Obscures How Beaten Their Movement Is
The postwar era has been an endless series of rebukes to social conservatives—and a win for libertarians.
Maryland Legalizes Medical Marijuana Edibles, With Caveats
Regulators are gearing up for a long debate about the size, shape, and other specifications of edibles.
Hempfest Sues Washington's Marijuana Regulators for Censoring Sponsors' Signs
The Seattle festival's organizers argue that banning signs referring to state-licensed cannabusinesses violates the state and federal constitutions.
Second U.S. City Decriminalizes Magic Mushrooms, Other Psychedelics
The Oakland City Council unanimously approved a city ordinance decriminalizing "entheogenic plants."
Operator of 'Silk Road 2.0' Likely Avoided Prison by Cooperating with Feds
Meanwhile, Ross Ulbricht has to spend life in prison without parole.
FDA Has 'Critical Questions' About Safety of CBD Products
The sale of cannabidiol-infused food and drink is still against the law, even as entrepreneurs flout those restrictions across the country.
New Hampshire Resists the DEA's Demands for Warrantless Access to Patients' Prescription Records
An ACLU brief bolsters the state's case, arguing that people reasonably expect information about the medications they take will be kept confidential.
After Virginia Beach Shooting, a Quick Pivot to Squabbling About 'Silencers' and Trump's Golf Clothes
Plus: Spending bill includes pro-marijuana changes, State Department starts collecting social media accounts of visa applicants, and more...
Congress Is Racing To Address a Fentanyl Problem That Fentanyl Experts Say Probably Doesn't Exist
You can’t overdose on fentanyl simply by touching it.
