Truthout
Drug War
![A person embraces a child at a memorial for victims of the opoid crisis](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/05/2022_0513-opoid-crisis-400x300.jpg)
The Drug War Drives Exploitation. We Need Drug Regulation, Not Criminalization.
Legal regulation is a better path forward than either drug-related mass criminalization or a commercial free-for-all.
![Rep. Jim Banks walks down the House steps of the U.S. Capitol on April 23, 2020.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/05/2022_0513-jim-banks-400x300.jpg)
Overdose Deaths Are Higher Than Ever, and the GOP Is Exploiting the Crisis
Experts say GOP plans to empower police would make the overdose crisis much more deadly.
![](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/04/2022_0427-biden-sessions-400x300.jpg)
Biden Embraces Some Harm Reduction Policies — But Doubles Down on Drug War
Biden’s recent budget request includes $355 million in additional funding for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
![Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a Senate Budget Committee hearing on June 8, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/04/2022_0420-bernie-sanders-400x300.jpg)
Sanders Says It’s Time to “End the Failed War on Drugs” and Legalize Marijuana
The House passed legislation to legalize marijuana earlier this month, but action has stalled in the Senate.
![Sam Rivera, executive director of OnPoint NYC, hugs a worker at the newly formed nonprofit that operates a overdose prevention center in the Harlem borough of New York City, on February 8, 2022.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/02/GettyImages-1238571246-400x300.jpg)
US Fatal Overdoses Top 100,000 Annually While NY Injection Sites See Zero Deaths
There's a small mountain of research showing that supervised injection sites also facilitate pathways to treatment.
![State of Oregon with cadaceus and fir trees](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/02/2022_0207-oregon-b-400x300.jpg)
Drug Decriminalization Is Working in Oregon. Other States Should Follow.
Decriminalization, in combination with expanded access to health services, can help stem the overdose crisis.
![US-Backed Drug War Fuels Murders of Journalists in Mexico](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/01/SEG1-faces-400x300.jpg)
US-Backed Drug War Fuels Murders of Journalists in Mexico
A wave of murdered journalists has raised international alarm and prompted nationwide protests.
![Climate change protesters march in New York City with banner reading Uproot the System](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2021/12/2021_1227-uproot-the-system-400x300.jpg)
We Are Not Returning to “Normal.” 2022 Must Be a Year of Change.
Truthout looks back at a year of loss, shifting narratives and hope in resistance.
![A activist speaks passionately as people behind him display signs decrying the NYPD's handling of the opoid crisis](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2021/12/2021_1220-opoid-crisis-400x300.jpg)
Medical Racism Is Fueling the Black Overdose Crisis, Advocates Say
Meanwhile, many Black patients are being denied pain medication even when they are in agony.
![NYC's Safe Drug Injection Sites Saved 15 Lives in First Week of Operation](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2021/12/SEG5-SafeInejctionSite-1-400x300.jpg)
NYC’s Safe Drug Injection Sites Saved 15 Lives in First Week of Operation
New York's facilities are the first supervised illegal drug injection sites in the U.S.