Drug War | Colorlines

Drug War

'Terrible People': Trump Again Calls for Death Penalty for Drug Traffickers

President Donald Trump outlines blueprint to tackle opioid crisis; critics pan his proposal as recycled draconian measures that target communities of color and have failed to reduce drug use.

Alfonso Serrano Mar 19, 2018 4:50PM EDT

The Final Fire: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the Kerner Commission [OPINION]

The Kerner Commission concluded that unrest in cities across the country was the result of unaddressed racial and economic injustice. What has—and hasn’t—changed in the last 50 years?

Rev. Michael McBride Feb 28, 2018 3:54PM EST

Embattled NFL Player Josh Gordon Tells Critics They Can't Take His Pride

He opens up about his alleged substance abuse problem, and challenges sportswriters, too.

Jamilah King Jan 30, 2015 10:22AM EST

Grant Program May Incentivize More Weed Arrests Among Blacks

Black Americans were nearly four times more likely than whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana posession in 2010, even though the two groups smoke weed at similar rates

Jamilah King Jun 4, 2013 10:40AM EDT

Does the Road to Prison Reform Wind Through the Right Wing?

Things have moved slowly on Capitol Hill. Now, NAACP says conservative allies may speed things up.

Shani O. Hilton Jul 15, 2011 9:52AM EDT

Justice Revisited! Crack Sentencing Reform Applies to Old Convictions

The U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to retroactively apply Congress’ 2010 reform to drug convictions.

Shani O. Hilton Jun 30, 2011 9:29AM EDT

Javier Sicilia's Poetry in Motion Against the U.S.-Mexico Drug Wars

After losing his son to drug violence, a renowned Mexican artist set out on a cross-country trek to dramatize the death that our failed, militaristic response to narcotics has spawned.

Debbie Nathan Jun 14, 2011 8:56AM EDT

Dispatch From El Salvador: Obama's Drug War Feels Eerily Familiar

Salvadorans watch uneasily as a new leftist government militarizes daily life in the same way the old right-wing one did–only now, they hunt narcos instead of communists.

Roberto Lovato Mar 31, 2011 10:56AM EDT

America's Grisly History Haunts Obama's El Salvador Visit

Many Salvadorans remain uneasy about a U.S. government that, for years, backed a murderous dictatorship.

Roberto Lovato Mar 25, 2011 11:18AM EDT

Wars on the U.S.-Mexico Border Divide and Conquer

U.S. drug and trade policies still do more to create instability than fight it.

Michelle Chen Mar 21, 2011 10:12AM EDT

Cali's Pot Legalization Initiative Digs Into the Weeds of Race

Advocates push the struggling Prop 19 by pointing to policing disparities, but even black voters aren’t listening.

Julianne Hing Oct 27, 2010 10:28AM EDT

Dispatch from Juarez: Fear and Happiness at War

A family describes its search for peace as tens of thousands die in a brutal drug war fed by corruption, and the U.S. black market.

Debbie Nathan Oct 5, 2010 9:35AM EDT

Dispatch from Juarez: Snapshots of Peace, on the Society Pages

Amid raging violence, families and friends still find joy.

Hatty Lee Oct 5, 2010 9:34AM EDT

Obama Signs Drug Sentencing Reform Into Law

Reform advocates say the compromise bill is a first step to closing massive racial disparities in incarceration.

Jamilah King Aug 3, 2010 4:18PM EDT

House Votes to Fix Drug Laws

The legislation would reduce disparities in crack and powder cocaine sentencing, which has swelled the black prison population over the past two decades.

Jamilah King Jul 28, 2010 8:05PM EDT

Push to Fix Drug Laws Before Congress' Summer Break

A compromise bill awaiting House attention would reduce, but not get rid of the crack-powder cocaine disparity.

Jamilah King Jul 27, 2010 9:45AM EDT