The House Just Passed a Historic Marijuana Bill. Now the Senate Must Act. After decades of harm, wrought by the war on drugs, the federal government has finally listened to the American people by voting to decriminalize marijuana. Zachary A. Siegel
Oregon Becomes the First State to Decriminalize Drugs Voters approved a ballot initiative to decriminalize low-level drug possession and fund treatment, and a separate initiative to legalize therapeutic psilocybin mushrooms. Zachary A. Siegel
Oregon Could Become the First State to Decriminalize Drugs in November A ballot initiative could decriminalize low-level drug possession and fund addiction treatment. Zachary A. Siegel
Missouri Voters Could Expand Medicaid and Curb the Overdose Crisis A referendum to expand Medicaid may be a turning point for a state with some of the worst health outcomes related to substance use. Zachary A. Siegel
Why We Shouldn’t Reward Fearmongering in Criminal Justice Reporting The Courier Journal’s Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting on Governor Matt Bevin’s commutations sensationalizes crime at the expense of future clemency efforts. Zachary A. Siegel, Leo Beletsky
How to Rethink Drug Dealing and Punishment Criminalizing those who sell drugs by enacting more punitive laws may lead to more dangerous drug use and will disproportionately affect communities of color, a new report suggests. Zachary A. Siegel
Deaths By Suicide and Overdose Skyrocket in North Carolina Jails A report from an advocacy group says that deaths in the state’s jails have soared— and that 2019 could set a record for suicides. Zachary A. Siegel
Joe Biden’s ‘Crack House’ Crusade Nearly 20 years ago, Biden urged prosecutors to wield the ‘crack house‘ statute against rave promoters. Now it’s being used to stamp out public health responses to the opioid crisis. Zachary A. Siegel
Media Frame: Fentanyl Panic Is Worsening the Overdose Crisis Sensational and false news reports about the drug are pushing lawmakers to enact harmful policies. Zachary A. Siegel, Maia Szalavitz
Alaska Passed Sweeping Criminal Justice Reforms. Its New Governor Just Unraveled Them. Republican Mike Dunleavy was elected on a platform to ‘Make Alaska Safe Again’ and has rolled back recent changes. Zachary A. Siegel
State Trooper Said Man Took Bag From Fentanyl Supplier, But Video Demonstrated That The Deal Never Went Down Trooper testimony inconsistent with video and misconduct among state and local law enforcement in New Hampshire and Massachusetts have caused at least 15 drug cases to unravel. Zachary A. Siegel
Cops Claimed She Set Up A Drug Deal. Now She’s Being Prosecuted For Manslaughter. A Florida woman with substance use disorder allegedly brokered a drug sale that ended in a fatal overdose; she faces 15 years in prison. Zachary A. Siegel
Overdoses, Riots, And Escapes Roil A Rural Kentucky Jail The Boyd County Detention Center has been consumed in chaos, even as the DOJ investigates it. Now, the community is pinning hopes for reform on a new jailer. Zachary A. Siegel
Drug Testing Organizations Save Lives, So Why Haven’t Rave and Concert Organizers Embraced Them? Groups like the Loop and DanceSafe test drugs like Ecstasy and warn users of high dosages and adulterants, but federal legislation from the early 2000s has live music promoters wary of their brand of harm reduction. Zachary A. Siegel
We’ve been fighting the drug war for 50 years. So why aren’t we winning? A new paper argues that President Johnson’s 1967 Commission on Law Enforcement’s report on the subject was “decades ahead of its time.” Zachary A. Siegel
In an Upstate New York Community Wracked by Overdoses, Prosecutor Pursues Users in Homicides Cases Zachary A. Siegel
Activists Fed Up with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Silence on Safe Injection Sites Zachary A. Siegel
Pennsylvania Man Dies In Jail After Guards Allegedly Ignored His Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms Zachary A. Siegel
After New York Sues Opioid Manufacturers, Drug Policy Experts Warn That Legal Action Won’t Save Lives Zachary A. Siegel
Death by Prosecution: Was There a Bigger Player in Drug Case Involving Man Who Killed Himself After Federal Indictment? Zachary A. Siegel
‘You Want to Get Them While the Teardrops are Warm’: Prosecutors Swap Strategies for Turning Overdose Deaths into Homicides Zachary A. Siegel
Despite ‘Public Health’ Messaging, Law Enforcement Increasingly Prosecutes Overdoses as Homicides Zachary A. Siegel
Despite “Public Health” Messaging, Law Enforcement Increasingly Prosecutes Overdoses as Homicides Zachary A. Siegel
