2008

A man charged with cocaine offenses was exonerated in Los Angeles after his lawyer produced a video...

Modern Mechanix has a vintage ad for Lucky Strike...

Liz Spikol, one of my bosses at PW, writes on Huffington Post about the overmedication of the...

This week's column

It’s about potent pot, and how the government lies to you.

The FDA has approved a 4-in-1 vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline that innoculates people against...

NORML’s Paul Armentano writes on Huffington Post about how cannabis is a promising treatment...

Here’s a nice piece from Health Beat about addiction and the social view of drug addicts.

Smokers in Scotland could be paid to quit smoking.

The DEA is about to let doctors write prescriptions for controlled substances online. Many scheduled...

Time has a very interesting article titled Should You Drink with Your Kids? It details the results...

A father received life in prison for felony murder after a jury ruled he let his teething son suck...

The national drug intelligence threat released a survey of local law enforcement agencies asking...

Philadelphia is exempt from key aspects of Pennsylvania’s new smoking ban.

According to autopsies, the rate of death in Florida from prescription drugs is three times that of...

A report from Harvard psychiatry professor Joseph Glenmullen on suicides during trials of...

Six men were caught with 52 pounds of marijuana in Upper Darby; authorities valued the pot at...

The only heroin maintenance program in the Western Hemisphere will soon be closing down.

Consumer Reports has an interesting table of pharmaceutical companies’ direct-to-consumer...

A drug bust (for marijuana) in Kansas City ended with a dog being shot.

A report from former UK drug officials calls for drug-free prisons.

The City of Baltimore is considering fining out-of-town drug buyers. Those busted for purchasing...

NATO seized 238 metric tons of hashish in Afghanistan and estimated the seizure was worth $400...

Played named as taking steroids in the Mitchell Report remain unemployed this season, ESPN reports.

Cops in Longview, Wash., broke up a 300-plant marijuana growing operation; law enforcement said it...

Drug news from the NFL: Titans LB Ryan Fowler is in violation of the league’s PED policy,...

The Observer writes about the drug trade in British prisons.

Sales of cigarettes fell in Indiana by 18 percent last year after the state raised cigarette taxes.

This week's column

It’s about older racist drug laws and newer racist drug laws.

Romanian striker Adrian Mutu has been fined $18.6M by FIFA for using cocaine in 2004.

The Arizona Republic: “The reason Mexico represents a danger to America is American drug...

About Three dozen people were arrested in Washington, D.C., in a raid on a building holding 30...

This is one of the best best letters to the editor ever: “I would like to respond to D....

Apparently, clubbers have been putting Preparation H on their chests in order to look more ripped:...

Users of London’s subway system protested a ban on alcohol on subways by drinking on the...

The Los Angeles Times writes that 1,000 of the 7,500 homes in one Humboldt County community are used...

Here’s a list of hilarious anti-drug propaganda throughout the years.

New York interviews Christopher Bell on his documentary about steroids, Bigger, Stronger, Faster*.

Scott Mclellan writes in his new book that President Bush told him he didn’t remember if he...

In a story about “rethinking the fight against cocaine” in the Christian Science...

A new study in Harm Reduction Journal shows switching to smokeless tobacco is highly effective in...

Drug smugglers attempted to cross the Texas-Mexico border...

Transform Drug Policy Foundation on ex-CIA analysts on the possibility of Mexico becoming a...

The Drug Policy Alliance on AlterNet: Smoke a Joint and Your Whole Family Could End Up Homeless. Fun...

A Drug Policy Alliance study shows N.J. spends $331 million a year jailing nonviolent drug...

Over 650 drugmakers have insisted they will stop production of certain drugs in India if the...

Dan Gardner of the Ottawa Citizen writes on how scientific evidence almost never shapes drug...

Ed Silverman on an OTC placebo pill marketed to parents and used to trick kids who probably...

The best opponents of New Jersey’s medical marijuana law could come up with: “There is...

In the wake of Joakim Noah’s recent pot possession bust, Sam Smith of Hoops Hype writes...

Thomas Boswell writes homers are down this year in baseball because of fewer steroids. It’s...

Border guards in Iraq are under investigation for taking bribes; Lee Rosenberg wonders why nobody is...

Mother Jones on why drug dealers love the Euro right now.

Zachary Meisel of the University of Pennsylvania writes for Slate on doctors giving out antibiotics...

Slate has the letter John Conyers sent to the DEA regarding its raids of medical marijuana...

Let’s just quote The Stranger’s blog on this YouTube video: “This lady took a lot...

Customs officials hid a package of marijuana in a passenger arriving in Tokyo from Hong Kong as part...

New York Times: Killings of Police Threaten Mexico’s War on Drugs. What isn’t mentioned is...

Ron Paul quoted in an article in the New York Times’ Style section (of all places): “The...

Don Russell writes briefly on the controversy of images of Santa on beer labels, including a recent...

A survey asked 124,000 adults if they had driven under the influence of alcohol during the past...

What’s the new Scary Prescription Drug? Why, it’s none other than smoking-cessation drug...

Alex Coolman writes about a decision from the Second District Court of Appeal that held the quantity...

CNN.com has a report on online prescription drug sales; the reporters call online drug sellers...

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admits he’s smoked pot in his life: “Again, I’d just be...

Students for Sensible Drug Policy has a page about the Rachel Morningstar Foundation, done in honor...

The Central European Distribution Company has agreed to purchase a stake of Russian Alcohol Group. I...

New Jersey's medical marijuana bill

New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was scheduled to be debated for an...

A driver in California was convicted of vehicular manslaughter after hitting and killing a bicyclist...

NORML’s Paul Armentano writes about the federal government’s stifling of research toward...

Two recent studies at Harvard and UCLA conclude that marijuana does not cause cancer and THC may...

The FAA has banned its pilots from taking the smoking-cessation drug Chantix “after numerous...

I’ll just quote Seattle Weekly on this one: “Washington State Liquor Control Board...

This week's column

I write this week about the under-reported side effects of drug prohibition.

Johann Hari wrote recently about narcolepsy drug Provigil — also available in prodrug form as...

An update on arrested medical marijuana patients in Washington state.

A U.S. anti-drug airplane strayed into Venezuelan airspace on Saturday night; Venezuela says it was...

On AlterNet, Tony Newman writes about Lou Dobbs’ cluelessness toward the drug war.

The Los Angeles Times reports that prescription drugs are supplanting illegal ones as the...

One in seven school districts randomly tests its students for drugs.

Drug War Rant has a nice roundup of coverage of Rachel Hoffman’s murder. Hoffman was an...

Barack Obama has taken the most money from pharmaceutical companies this election cycle. Obama has...

Radley Balko has news about the informant in the Ryan Frederick case in Chesapeake, Va.

Pro-marijuana legalization advocates arrived at New Zealand Parliament in their...

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is continuing to close stores it deems unprofitable, but two...

The Christian Science Monitor has a longer-than-you’d-expect piece on Hollywood’s recent...

A substitute teacher in Berks county is accused of asking a student in help with getting marijuana....

Here’s two news reports on that pot bust in Philadelphia.

Two students have been arrested in Montgomery County (Maryland) as part of a “pot ring...

Undercover agents set up a drug stingand arrested four people who allegedly tried to buy 146 pounds...

Here’s a story from The Intelligencer about methadone overdoses and attempts to restrict the...

Furious Seasons writes about a study that shows sexual dysfunction due to anti-depressants lasts...

Police have made a “large” marijuana bust in Logan; two men are being questioned.

Hey, look, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano blogged about this week’s Drug Roar column.

A study from Jerusalem says marijuana’s driving effects are different than alcohol:...

Here’s a column from a Canadian writer about how alcohol is a harder drug on society than...

A 14-year-old has the ear of lawmakers due to his attempt to change the DUI laws in Pennsylvania. He...

NORML’s commentary on a recent government report that says smoking 2 to 9 ounces of pot a week...

A Michigan judge allegedly told an underage drinker it would be better if he (the kid) just offed...

A Trenton police officer was arrested for allegedly distributing over 100 doses of muscle relaxant.

A London supermarket has been secretly photographing buyers of alcohol and cigarettes, and wants a...

Bud Selig says major league baseball’s owners will ratify the league’s new drug policy...

The Daily Mail writes about a doctor who wishes to turn oxytocin (the hormone released during sex)...

A study says over half of Americans are on medication for chronic diseases; doctors oddly say this...

An excerpt from Dying to Get High, out in August from NYU Press.

Gov. Rendell said he would veto any state smoking ban weaker than Philadelphia’s, and now the...

State Sen. John Rafferty says he feels the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will rule to ease restrictions...

This week's column

My column this week is about how the media covers drugs — using the example of marijuana. It...

The Denver Post’s David Harsanyion the most useless job in Washington, the drug czar. (via...

France will introduce compulsary breathalyzer tests in bars. (via Tobaccoland)

A group of prostate cancer patients have planned a protest against the FDA on the agency’s...

The candidates on, uhm, performance-enhancing drugs in sports. Barack Obama is particularly odd:...

About 20 provinces in Afghanistan are now poppy-free — which doesn’t technically mean...

The ultimate combination of legal drug paraphernalia from...

The headline says Drug Violence Kills Top Mexican Cops, but it’s (of course) actually drug war...

Hey, here’s the newest government propaganda on pot.

Here’s a piece on AlterNet that sums up New York City’s pot crackdown pretty well:...

Raw Story has a piece from CBSNews.com on the presidential candidates and marijuana.

A man from Frankfort, Ky., was arrested last month for drug trafficking charges “after he was...

RS Davis writes more about John Conyers’ questioning of the DEA about its raids on medical...

This is an excellent point from Alex Coolman at Drug Law Blog: Why do columnists think it’s...

An excellent piece on Blog Reload about the war going on along our border with Mexico due to the war...

A column from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the recent Human Rights Watch and Sentencing Project...

Officials in Boston are reviewing overdose deaths in recent years, as the number seems to be...

Dirk Hanson writes about caffiene addiction. Definitely an interesting read.

Slate asks: How would one actually make a bong out of a human skull?

Apparently, these newfangled sleeping pills you see advertised on TV — they even have names...

A police officer in Atlanta testified that narcotics officers routinely lied under oath; this trial...

The Burlington County Times has a short feature on the county’s drug court.

Some strong words on the government’s reclassification of cannabis in England: “Yet the...

The feds raided stores that sell ‘detoxification’ kits and confiscated countless legal...

A vice principal at a Gloucester County, New Jersey, high school was charged with stealing...

Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project writes about the 30th anniversary of the federal...

Prince William will join Royal Navy patrols attempting to catch cocaine smugglers in the Caribbean:...

A district attorney in Colorado was filmed drinking during work at a bar called Oscar’s. Hey,...

A Camden drug dealer admitted to killing a coke supplier over a quality dispute.

Relatively common situation: The U.S. government recommends Chantix for smoking cessation; the drug,...

A parody from Transform Drug Policy Foundation (UK) on the reclassification of cannabis and how it...

Cannabis will return to a Class B drug next year, as expected. Here’s the full report that...

A cocaine dealer said in court a gang poured hot chicken grease on him. The long-time drug dealer...

This came with my Macy’s card. (Shut up.) I wonder...

Georgia State Sen. Doug Stoner has helped pass a bill banning the sale of marijuana-flavored candy...

Similarly, this what makes the blogs: Garrett Reid Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Drugs Into His Jail...

A prospective juror in a Houston marijuana trial was charged with drug possession during a break....

Jacob Sullum (he of the excellent Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use) writes about Mayor Michael...

Philadelphia played Barry Bonds in 2007 in breaking the record for most DUIs handed out in one year....

U.S. House Judiciary Chair John Conyers has sent a letter to the DEA challenging the DEA’s...

A DEA photo shows a cell phone message discussing drug...

The New York Times reports the feds have asked Jose Canseco if he asked players to invest in his...

This Week's Column

I write about the criminalization of salvia divinorum (and other drugs) as a first resort of drug...

Under fire in Rio de Janeiro: Tourists being offered the chance to meet armed drug dealers. And,...

For some reason, I like following British (and Canadian!) drug policy news as well —...