The very term Rockefeller Drug Laws has practically become a euphemism for unfair, racially biased mandatory prison sentences and drug-war related mass incarceration.
While tragic, celebrity overdose might help raise awareness about the dangers of prescription misuse and ignite the push for drug policy reform.
Solutions like expanded access to naloxone and the 911 Good Samaritan law work and can save lives -- but only if people know about them.
Possession of marijuana is the leading arrest in New York City today -- but it's not supposed to be this way. In 1977, New York State removed criminal penalties for private possession of marijuana, and made possession in public view a misdemeanor.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 15,000 Americans die annually from overdosing on prescription painkillers, know...
Saving lives should always take priority over punishing behavior. Today, Jon Bon Jovi's daughter Stephanie is alive because someone called for help. Let's make sure others know that they can and should do the same.
We need to make sure that we are educating our young people, our parents, our doctors, and our health care workers about heroin and opioids. We need to involve more allies in overdose prevention.
This year the Obama Administration allocated more money for drug prevention and treatment programs -- $10.1 billion -- than for U.S. law enforcement and incarceration. This Administration understands substance dependence is a public health issue, not just a law enforcement issue.
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Thomas Kinkade's widow and girlfriend took their dispute over the late painter's estate to court on Tuesday as handwritten notes a...
We have waged a war against drugs instead of formulating a science-based response to a public health epidemic for which a life-saving medication is available.
Cocaine, heroin and now prescription drugs continue to occupy the headlines -- as indeed they should -- but alcohol deserves the same attention. Our nation's alcohol problem may not seem as scandalous, but it's just as serious.
Reports that Xanax and other benzos are not usually lethal when taken alone are vastly misleading. Xanax is rarely taken alone. Why? Because as much or more than any other prescribed drug, Xanax causes medication spellbinding.
Miami police report that they have found a body outside the northwest corner of the Miami-Dade County Auditorium at 2901 W. Flagler Street. Officer Mo...
A national crisis has emerged as the number of overdose deaths from both legal and illegal drugs has skyrocketed. Now New York is taking action to stem the crisis.
North America's only sanctioned facility for injection of illegal drugs has cut overdose deaths and should be used as a model in other cities, accor...
Strip away the Xanax, the posh Manhattan nightlife, and the international lifestyle and the blog entries from hard-partying 17-year-old Nicole John co...
New York lawmakers are now considering two very different approaches to address accidental overdose fatalities: One bill will most certainly make the problem worse, while the other will likely save lives.
Will PFC Bailey have to carry around the emotional scars of her service to our nation (not to mention sexual assault) without any help from the people who sent her there?
I wrote this post as I watched the hysteria surrounding Electric Daisy Carnival hit the media. With one death and over 100 hospitalized, obviously some changes need to be made.
Now is the time to demand an end to the pointless and punitive criminalization of people who use drugs.
MIAMI — The flamboyant judge brought to fame in the fight over Anna Nicole Smith's remains says he believes someone is guilty of manslaughter in...
LONDON — Self-styled dandy and noted British eccentric Sebastian Horsley, who found fame by having himself nailed to a cross in the Philippines,...
Yesterday I wrote about an editorial that was rejected by an academic journal in fall 2009 that outlined the history of harm reduction in the United ...
In the fall of 2009, I was asked by an academic journal to contribute a 1,500 word editorial that outlined the history of harm reduction in the United...
This kind of shallow reporting is why the media loses credibility -- a simple Google search or call to an academic expert on drugs or even a conversation with a long-time addict would reveal that $10 bags are not news.
