Author Archive: Phillip Smith

Phillip Smith is a writing fellow and the editor and chief correspondent of Drug Reporter, a project of the Independent Media Institute. He has been a drug policy journalist for the past two decades. He is the longtime author of the Drug War Chronicle, the online publication of the non-profit StopTheDrugWar.org, and has been the editor of AlterNet’s Drug Reporter since 2015. He was awarded the Drug Policy Alliance’s Edwin M. Brecher Award for Excellence in Media in 2013.

Drug Reform Won a Clean Sweep in the 2020 Election

Released for Syndication: 11/09/2020

In the days between Election Day and the announcement of Joe Biden as the projected winner of the presidential race, even as national election...

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The Psychedelic Revolution Is Coming to the Ballot Box

Released for Syndication: 10/30/2020

The psychedelic renaissance that has been emerging in recent years will finally get a chance to be ratified by voters on November 3. On...

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Legal Marijuana Is on the Ballot in Big Sky Country

Released for Syndication: 10/19/2020

Come November 3, Big Sky Country could be among the latest places to free the weed. As is the case in Arizona, New Jersey,...

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Will New Jersey Be the Next State to Legalize Marijuana?

Released for Syndication: 10/06/2020

New Jersey looks set to be the next state to legalize marijuana. It’s on the ballot come Election Day on November 3, the polls...

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Oregon Is on the Cusp of a Major Precedent in National Drug Reform: Decriminalizing Everything

Released for Syndication: 09/11/2020

Come November 3, Oregon residents will have a chance to approve the most far-reaching drug reform measure ever to make a state ballot when...

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Can Marijuana Win Over Voters in a High Plains Red State?

Released for Syndication: 08/26/2020

Marijuana is on the ballot in South Dakota in November this year. This is a state that has the dubious distinction of being the...

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Here Are the Major Drug Reform Initiatives Looming on the Ballot

Released for Syndication: 08/04/2020

With signature-gathering deadlines for drug reform initiatives now having passed nearly everywhere, the picture of where voters will have a chance to vote on...

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Is the Time of the No-Knock Drug Raid Coming to an End?

Released for Syndication: 06/26/2020

In the mass protests over out-of-control and racially biased law enforcement ignited by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin,...

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Democrats in Congress Are Taking on a Police Culture Run Amok

Released for Syndication: 06/24/2020

With mass protests over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin morphing into demands to grapple with racism and to...

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Progressives in Congress File Resolution Condemning Police Brutality, Racial Bias, War on Drugs

Released for Syndication: 06/05/2020

As protests erupted across the country after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a dozen progressive Democratic House members...

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