Did Decriminalization Boost Drug Deaths in Oregon?
Recent research finds "no evidence" that it did, undermining a key claim by critics of that policy.
Harm Reduction
Remember the Teen Vaping 'Epidemic'?
Policies inspired by that exaggerated threat continue to undermine the harm-reducing potential of e-cigarettes.
Sales Data Indicate That Restrictions on Flavored Vaping Products Encourage Smoking
A study found a "high rate of substitution" between vapes and cigarettes, suggesting that policies aimed at preventing underage use are undermining public health.
Did Drug Decriminalization Cause a 'Catastrophe' in Oregon?
Many of the problems the state is experiencing are caused by the continuing impact of prohibition.
The Democratic Governor Who Wants Drug Legalization and Free Markets
"Government in general does a lot of things that aren't necessary," says Jared Polis.
Methanol-Tainted Liquor and Xylazine-Tainted Fentanyl Illustrate the Same Prohibitionist Peril
While the lethal effects of Iran’s booze ban are widely recognized, politicians ignore similar consequences from U.S. drug laws.
The Economics of Prohibition Doom Plans To Reduce Drug Use by Busting Online Dealers
A study suggests that "selectively targeting large-scale drug vendors" on the dark web can succeed where all previous enforcement efforts have failed.
Prohibition Gave Us Xylazine in Fentanyl. The Solution, Drug Warriors Say, Is More Prohibition.
The emergence of the animal tranquilizer as an opioid adulterant illustrates once again how the war on drugs makes drug use more dangerous.
Do Studies Show Vaping Causes Cancer? No.
Even the best studies haven't surmounted a key statistical issue, and they tend to distort the evidence to make e-cigarettes look dangerous.
The 5th Circuit Rebukes the FDA for Flouting the Law While Imposing a De Facto Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes
The appeals court says regulators violated the Administrative Procedure Act when they tried to pull menthol vapes off the market.
Shoddy Research Reinforces Anti-Vaping Narrative
Thanks to tendentiously sloppy research, most Americans think vaping is just as dangerous as smoking. That’s not true.
'America Has Lost the War on Drugs,' The New York Times Says, but Should Keep Fighting It Anyway
The paper pushes modest reforms while endorsing continued criminalization.
Are We Making Any Progress on Police Brutality?
Plus: The editors consider the ongoing debt ceiling drama and answer a listener question about ending the war on drugs.
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.
How 'Harm Reduction' Is Transforming Drug Policy
Andrew Tatarsky and Maia Szalavitz push individualist approaches to substance abuse as the drug war retreats.
A Medical Journal Retracts a 2022 Study That Linked Vaping to Cancer
The obvious problems with the article reflect a broader pattern that suggests a peer review bias against e-cigarettes.
These Memos Show That FDA Regulation of E-Cigarettes Is Driven by Dubious Value Judgments Rather Than Science
The agency is determined to ban the flavors that former smokers overwhelmingly prefer. For the children.
Diseases That Studies Linked to E-Cigarettes Generally Were Diagnosed Before Subjects Began Vaping
The failure to consider the timing of diagnoses makes it impossible to draw causal inferences.
The FDA Is Doing Something That Could Actually Cut Overdose Deaths
Naloxone could be available without a prescription by spring.
It's Far Past Time To Decriminalize Fentanyl Test Strips
Plus: Lawmakers "demanding action" against slurs on Twitter, FTC sues to stop Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard, and more...
California's Vaping Flavor Ban Could Be Lethal
By making e-cigarettes less appealing, it will discourage smokers from switching to a much less hazardous nicotine habit.
New Survey Data Show Adolescent Vaping Remains Far Less Common Than It Was a Few Years Ago
The CDC is still citing underage consumption as a reason to restrict adult access.
FDA Admits Vaping Is Safer Than Smoking But Refuses To Correct the Record
Don’t expect a change in course, despite the long-awaited admission.
California Lawmakers Are Being Hypocritical About 'Harm Reduction' Policies
The state is prioritizing harm-reduction approaches for drug users. That's great. So why are lawmakers taking a maximalist approach to punishing smokers?
New Survey Data Cast Further Doubt on the FDA's Opposition to Flavored E-Cigarettes
The "epidemic" of adolescent vaping seems to be fading fast, and vaping is replacing smoking among adults, a harm-reducing trend that regulators seem determined to discourage.
California Lawmakers Approve Drug Injection Sites for Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco
Supervised facilities aim to make a dent in the dramatic increase in overdose deaths.
The FDA Perversely Seeks To Make Both Cigarettes and Harm-Reducing Alternatives Less Appealing
The agency’s policies would boost the black market and smoking-related deaths.
A Record Number of Drug-Related Deaths Shows the Drug War Is Remarkably Effective at Killing People
According to new CDC numbers, the death toll rose 15 percent last year after jumping 30 percent in 2020.
The FDA Uses Its New Authority To Close Off the Last Remaining Legal Option for Vapers Who Like Flavor Variety
In a move that is likely to undermine public health, the agency warns that products containing synthetic nicotine "will be subject to FDA enforcement."
The FDA's Rejection of a Major Vaping Brand Shows It Is Arbitrarily Applying a Nebulous Legal Standard
The agency's obsession with adolescent vaping is driving decisions that undermine public health.
Why Can't the CDC Tell the Truth About Smoking and Vaping by Teenagers?
The agency ignores downward trends in both kinds of nicotine use and obscures the huge difference in the hazards they pose.
Congress Seems Poised To Let the FDA Ban E-Cigarettes Containing Synthetic Nicotine
A spending bill provision would redefine "tobacco products" to include products that have nothing to do with tobacco.
If Chuck Schumer Supports Marijuana Legalization, Why Did He Nix a Bill That Would Have Helped Pot Businesses Use Banks?
Stranger still, the leading drug policy reform organization supported Schumer's obstruction.
A New Study Finds That Smokers With No Plans To Quit Are Much More Likely To Stop Smoking If They Vape Every Day
The findings reinforce the case for nicotine vaping products as a harm-reducing alternative to cigarettes.
Senate Democrats Nix a Regressive, Unhealthy Vaping Tax Endorsed by the House
The perverse provision would have discouraged smokers from switching to a far less hazardous source of nicotine.
Feds Pledge $30 Million To Fund Drug Harm Reduction Programs
Less punitive responses to drug addiction are good, but what about people still stuck in federal prison?
New York City Is Funding America's First Official Safe Injection Site for Drug Users
As the U.S. reaches new terrible milestones in overdose deaths, a harm reduction system that has proven itself elsewhere finally launches where it’s needed most.
If Less Vaping Means More Smoking, That Won't Be a Public Health Victory
Cigarette sales rose last year for the first time in two decades, while a survey of high school seniors found they were vaping less but smoking more.
FDA Approves an E-Cigarette for the First Time but Still Seems Bent on Banning the Flavors Former Smokers Overwhelmingly Prefer
If teenagers like an e-liquid flavor, the agency seems to think, adults should not be allowed to buy it.
The FDA Is Determined To Ignore the Decline in Underage Vaping Because It Weakens the Case for New Restrictions
The agency seems inclined to ban the vaping products that former smokers overwhelmingly prefer because teenagers also like them.
This Anti-Vaping Congressman Insists 'There's Simply No Evidence' That E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Quit
Although Raja Krishnamoorthi says "adults can do what they want," he is determined not to let them.
Bureaucrats and Politicians Seem Determined To Cripple a Lifesaving Alternative to Smoking
E-cigarette regulations and taxes threaten an industry that could prevent millions of premature deaths.
Since the FDA Has Not Approved Any Vaping Products, All of Them Are Now 'Subject to Enforcement Action'
The agency's decisions so far reflect a bias against the flavored e-liquids that former smokers overwhelmingly prefer.
Undoing Drugs
Harm reduction invites a radical reconsideration of the way the government deals with politically disfavored intoxicants.
A Record Number of Drug-Related Deaths Illustrates the Lethal Consequences of Prohibition
The war on drugs is not just ineffective; it exacerbates the problems it is supposed to alleviate.
Psychonautical Journalist Michael Pollan Is Finally Ready To End the War on Drugs
The evolution of Pollan's thinking reflects the confusion caused by arbitrary pharmacological distinctions.
A Twitter Tiff Between Former Federal Health Officials Highlights the Weakness of the Case for Banning Kratom
Former Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir says former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb's support for a ban was based on "embarrassingly poor evidence."
Philadelphia Safe Injection Site Hits Another Legal Roadblock
An appeals court panel rules the Controlled Substance Act's "crackhouse" provision forbids Safehouse from creating the facility.