Drug War

Legalize Nitazenes

by Laurence M. Vance April 3, 2024

I never even heard of nitazenes until last month. They are a type of synthetic opioids called isotonitazenes, or ISOs, that have been detected in illegal street drugs. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), ISOs are “being mixed into and marketed as other drugs to make drugs more potent and cheaper to produce.” Ten nitazenes, also called benzimidazole-opioids, ...

Why Drug Prohibition?

by Jacob G. Hornberger January 1, 2024

During the entire lives of everyone living today, the U.S. government has been waging the so-called war on drugs. Since 1914, beginning with the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, the federal government has enacted laws that make it a criminal offense to possess or distribute certain drugs or to simply conspire (that is, agree) to do so. The objective has ...

Conservatives, Skittles, and Drugs

by Laurence M. Vance December 11, 2023

Conservatives have been fairly quiet about the new law in California that bans certain additives used in candy and other foods, though not because they agree with it. Dubbed the “Skittles ban” because the original version of the bill targeted the coloring agent in the popular Skittles candy, “The California Food Safety Act” (AB-418) prohibits “any food ...

The Supreme Court Ignores the Real Issue

by Laurence M. Vance October 24, 2023

The first Monday of October is the beginning of the new term of the U.S. Supreme Court, which then runs until June or July of the following year. The first case (22-340) up before the court this term concerns the meaning of the word “and” in a federal law regarding prison terms for drug dealers. Mark Pulsifer pleaded guilty in ...

Why I Will Never Change My Mind about Marijuana

by Laurence M. Vance October 1, 2023

Charles Fain Lehman has changed his mind about marijuana. I haven’t, and never will, change my mind about marijuana. Lehman, a self-described “conservative,” is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor of City Journal whose work has “appeared in outlets including the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, National Review, the New York Post, and elsewhere.” He is “a ...

Why Should Americans Have to Vote to Legalize Marijuana?

by Laurence M. Vance December 2, 2022

In addition to the thousands of candidates running for federal, state, and local offices in the recent midterm election, voters in 37 states also had the option of deciding on 132 statewide ballot measures. Five of those ballot measures were related to marijuana. The federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) ...

The Republican Death Wish

by Laurence M. Vance October 25, 2022

Republican politicians are not just incorrigible drug warriors; they also have a death wish, but not for themselves. Not only do they want to lock people in cages for possessing too much of a plant or a substance that the government doesn’t approve of, they are once again openly calling for the federal government to kill drug dealers. Yes, these ...

Drug Decriminalization Disaster

by Laurence M. Vance October 5, 2022

Critics are calling Oregon’s Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act a failure. According to Oregon’s ABC affiliate KATU: “Oregon still has among the highest addiction rates in the country. Fatal overdoses have increased almost 20% over the previous year, with over a thousand dead. Over half of addiction treatment programs in the state lack capacity to ...

The Problem with Marijuana Legalization

by Laurence M. Vance August 16, 2022

Although the medical use of marijuana has been legalized in 37 states, its recreational use is legal only in 19 states. (South Dakota voters approved a recreational marijuana initiative in the 2020 election, but it was overturned by a state circuit judge and upheld by the state supreme court.) That is still a lot of states ...

The Effectiveness of Medical Marijuana Is Not the Issue

by Laurence M. Vance June 21, 2022

Earlier this year, Mississippi became the 37th state to legalize the medical use of marijuana, which is also legal in the U.S. territories of the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Since California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, every couple of years, another state or two ...

Biden’s Libertarian Feint

by Scott McPherson May 3, 2022

The White House used April 20 to reiterate President Biden’s alleged belief that marijuana users should not be in jail. The date is significant, because marijuana advocates celebrate that date as an informal pot holiday and refer to it as an ideal one on which to imbibe. Asked about the president's opinion, White House Press Secretary Jen Psake expanded ...

State Marijuana Bills Are a Far Cry from Marijuana Freedom

by Laurence M. Vance March 7, 2022

Although many states and territories have legalized the medical or recreational use of marijuana, the federal government still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) with “a high potential for abuse,” “no currently accepted medical use,” and “a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.” The possession ...