(Credit: Urban Seed Education / Flickr Creative Commons) Listen (Runtime 1:01) Read Last month, the number of opioid overdoses in Walla Walla spiked to 124% more than the local monthly […]Read More
What do you really know about psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms? Research on the substance has lagged behind in the U.S. but, recent grassroots movements and a non-profit in […]Read More
Sueann Ramella interviews Sam Chapman virtually on April 19, 2022. What do you really know about psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms? Research on the substance has lagged behind in […]Read More
More than 93,000 people died of a drug overdose in the U.S. last year — a record number of cases that reflects a rise of nearly 30% from 2019, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials said the increase was driven by the lethal prevalence of fentanyl as well as pandemic-related stressors and problems in accessing care.Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that some crack cocaine offenders sentenced to harsh prison terms more than a decade ago cannot get their sentences reduced under a federal law adopted with the purpose of doing just that.Read More
In the middle of this year’s legislative session, the Washington Supreme Court dropped its Blake decision, declaring the law criminalizing drug possession in the state to be unconstitutional. What followed was a sprint by lawmakers to answer the justices’ enormous ruling — a balancing act between conservatives eager to make drug possession a felony again and progressives Read More
A senior Drug Enforcement Administration official told NPR efforts to target drug cartels operating inside Mexico have unraveled because of a breakdown in cooperation between law enforcement agencies and militaries in the two countries.Read More
Prohibition did not limit the demand of alcohol, and many people did not support it, including the police. On an early morning in March 1920, Seattle Police Lieutenant Roy Olmstead and Sergeant T.J. Clark met a crew of bootleggers loading a shipment of Canadian whiskey from Vancouver, B.C. for Seattle. Olmstead and Clark were not there to arrest the criminals, but to watch Read More
For advocates of drug policy reform and those in the world of criminal defense, the ruling “was a much-needed nail in the coffin on the war on drugs,” said Ali Hohman, director of legal services at the Washington Defender Association. Meanwhile, many prosecutors, law enforcement officials and lawmakers are nervous about its implications.Read More
In a decision with implications for tens of thousands of cases dating back decades, the Washington Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state’s felony drug possession law because — unlike the laws of every other state — it did not require prosecutors to prove someone knowingly or intentionally possessed drugs.Read More
The legislation removes cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and expunges low-level convictions and arrests. But the GOP Senate is not expected to take up the bill.Read More
Several states approve marijuana for recreational and medicinal use. Oregon votes to decriminalize possession of small amounts of hard drugs.Read More
The return of methamphetamine is overwhelming police, ERs and treatment centers — especially west of the Mississippi. But, unlike opioid dependency, meth addiction has no reliable treatment.Read More
According to a new NPR/Ipsos opioid poll, 71% of Americans surveyed also say the government should do more to curb the epidemic.Read More
Senators called pharmaceutical industry leaders to account for the high costs of medicine during a Senate hearing. The executives deflected blame to insurance companies and middlemen. Read More
Joaquín Guzmán was convicted on all 10 counts he faced related to his leading of Mexico's infamous Sinaloa cartel.Read More
Prosecutor Andrea Goldbarg said in her closing arguments that Joaquín Guzmán led the Sinaloa drug cartel. Dozens of witnesses said he tortured and killed people and that he bribed officials in Mexico.Read More
For the first time in U.S. history, a leading cause of deaths — vehicle crashes — has been surpassed in likelihood by opioid overdoses, according to a new report on preventable deaths from the National Safety Council.Read More
Washington's Snohomish County declared the opioid epidemic a life-threatening emergency. They use a multi-agency coordination group straight out of FEMA's playbook to respond to the crisis.Read More
Meth is back "with a vengeance," police say. Now made mostly by superlabs in Mexico, it is stronger, cheaper and more prevalent, cutting across demographic barriers and sparking serious crime.Read More
"Sometimes, life gives you lemons. Sometimes, it gives you bananas," says the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "And sometimes, it gives you something you'd never expect!"Read More
Author Michael Pollan, who experimented with mushrooms, LSD and other psychedelics while researching his latest book, says: "I had an experience that was by turns frightening and ecstatic and weird."Read More
Two of Washington top elected prosecutors say the state is failing to adequately address an epidemic of drug addiction. They say it’s a major contributor to crime, but also to homelessness.Read More
The former House speaker is getting into the marijuana game, illustrating the ironies of the way many Americans think about weed, particularly when it comes to race.Read More
The president made an unexpected appearance at Thursday's White House opioid summit. "It's a problem that's growing," he said of the drug epidemic that has struck the country.Read More
The report released by Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill says the cozy relationship between pain advocacy groups and pharmaceutical companies may have played a key role in the opioid crisis.Read More
The opioid crisis is front and center at the Washington Legislature this week. On Monday, lawmakers heard testimony on three bills aimed at preventing and treating opioid addiction and reducing overdose deaths.Read More
Opioid abuse has spiked across the country in recent years. FRANKIELEON / FLICKR Listen The opioid epidemic is claiming another victim: young children who are neglected by their addicted parents. […]Read More
