As president, Joe Biden can fight for the criminal justice reforms the electorate is demanding... or he can double down on his decades-long advocacy for tougher policing, harsher sentencing, and stricter drug laws. With Inauguration Day on the horizon, we ask: what will Joe do?
Read MorePresident Richard Nixon declared illegal drugs to be public enemy number one in 1971. Almost 50 years later, fifty years of failure, waste, and criminal justice mistakes in the name of the war on drugs, is the end of this disaster finally in sight?
Read MoreJudging from the unexpectedly close presidential election result, the U.S. electorate is as polarized as ever -- at least in terms of partisan alignment. But there's one issue on which the 2020 vote reveals widespread and growing agreement among Americans from across all demographics and in almost every part of the country: the decriminalization and full legalization of marijuana and, increasingly, other drugs.
Read MoreSupervised injection sites provide a venue where addicts can safely use intravenous drugs under medical supervision. The practice saves lives, but in the midst of a deadly opioid epidemic the Justice Department is going after injection sites using laws designed to shut down crack houses.
Read MoreDave explains how prosecutors use "drug delivery resulting in death" charges in opioid overdose deaths on WESA's The Confluence.
Read MoreTo understand Sen. Kamala Harris's criminal justice positions, you have to look at each of the three distinct phases of her career: politically ambitious prosecutor in San Francisco, controversial "top cop" AG of California, and Democratic primary contender lurching leftward as consensus shifts on the issues that defined her. Which is the real Harris?
Read MoreRoutine traffic stops are the most common interaction between police and citizens. A new book presents the most unambiguous evidence yet that race is a critical factor in who gets pulled over and why.
Read MoreDeputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has put cities on notice: don’t try to establish facilities where addicts can inject intravenous drugs safely. What is Rosenstein's justification for this policy? And does the evidence bear it out?
Read MoreWe know there are real criminals out there, people who need to go to prison. But what happens when a criminal admits his crimes, but goes to prison for something he swears he did not do -- a notorious double homicide? This is the story of drug dealer Calvin Buari, presented by journalist Steve Fishman in the new podcast Empire on Blood.
Read MoreAttorney General Jeff Sessions says the War on Drugs has been "a roaring success," and that ending stop-and-frisk practices caused crime to spike. The evidence says otherwise.
Read MoreIn U.S. courts using bail for pretrial release, those with enough money to get out before trial, but those without cash stay in. But support for reform has been building, and New Jersey did away with cash bail almost entirely in 2017. What happens instead of bail, and how is it working so far?
Read MoreRecreational use of marijuana is still illegal in Pennsylvania. But increasingly, jurisdiction-level policy decisions are pushing cities toward decriminalization. This week, Philadelphia's newly-elected reformist D.A. announced his office is dropping all simple-possession marijuana cases. What's his reasoning, and how will the move affect policing?
Read MoreMore U.S. cities are considering opening "safe injection sites" where addicts can inject intravenous drugs under medical supervision. The goal is harm reduction, and there's strong evidence the practice saves lives. But is it legal?
Read MoreMore and more states are legalizing marijuana, but California is taking it a step further by retroactively vacating old convictions.
Photo: Bob Doran (CC-BY-2.0)
Read MoreU.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rescinded an Obama-era policy directing federal prosecutors to de-prioritize enforcement of marijuana prohibition in states that have legalized the drug. Will the new directive slow the growing acceptance of legal weed among voters, states, and mainstream politicians? (Spoiler: It will not.)
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