Stories by Tony Newman

The California initiative, the growing drug policy reform movement, and shows like Boardwalk Empire are helping us reach a tipping point.

Ten weeks from Election Day, it’s clear how much Prop. 19 has already accomplished for the drug policy reform movement.

We have to learn how to live with drugs - because they aren't going anywhere. People have used drugs for thousands of years and will use them for thousands of more.

Despite a $40 billion a year "war on drugs," our country is swimming in them. They aren't going anywhere.

There is war in our backyard that can match the violence anywhere in the world, and that is the Drug War in Mexico.

New York City police have arrested over 300,000 people for low-level marijuana possession since 1997, sometimes employing outrageous methods to humiliate citizens.

We are obviously a long way from elected officials being honest and principled when it comes to dismantling the disastrous drug war. But the tides seem to be turning.

We should celebrate our success curbing cigarette smoking but let's not get carried away and think that criminalizing smoking is the answer.

First the employers came for the smokers. Now they're talking about not hiring obese people. Your personal struggle or lifestyle choice may be next.

If we're serious about real drug reform, let's create a space where users can take their drugs in a sterile, safe environment.

Joba Chamberlain’s mom faces 50 years behind bars for selling a small amount of meth; should we offer compassion or jail time?

The allegations about Ashley Biden offer her father a chance to join the millions who challenge the irrationality of our drug laws.

This is a time to put big ideas on the table. We have to learn how to coexist with drugs. They aren't going anywhere.

There is a raging battle in the treatment community over how much carrot vs. stick we should use to help people who need treatment.

For 40 years, we have been waging a "war on drugs." Families are kicked out of housing when many have done nothing wrong.

Whaddya know? As soon as CA schools started banning candy, students started dealing it on the "underground market" at a marked up price.

Tony Newman: Are eight cops really necessary when arresting two people for one joint?

Instead of seeking vengeance after their son was murdered, Derrel Myers and Naomi White are trying to create a world in which no parent has to bury a child killed by gun violence.

California's new prison smoking ban won't prevent prisoners from lighting up -- but it will increase violence behind bars.