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On May 4, 2021, President Joe Biden extended class-wide scheduling of fentanyl analogues through October, making it easier to go after low-level drug dealers. Critics say it will disproportionately affect communities of color.
The Lowdown June 16, 2021
Biden Could Have Taken the War on Drugs Down a Notch. He Didn’t.
A little-noticed law could make it easier to punish people for low-level drug crimes — and put them in prison for longer with less proof.
By Beth Schwartzapfel
An election worker sorted submitted ballots at the Multnomah County, Oregon, elections office on Nov. 2.
Analysis November 11, 2020
Will Drug Legalization Leave Black People Behind?
Even in states that have legalized or decriminalized marijuana possession, Black people are still more likely to be arrested for it than White people. These organizers are working to change that.
By Wilbert L. Cooper and Christie Thompson
Feature September 24, 2019
Detained
How the United States created the largest immigrant detention system in the world.
By Emily Kassie
New York City police officers stop to observe two young people, who were not selling drugs but were hanging out on a known drug corner in the Bronx in the 1980s.
Commentary August 26, 2018
Three Strikes Didn’t Work. It’s Time to Pay Reparations
Black and brown men paid the price for supplying what the recreational drug market demanded: cocaine and weed.
By Juleyka Lantigua Williams
Bernard Noble hugs Elnora Noble, his mom, and Gwynne Noble his sister, outside of Bossier Parish Medium Security Prison early Thursday morning.
News April 12, 2018
Seven Years Behind Bars for Two Joints — And Now He’s Free
Bernard Noble, whose case became a symbol of harsh drug laws, walks out of a Louisiana prison.
By Nicole Lewis and Maurice Chammah
News March 8, 2018
Convicted of a Drug Crime, Registered with Sex Offenders
In Kansas, even many minor drug offenders must appear on the state’s public registry. A new bill would change that.
By Maurice Chammah
News January 17, 2018
Trump Justice, Year One: The Demolition Derby
Here are nine ways the law-and-order president has smashed Obama’s legacy.
By Justin George
Eddy, who served two years probation for attempting to sell a few gram bags of marijuana, attended a free legal clinic that helps people get pot convictions reduced or dismissed.
News November 27, 2017
How Do You Clear a Pot Conviction From Your Record?
It depends on where you live. (Californians, you’re in luck.)
By Lee V. Gaines
Men await processing after arriving at the Deuel Vocational Institution, a state prison in Tracy, Calif.
News July 18, 2017
How to Count the Hidden Prisoners
A new study examines the lingering impact of war-on-crime policies.
By Manuel Villa
Black tar heroin in the evidence room of the Post Falls, Idaho, police department.
Commentary February 16, 2017
Why Trump’s Wall Won’t Keep Out Heroin
It’s the easiest drug to traffic in small batches, and it is very lucrative.
By Sam Quinones
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