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Drug Policy
What the new U.S.-Mexico security framework means for transborder drug policy
This October the U.S. and Mexico agreed on a new bilateral security program, but “unless the United States and Mexico pursue domestic structural reforms … both nations risk backsliding to the failures of the drug wars.” Continue Reading
Mexico plans a prisoner release … should the U.S. worry?
In 1980, the Mariel Boatlift brought not only tens of thousands of political refugees from Cuba to Florida, but a significant number of criminals, leading to soaring murder and crime rates in the U.S. With Mexico now planning the release of potentially thousands of federal prisoners, is history set to repeat itself? Continue Reading
Fixing American policing also requires an end to the war on drugs
The death of George Floyd has accelerated calls for police reform. Although decriminalizing drugs and the people who use them will not end police violence, it is part of the structural change needed to fix the problem. Continue Reading
Why the Pandemic Will Challenge the Brain Disease Model of Addiction
The collective trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic may provide a clearer understanding of why people use drugs — to help us see it not as a moral failing or a brain malfunction, but as a fundamentally human response to negative life events. Continue Reading
Predicting arrests, but little else: Limits of recidivism risk assessments
Given the stakes involved, it is imperative to ensure that risk assessment tools accurately identify appropriate behaviors, and do not over-generalize about what constitutes a risk to public safety. Continue Reading
Could Police Body Cameras Lead to More Drug Arrests?
Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are becoming a permanent fixture of modern policing, and their effects are likely to be much more nuanced than originally predicted. Continue Reading