Drugs Declare Victory in War on Drugs
States where recreational use has been legalized now include about a third of the U.S. population.
Topics
Good News About Gridlock
Fans of limited government have a lot to be happy about. It's much harder to go big when you are constantly at risk of being told to go home.
Jo Jorgensen's 1% Triumph
With no name recognition, no money, and no media, the Jorgensen campaign helped cement the L.P.'s decadelong transformation into the third party in the United States.
The Shaky Case for State Bailouts
Governments should prepare for emergencies by cutting spending during flush times.
Bourgeois Libertarianism Could Save America
Don't underestimate the civilization-saving powers of respecting private property and generally minding your own business.
Pandemic Rules Are Only for the Little People
We're expected to suffer discomfort, economic pain, and emotional distress or else pay fines or serve jail time. Government officials, meanwhile, take offense when called out for violating the standards they created.
Predictive Policing or Targeted Harassment?
Audits and research into the effectiveness of predictive policing have yielded mixed to negative assessments.
The Feds Are Spreading Fake Facts About Fentanyl
While fentanyl is a dangerous drug, it is very difficult to overdose on it through accidental exposure.
Still Waiting for Drone Deliveries
At the end of August, the FAA finally gave Amazon approval for its Prime Air drone delivery fleet.
Solar and Wind Power Struggle as California Faces Blackouts
The state's electricity grid operators warned in 2019 that power shortages might become increasingly common when heat waves hit in the coming years.
Dorothy Day: Personalist Hero
The enigmatic founder of the Catholic Worker Movement was an extraordinary avatar of nonviolent dissent.
The CDC's Eviction Moratorium Is Neither Necessary Nor Legally Sound
Despite fears that a pandemic-ravaged economy would force renters from their homes in droves, evictions were down nationwide at the end of summer.
Scalia and Ginsburg, Best Friends Forever
The two Supreme Court justices were civil colleagues on the bench and good friends away from it.
The Dangerous Lure of Political Violence
How seriously should we take the threats of protesters who recently built guillotines outside of Jeff Bezos' house?
Meat Bills Are on the Menu in Congress
America's meat supply has been hammered by COVID-19 outbreaks at many of the nation's largest meat processing plants, but Congress can solve this by reducing onerous regulations.
Shrooms Are on the D.C. Ballot
The reformers who canvassed for signatures for the initiative say they're optimistic it will pass despite objections from Congress, which controls D.C. spending.
This Judge Is Wrong About Economic Liberty and the Constitution
Perhaps Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht ought to read more history, starting with the speeches of the late Rep. John Bingham.
PPParty Time!
Turns out some of the federal government's PPP loans ended up going to people who didn't need them quite as badly.
A Plague of Pandemic Restrictions Builds Herd Immunity to Arbitrary Rules
Expect widespread cynicism toward official dictates to linger after the virus is history.
Rapid Home COVID-19 Tests Are the Best Path to a New Normal. They're Illegal.
Delivering rapid at-home testing kits to 330 million Americans is "something we can actually do at warp speed."
The Federal Death Penalty Returns
State-level executions have been on the decline since 2000, but the federal government recently got back in the business of executing prisoners.
Is the Senate Filibuster a 'Jim Crow Relic'?
The filibuster is not inherently a tool of oppression simply because segregationist politicians in the 1950s and '60s found it useful.
Welcome to the New World Civilization
Even as specific states or regions rise and fade in prominence, their inhabitants continue to enjoy the benefits of their civilization's cumulative experience and knowledge.
Be Patient: We Might Not Know Who Won the Election Right Away
Mail-in ballots typically take days or sometimes weeks to be counted, so don't expect results on Election Night this year.
Belarus Rises Up
Citizens packed the streets to demand that President Alexander Lukashenko step down.
The Feds Invade Portland
The Trump administration deployed more than 100 federal law enforcement officers to Portland to quell weeks of unrest. The administration claimed it was simply protecting a federal courthouse.
Trump's Student Visa Disaster
There are 1.2 million foreign students in the United States, and ICE keeps leaving them in the lurch, threatening to kick them out (and then rescinding that guidance).
Trump's Visa Ban Will Slow America's Recovery
The net result of turning away foreign labor is greater unemployment—and lower wages—for native-born workers.
Hope for Free Market Reform in Uruguay
President Luis Lacalle Pou's defense of free market capitalism—extremely rare in Latin America—is no coronavirus fluke.
Gun Control Puts Your Life at Risk
In the 20th century, far more people were murdered by genocidal governments than by armed criminals.
Florida Leads the Way on 2020 Occupational Licensing Reforms
House Bill 1193 loosened or abolished rules governing more than 30 different professions.
Is COVID-19 Causing a New Wave of Opioid-Related Deaths?
As of March 2020, combined fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses were nearly 20 percent higher than through the same month in 2019.
Is John Roberts the New Anthony Kennedy?
Like it or not, this is the Roberts Court now.
Take My Likeness Out to the Ball Game
Baseball teams are finding unusual ways to make up for lost revenue.
More Countries Should Pay Plasma Donors
Most foreign countries refuse to pay for plasma because of outmoded guidance from the World Health Organization, so much of the world relies on the U.S.'s paid plasma donors.
Should We Quit Teaching Cursive in a Digital Age?
While script may wire the brain, connect to history, and come more naturally to many kids, digital print is winning.
Will-to-Power Conservatism and the Great Liberalism Schism
By virtue of representing the correct vision of the good, these conservatives say, they have every right to use the coercive power of the state to interfere with others' choices.
If You Want to Fix Policing, Listen to the Pragmatists
Reason asked writers who have been on the criminal justice beat for years to lay out serious proposals for reforms with a fighting chance of being implemented.
More Money Does Buy More Happiness
Researchers and economists have been debating this idea for decades, and a new study in the journal Emotion sheds more light on the role money plays in increasing happiness levels.
A Coronavirus Bailout Won't Save (or Fix) the USPS
The postal service stands to lose $13 billion this year. But this is an ongoing trend, not a new problem created by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Supreme Court, Livestreamed and Uncut
Just like millions of their fellow Americans, the justices would have to adjust to the strange new realities of social distancing and working from home.
The Weed Warriors Who Mistook Tea for Marijuana
The Hartes were the victims of a comically inept publicity stunt executed by cops who did not realize that hydroponic equipment could be used to grow tomatoes and did not know what loose-leaf tea looked like.
In Michigan, the Wrong Way To Govern During a Pandemic
As federal guidelines suggested classifying more industries as "essential" so that they could reopen, Gov. Whitmer arbitrarily did the opposite.
Congress Is Paying People a Lot of Money To Not Work
Though the unemployment insurance benefits boost eased the immediate pain of shuttering much of the economy, it made it harder to get things moving again.
