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War on Drugs

Chronicling changes to US drug policy, from marijuana legalization efforts to the fight against the opioid crisis.

Psychedelics can have enormous benefits, but the risks shouldn’t be ignored

By Oshan Jarow

What a striking new study of death in America misses

By Dylan Matthews

Marijuana could be classified as a lower-risk drug. Here’s what that means.

By Li Zhou

Is weed safe in pregnancy?

By Keren Landman

The psychedelic renaissance is at risk of missing the bigger picture

By Oshan Jarow

Mexico’s top cop is on trial along with the war on drugs

By Haleema Shah

22 things we think will happen in 2022

By Dylan Matthews, Kelsey Piper, and 1 more

A better way to legalize marijuana

By German Lopez

The opioid epidemic isn’t unsolvable

By German Lopez

Why we love drugs

By Sean Illing

The Olympics are stuck in the 1980s on marijuana

By German Lopez

Marijuana legalization has won

By German Lopez

Biden’s blunt opposition to marijuana legalization

By German Lopez

New Mexico just legalized marijuana

By German Lopez

Virginia just legalized marijuana

By German Lopez

New York just legalized marijuana

By German Lopez

A Columbia professor argues against our drug puritanism

By Sean Illing

Going back to the pre-Covid “normal” isn’t enough

By German Lopez

Study: Smoking bans saved countless lives — could they have increased drunk driving?

By Jerusalem Demsas

The House of Representatives voted to legalize marijuana

By German Lopez

America’s war on drugs has failed. Oregon is showing a way out.

By German Lopez

Election Day was a major rejection of the war on drugs

By German Lopez

Voters approve legal marijuana in South Dakota

By German Lopez

Montana just voted to legalize marijuana

By German Lopez

Oregon just voted to decriminalize all drugs

By German Lopez

Arizona failed to legalize marijuana in 2016. But voters just did it in 2020.

By German Lopez

6 ballot measures that could change the criminal justice system

By German Lopez

Oregon’s ballot measure to decriminalize all drugs, explained

By German Lopez

2020’s psychedelic drug ballot measures, explained

By German Lopez

2020’s marijuana legalization ballot measures, explained

By German Lopez

Filed under:

The controversial 1994 crime law that Joe Biden helped write, explained

By German Lopez

Filed under:

Joe Biden’s criminal justice reform plan, explained

By German Lopez

Coronavirus scammers are flooding social media with fake cures and tests

By Rebecca Heilweil

Virginia just decriminalized marijuana

By German Lopez

Welcome to the world of craft weed

By Sean Illing

Virginia is poised to decriminalize marijuana

By German Lopez

The rise in meth and cocaine overdoses, explained

By German Lopez

Drug overdose deaths fell in 2018 — but were still near record highs

By German Lopez

Marijuana legalization is about to have a huge year

By German Lopez

AI can help find illegal opioid sellers online. And wildlife traffickers. And counterfeits.

By Rebecca Heilweil