Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Controlled substance

Clarence Cocroft | Institute for Justice

Marijuana

Mississippi Says Medical Marijuana Is Legal—Just Don't Talk About It

The state legalized medical marijuana but banned dispensary owners from advertising. Now, one owner is taking the fight to the Supreme Court.

Katrin Marquez and Daryl James | 4.1.2025 12:55 PM

President Richard Nixon during the June 1971 speech in which he declares drug abuse "public enemy number one," with the pattern on the curtain behind him altered to look wavy. | Illustration: Lex Villena; Richard Nixon Foundation/YouTube

War on Drugs

Richard Nixon Privately Admitted Marijuana Was 'Not Particularly Dangerous'

The recordings demonstrate yet again that drug warriors always knew marijuana wasn't that bad—they just didn't care.

Joe Lancaster | 9.17.2024 12:40 PM

Donald Trump speaks at a news conference in New York City on September 6, 2024 | John Angelillo/UPI/Newscom

Marijuana

Trump Endorses Federal Marijuana Reforms and Reiterates His Support for Legalizing Pot in Florida

His new stance could encourage Vice President Kamala Harris to emphasize her opposition to federal marijuana prohibition.

Jacob Sullum | 9.9.2024 12:30 PM

An activist wearing a hat with a marijuana leaf on it holds a microphone, in front of an American flag covered with marijuana leaves. | 	Alejandro Alvarez/Sipa USA/Newscom

Drug Policy

Majority of Public Comments Support Descheduling or Legalizing Marijuana

While lawmakers remain resistant to change, most of the public thinks it's high time to stop treating marijuana as dangerous.

Joe Lancaster | 7.30.2024 4:20 PM

Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign rally in Wisconsin | Mark Hertzberg/Zuma Press/Newscom

Ross Ulbricht

Unlike Biden and Trump, Kamala Harris Has Repeatedly Supported Pot Legalization

The presumptive Democratic nominee has a more liberal drug policy record than both the president and the Republican presidential nominee.

Jacob Sullum | 7.24.2024 3:00 PM

President Joe Biden | Samuel Corum/Pool via CNP/Polaris/Newscom

Drug Policy

Biden Decries a 'Failed Approach to Marijuana' but Sticks With It

Rescheduling does not resolve the conflict between federal pot prohibition and state rejection of that policy.

Jacob Sullum | 5.22.2024 12:01 AM

Attorney General Merrick Garland | Chris Kleponis/CNP/Polaris/Newscom

Marijuana

The Evidence Suggests the DEA Still Has Not Come Around on Rescheduling Marijuana

It looks like Attorney General Merrick Garland overrode the agency's recalcitrant drug warriors in deciding to reclassify the drug.

Jacob Sullum | 5.21.2024 6:35 PM

President Joe Biden | White House via X

War on Drugs

Biden's Spin on Marijuana's Rescheduling Exaggerates Its Practical Impact

Contrary to the president's rhetoric, moving marijuana to Schedule III will leave federal pot prohibition essentially unchanged.

Jacob Sullum | 5.16.2024 8:20 PM

Joe Biden speaking during his 2024 State of the Union address | CNP/AdMedia/Newscom

Marijuana

DEA Moves To Reclassify Marijuana as a Schedule III Drug

For over 50 years, marijuana has been in the same category of controlled substances as heroin and LSD. The DEA is finally proposing to end that ludicrous policy.

C.J. Ciaramella | 5.16.2024 3:24 PM

cannabis leaves | MIS Photography

Marijuana

Rescheduling Marijuana Does Not Address Today's Central Cannabis Issue

Moving marijuana to Schedule III, as the DEA plans to do, leaves federal pot prohibition essentially untouched.

Jacob Sullum | 5.1.2024 3:10 PM

Marijuana leaves | Photo: 2h-media/Unsplash

Marijuana

A Belated Bureaucratic Reversal on Pot

Marijuana's classification has always been a political question, not a medical one.

Jacob Sullum | 3.5.2024 6:00 AM

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters. | Samuel Corum/Pool via CNP/Polaris/Newscom

Joe Biden

Biden Is Trying To Motivate Voters Who Oppose Pot Prohibition. Maybe He Should Stop Supporting It.

The supposedly reformed drug warrior's intransigence on the issue complicates his appeal to young voters, who overwhelmingly favor legalization.

Jacob Sullum | 2.21.2024 2:25 PM

Senator Elizabeth Warren | Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Newscom

Marijuana

12 Senators Urge the DEA To Legalize Marijuana, Which Only Congress Can Do

Under the Controlled Substances Act, the agency does not have the discretion to "deschedule marijuana altogether."

Jacob Sullum | 1.31.2024 3:20 PM

Cannabis leaves | MIS Photography

Marijuana

The Newly Unveiled HHS Rationale for Rescheduling Marijuana Underlines Drug Warriors' Dishonesty

The points about marijuana's risks and benefits that the department now concedes were clear long before last August.

Jacob Sullum | 1.15.2024 3:30 PM

Psychedelic historian Erika Dyck in front of a mushroom background | Lex Villena

Psychedelics

Erika Dyck: Are We Living in a Psychedelic Renaissance?

Historian Erika Dyck contextualizes the deep roots of and battles over LSD, psilocybin, and other psychoactive substances.

Nick Gillespie | 9.20.2023 4:01 PM

A photo of Erika Dyck with an illustration in the background of magic mushrooms | Lex Villena

Psychedelics

The Secret History of Psychedelics

Historian Erika Dyck wants to document the deep roots of and battles over LSD, psilocybin, and other psychoactive substances.

Nick Gillespie and Zach Weissmueller | 9.13.2023 11:29 AM

Maria Elena Reimers standing behind the counter at the marijuana dispensary Cannarail Station. | Rick Reimers

Immigration

Immigrants Can't Naturalize if They Own a Marijuana Dispensary, Court Says

Maria Elena Reimers has been caught in legal limbo for years.

Jonas Du | 6.17.2023 7:00 AM

Pills being shaken out of the bottle into someone's hand | Science Photo Library/Newscom

DEA

Need an Adderall Prescription? Good Luck Getting It Over Telehealth.

On Friday, the DEA unveiled a plan to restrict doctors' ability to prescribe controlled drugs over telehealth.

Emma Camp | 2.27.2023 4:08 PM

Biden and McCarthy shake hands during State of the Union address | Jacqueline Martin - Pool via CNP / MEGA / Newscom/RSSIL/Newscom

Joe Biden

Under No Circumstances Did Joe Biden Save Social Security

Plus: a listener question on prohibition and a lightning round on the editors' favorite Super Bowl moments

Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman | 2.13.2023 4:52 PM

image | Lex Villena, Reason

Drug Policy

Andrew Tatarsky and Maia Szalavitz: How 'Harm Reduction' Is Transforming Drug Policy

As the drug war retreats, individualist approaches to substance use and abuse will make us all better off.

Nick Gillespie | 1.11.2023 11:00 AM

carlhart - podcast | Julian Dufort, Reason

Drugs

Carl Hart: Legalize All Drugs Now!

The controversial Columbia neuroscientist, Air Force vet, and author of Drug Use for Grown-Ups believes deeply in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Nick Gillespie | 4.13.2022 5:20 PM

idea 4.1 | Lex Villena

Opioids

What Drug Warriors Got Wrong About the Opioid Epidemic

The original formulation of OxyContin didn’t create the opioid crisis, argues psychiatrist Sally Satel, and removing it from the market didn’t make the problem go away.

Nick Gillespie | 1.4.2021 2:55 PM

topicsdrugs | Maksim-Manekin/iStock

Drugs

Will Philadelphia Host America's First Supervised Injection Site?

There are no supervised injection facilities openly operating in the United States. That might change soon.

Scott Shackford | 12.15.2019 6:00 AM

Large image for longform feature pages. | Joanna Andreasson

CBD

Is CBD a Miracle Cure or a Marketing Scam? (Both.)

Cannabidiol is caught between two worlds.

Mike Riggs | 1.13.2019 6:00 AM

Large image on homepages | Alex Edelman/CNP/AdMedia/SIPA/Newscom

Jeff Sessions

Congress Wants To Give Jeff Sessions Unprecedented New Drug War Powers

The SITSA Act would turn the attorney general into the chief arbiter of what substances Americans can buy, sell, and put in their bodies.

Mike Riggs | 6.20.2018 1:15 PM

Large image for longform feature pages. | Atalo Holdings

Hemp

Hemp Comes Home

Legal hemp has returned to Kentucky. Will the Feds step aside and let the industry flourish?

Rona Kobell | 9.2.2017 12:01 AM

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300