The Global Commission on Drug Policy, a panel of luminaries from around the world, including former Republican Secretary of State George Schultz and former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, has concluded that the war on drugs has failed, and that countries should change their regulatory policies to reflect this reality. “The global war on drugs has [...]

Here’s an incremental, but important victory for criminal justice, as the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity has shrunk: Congress has changed a quarter-century-old law that has sent tens of thousands of blacks to prison for crack cocaine convictions while giving far more lenient treatment to those, mainly whites, caught with the same amount of the drug [...]

I’m a bit surprised that Ted Kaufman, whose eloquent speech on FinReg said exactly what needed to be said about that legislation, was so pleased with the SEC settlement with Goldman Sachs for $550 million dollars. He says that the case proves that the SEC is back on the beat, that Goldman only made $15 [...]

Former half-term Governor Sarah Palin defended Arizona’s immigration law today. That sentence is about as much attention to her views as is deserved. (UPDATE: Except for TBogg’s whack at it.) I would rather point to a series of new studies showing that the law was birthed in and supported by ignorance of the reality at [...]

Fulfilling a campaign promise, the Obama Administration moved away from DEA raids and crackdowns on legal medical marijuana dispensaries in 14 states. The Administration had previously been criticized for allowing raids to go forward despite rhetoric claiming that they would focus on higher-level drug trafficking than the dispensaries where sick Americans can seek relief. Now [...]