Drug War

Let's Eliminate Welfare for Terrorists

Mike Gray | Posted 11.19.2009 | World


Mike Gray

International drug prohibition, headed by the United States, has, in effect, created a global mechanism that is in the process of eating our civilization alive. Fortunately, we can reverse it with a pen stroke.

What Really Scares Me This Halloween

Adam Hanft | Posted 10.31.2009 | Living


Adam Hanft

The fact that 80% of the recent jobs lost were held by men; people who have volunteered for Bloomberg's third term bid; getting Facebook invitations from people who campaigned for Eugene McCarthy.

Lance Armstrong, Michael Phelps -- and What They Say About Our Idiotic Drug Policies

David Sirota | Posted 10.23.2009 | Politics


David Sirota

Why do we as a country encourage the consumption of drugs that are far more harmful than some of the drugs, like marijuana, we outright criminalize?

DEA 'Cartel' Claims Lack Facts, Again

Erin Rosa | Posted 10.21.2009 | Denver


Erin Rosa

DEA agents in Denver have a sordid history when it comes to backing up their claims, and their most recent allegation that medical marijuana dispensaries are being supplied by 'cartels' is no different.

Holder's Baby Step On Medical Marijuana

Chris Weigant | Posted 10.25.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

Obama's plan is good news for medical marijuana advocates, but although this is a historic shift in the War on Drugs, it does not go far enough because it does not resolve the illogic of the underlying legal issue.

Turning the Corner on Drug Law Reform

Norm Stamper | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics


Norm Stamper

Australians are acutely aware that the U.S. is and has been since 1971 the chest-thumping, fist-banging four-star general in the global war on drugs. Their willingness to stand up to our bullying ways is growing.

David Paterson Does the Right Thing and Drops the Rock

Anthony Papa | Posted 10.07.2009 | New York


Anthony Papa

Having felt the sting of the Rockefeller laws firsthand -- serving 12 years under a 15-years-to-life sentence -- I understand the full meaning of the reforms that went into effect today.

Matt Damon, Your Buddy Mayor Bloomberg Is a Hypocritical Drug Warrior

Tony Newman | Posted 10.05.2009 | New York


Tony Newman

What may not be clear to Matt Damon, an admitted marijuana user, is that despite the mayor's "moderate" reputation Bloomberg is a full-fledged, drug warrior.

Here Is Your Chance to Help End the Failed War on Drugs

Anthony Papa | Posted 12.02.2009 | Politics


Anthony Papa

Our nation's drug policy should be based on reason, compassion, health and human rights, but to do so will take a great deal of strategizing and organizing.

Marijuana in America: More Mainstream Than Ever, More Arrests Than Ever!

Tony Newman | Posted 11.30.2009 | Living


Tony Newman

Need more evidence that marijuana has gone mainstream in America? This morning on The Today Show, Matt Lauer chatted up a piece on so-called "Stiletto Stoners:" educated, professional women who favor marijuana as their intoxicant of choice -- and are increasingly comfortable admitting it.

Criminalizing Smoking Is Not the Answer: Bans on Cloves and Outdoor Smoking Will Backfire!

Tony Newman | Posted 11.24.2009 | Living


Tony Newman

While I support many restrictions on public smoking, such as at restaurants and workplaces, I believe the outdoor smoking ban and prohibition of cloves will lead to harmful and unintended consequences.

Honduras: Who's The Real Drug Trafficker?

Nikolas Kozloff | Posted 11.16.2009 | World


Nikolas Kozloff

In December 2008, just months before Manuel Zelaya was ousted from power by the Honduran military, he wrote Barack Obama and complained of U.S. "interventionism."

Marijuana Use By The Numbers

Paul Armentano | Posted 11.10.2009 | Politics


Paul Armentano

By age 25, 54 percent of the population has admittedly used marijuana. Does anyone still believe that marijuana prohibition is working -- or that all of these people deserve to be behind bars?

Iraq, Afghanistan: Lessons From the Pros

Martin Varsavsky | Posted 10.21.2009 | World


Martin Varsavsky

Failed policies in the Middle East could be reshaped by learning from those who have managed to do surprisingly well for themselves: the Israelis, the Iranians and the Afghan drug lords.

Blind, Diabetic, Double-Amputee Dies After Being Evicted for Medical Marijuana Use

Anthony Papa | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics


Anthony Papa

Marijuana is an indispensable medicine that helps mitigate chronic pain and stimulates appetite. Patients suffering from cancer, AIDS and other forms of disease greatly benefit from access to marijuana.

"This Comment Has Been Removed"

Norm Stamper | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics


Norm Stamper

How long will it be before one of those pistol-packing town-hallers, driven to the brink by publicly aired hate-talk, pulls his gun, and then its trigger?

A Former Police Chief on New Marijuana Book

Norm Stamper | Posted 09.19.2009 | Politics


Norm Stamper

I do not believe drug policy reform should end with the legalization of marijuana. Yet, when asked to contribute a foreword to the new book Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink, I eagerly accepted.

Drug Wars: Brazil's Amazon The New Rio Grande

Eric Ehrmann | Posted 09.08.2009 | World


Eric Ehrmann

The last thing president Lula and Brazilian democracy need is the United States on its northern border using the drug war to interfere in internal politics like it has done in the past with Mexico.

Crystal Meth Goes International And Industrial

GlobalPost | Posted 08.31.2009 | World


Ioan Grillo | GlobalPost CULIACAN, Mexico -- The colossal water cistern set in a clearing in a hilly, heavily forested area can hold 25,000 liters ...

Drug War: Brazilian Female Police Commanders On The Rise

Guardian | Posted 08.29.2009 | World


A police helicopter rattles through the skies over Rio, black-clad snipers poised at either side. Below, in the Morro da Mineira shanty town, locals ...

'Outlaw Mother's Milk' Says Drug Czar

Don Parker | Posted 08.23.2009 | Comedy


Don Parker

After declaring on Wednesday in Fresno that "marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit," Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office...

1,600 Pounds Of Cocaine Seized Near Venezuela: Coast Guard:

AP | Posted 08.22.2009 | World


MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard says an estimated 1,600 pounds of cocaine were seized from a motorboat off the coast of Venezuela last week. Autho...

Turning Cold Medicine into a Controlled Substance?

Anthony Papa | Posted 08.21.2009 | Politics


Anthony Papa

As it stands now, consumers with colds across the country must present a photo ID and sign a log in order to purchase cold and allergy medicines containing pseudoephedrine.

My Return to Sing Sing Prison: The Agony and The Ecstasy

Anthony Papa | Posted 08.15.2009 | Entertainment


Anthony Papa

I swore to myself I would never return. But over a decade later, here I was, back at the maximum security prison where I served a 15 years for a non-violent drug crime under the Rockefeller Drug Laws.

Pissing on Drug Warrior Graves

Dean Becker | Posted 08.09.2009 | Politics


Dean Becker

The truth is this: from the drug czar on down through the DEA, there is no one willing to justify the horrors created by this policy of drug prohibition.