Midterm Elections Deliver Some Good News for Criminal Legal Reform Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Nick Wing, Meg O'Connor
The Pandemic Prompted Marilyn Mosby to Stop Prosecuting Low-Level Crimes. Will Other D.A.s Follow? Prosecutors across the country have begun declining low-level cases in an effort to reduce racial inequity and to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Joshua Vaughn
As Coronavirus Spread, Dozens Of Law Enforcement Agents Raided Virginia Housing Projects Over Alleged Small Drug Deals Despite distancing warnings, more than 80 state and federal agents fanned out in an anti-drug operation that, The Appeal has learned, was based on a series of retail-level drug sales. Jerry Iannelli
A Public Health Focus On Coronavirus Shouldn’t Sideline Overdose Prevention Efforts Recent successes in stemming the opioid crisis could be reversed if public health budgets are cut or the crisis is seen as secondary to the pandemic. Jacqueline Goldman, Brandon Marshall
A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell
Federal Crackdown On Fentanyl Analogues Repeats the Mistakes of the Drug War, Advocates Warn Legislators are considering giving the DEA dangerous authority, harm reduction advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Someone Tell Joe Biden: Marijuana Is Not a Gateway Drug Biden believes that the jury is still out on the question of whether marijuana is a gateway to other illicit substances. But the truth is that it is not—and this has long been a matter of settled science. Paul Armentano
A Trap Of Low-Level Drug Arrests And Court Debt In Pittsburgh In 2017, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala prosecuted more than 1,700 low-level drug possession cases. More than $2 million in court-imposed debt was levied on people who were charged in these cases. Joshua Vaughn
The Appeal Podcast: The Media’s Misguided Fentanyl Hype With Appeal contributor Maia Szalavitz Adam H. Johnson
Law Enforcement Is Urged to ‘Think Like a Parent, Not a Prosecutor’ A new DA in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, is treating the overdose crisis as a criminal matter rather than a community health issue. Joshua Vaughn
The Appeal Podcast: Criminal Justice Reform Hits Roadblock in Arizona With Caroline Isaacs of the American Friends Service Committee Adam H. Johnson
Florida Woman Faced 10 Years For ‘Meth’ That Was ‘Just a Rock’ A scandal of falsified drug arrests is spreading at a Florida sheriff’s office that has also spent more than $1.33 million settling excessive force lawsuits and is at the center of the increasingly troubled Robert Kraft case. Meg O'Connor
Texas Sheriffs Stand Against Marijuana Policy Reform New bills would expand access to medical marijuana, but the state's sheriffs' association promises to fight even such modest legislation. Michael Arria
I Arrested A Man On Marijuana Charges. Then He Took His Own Life. A former Baltimore Police officer says it’s time for the department to stop wasteful, harmful marijuana arrests, especially after Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s announcement that her office would not prosecute cases of possession. Larry Smith
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
Cannabis Alarmism Hinders Smart Regulations Alex Berenson says he’s concerned there’s not enough research into cannabis risks, but his misleading arguments set scientists back. Alex Gertner, Kelsey Priest
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
Oklahoma Governor Releases 21 Prisoners Shut Out Of Drug Sentencing Reform But more than 1,100 others are still serving sentences that voters decided were too harsh. Kira Lerner
Georgia Woman Endured Arrest, Million-Dollar Bond, and Months of Jail Over ‘Meth’ That Was Actually Cotton Candy A notoriously unreliable roadside drug test administered by Monroe County sheriff's deputies led to Dasha Fincher being charged with methamphetamine trafficking. Lauren Gill
Safe Injection Sites Are On the Way. But Will Prosecutions Follow? As the federal government vows to pursue ‘swift and aggressive action’ against the sites, experts weigh in on what’s likely to happen next. Maura Ewing
