The right to spend your money as you want. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reiterated a point in a recent TV interview that he famously made in a New York Times op-ed in 2014. Sports gambling, currently illegal in the United States, should be brought into the light. For the sizable demographic of people who oppose legalization of
sports betting, ... MORE
The pretense of probable cause. All in all, this motion to suppress evidence worked out for the plaintiff, but it does little to address concerns that drug dogs are basically blank permission slips for inquisitive cops. The defendant -- Emile Martin -- was in a vehicle driven by another person (simply referred to as "Montgomery" in the opinion). This vehicle ... MORE
by MaryAnn Spoto. Because justice is a result, not simply a process. A Mays Landing man was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday for growing 17 marijuana plants in the Pinelands. When Jon Peditto was arrested in 2012, he admitted the pot plants were his and told investigators he grew them primarily for his own use but had also ... MORE
How Prohibition led to big government. If they think about Prohibition at all, most Americans probably accept Columbia University historian Richard Hofstadter’s conclusion that it was a farce, a “ludicrous caricature of the reforming impulse,” an ineffective albeit financially costly moral crusade imposed on a reluctant populace. Decades ... MORE
by Art Way. More than three years have passed since Colorado residents voted to
legalize marijuana, which immediately allowed adults to possess and
cultivate limited amounts of marijuana. This past New Year’s Day marked
the two year anniversary of adults being able to legally buy marijuana in Colorado. The policy is still in its formative stage, ... MORE
by Thaddeus Miller. As state pot policy moves forward, one city goes backwards. Medical marijuana cardholders will not be allowed to grow cannabis for their own consumption after a vote Monday while the Merced City Council figures out what cultivation and dispensaries should be permitted in the city. The council unanimously passed the ... MORE
by Jacob Sullum. Contrary to what you may have read or heard, Congress did not quietly lift the federal ban on medical marijuana. Nor did it lift the ban loudly. It did not lift the ban at all. Here is what actually happened. In December 2014, Congress approved an
omnibus spending bill that included a rider prohibiting the Justice
Department ... MORE
by Danielle Allen. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In January 1964, the Beatles first broke onto the Billboard chart with “I Want to Hold Your Hand”; by June, Ringo Starr had collapsed from tonsillitis and pharyngitis. In January , the surgeon general announced
that scientists had found conclusive evidence linking smoking to ... MORE
A favorite tactic of control freaks. Slate columnist Daniel Engber, who was recently "shocked" to discover that workplace drug testing is still a thing, wonders: What's up with that? He finds, as I did back in 2002, that there's little evidence drug testing is a sound investment for employers: As was the case 30 years ago, testing has no solid base of evidence, ... MORE
Permit marijuana use in public. Recreational marijuana use has been legal in Seattle since 2012, but I still felt like I was getting away with something when I walked into a dispensary there this fall. There was a bouncer waiting behind a roped-off entryway on the otherwise quiet Capitol Hill side street. He passed my driver’s license through a ... MORE
Entrapment, law enforcement's favorite tool. Since the War on Drugs began in earnest under Nixon and Reagan, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has ruined millions of lives for nonviolent, victimless behavior. The DEA’s drug crusade is not limited to the homeland either, as it also has sole responsibility for pursing international ... MORE
Drug use continues a decade-long drop. America's high school students are using drugs and alcohol at or near the lowest levels on record, according to federal data released Wednesday. The 2015 Monitoring the Future Survey,
conducted by the University of Michigan and the National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA) ... MORE
by Alex Mierjeski. That makes it unanimous. The nation's top drug official went on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday night and proclaimed the old War on Drugs a failure. Michael Botticelli, who serves as the director of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, also said he wants to reform and refocus U.S. drug policy. When
asked by "60 Minutes" ... MORE