Author Archives: Pete

Just because we have a time-honored tradition here of not letting her get away with it… Barthwell maintains call for tough-minded drug policy Former federal drug policy official Andrea G. Barthwell, MD, who now directs addiction treatment centers in Illinois … Continue reading →

Sponsors cancel drug summit in Madras after facing criticism from marijuana legalization advocates Good for them. Apparently somebody realized that a taxpayer-funded “educational” summit about the evils of marijuana just before a vote on legalization might not appear… ethical. The … Continue reading →

R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.: Marijuana vs. Scotch and a Low IQ Wow. How can a founder and editor-in-chief write something so ridiculously idiotic? This is an anti-marijuana article presumably aimed at readers who never tried marijuana, never read anything about … Continue reading →

I find myself fairly consumed recently with the events in Ferguson. It certainly does seem to be a defining moment, connecting a whole lot of puzzle pieces — militarization of police, racially unbalanced enforcement, the drug war, lack of accountability … Continue reading →

This infographic on drug use and problematic drug use is nothing new to us, but helps to visually point out how criminalization is a broad sledge hammer that is wrong in two ways: 1. It mostly punishes those who are … Continue reading →

What do they think they’re licensing? Patients face ‘hoop-jumping’ to gain medical marijuana Yet now that the state has enacted a medicinal cannabis law and just this month began distributing applications for would-be patients, the Chicago woman is still deciding … Continue reading →

Connecting the dots… In The New Republic: There Is Only One Real Way to Prevent Future Fergusons: End the War on Drugs by John McWhorter. So, what will really make a difference? Really, only a continued pullback on the War … Continue reading →

A particularly busy time for me – last weekend of my show (Living Canvas Rx Fri-Sat-Sun at the Den Theatre in Chicago), plus another Living Canvas show (completely different, performing as part of the Abbie Hoffman Festival this weekend in … Continue reading →

#Ferguson No, there’s no obvious direct connection to drug policy when reading the facts of the case (known to date), yet there’s no way I can, as someone who writes about drug policy, ignore the death of Michael Brown and … Continue reading →

Another good post on the Congressional hearing on pot and driving, this time by Jacob Sullum: Stoned Drivers: The Case Against Panic Mica, a proud pot prohibitionist who chairs a subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, convened … Continue reading →