Life after losing the Presidency Among the flurry of political maneuvering and intrigue surrounding the vacancy of Edward Kennedy’s Senate seat came the interesting proposition that a suitable placeholder might have been found in 75-year-old Michael Dukakis, a man The Boston Globe assured had “put his political ambitions behind him.” What seemed strange about this … Read more
America and her drug problem This Is Your Country on Drugs, by Ryan Grim, Wiley, 2009. $24.95, 272 pg. Drugs in America sometimes bring to mind Woodstock and Hippies, peace buses and communes, flower power and protests, but in This Is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America, journalist Ryan … Read more
Surveying the revival of religion God is Back, by John Micklethwait and Adrian Woolridge, Penguin Press, 2009. $27.95, 416 pgs. Our times are defined by rapid revolutions of technology and science; what room is there for religion? Predictions of faith’s demise were commonplace in the mid-20th century, but while secularism triumphed in Western Europe, for … Read more
Critics have long derided America’s “War on Drugs” as a mistaken moniker. Anti-drug policy, they argue, has no defined mission, no coordinated enemy, and no path to victory. In the Clinton administration, drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey attempted to jettison the phrase, in part because of the public’s impression that the government had lost the … Read more
States gaining voice on drug laws When Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs” in June 1971, he had little idea that he was also engaging Washington in a war with the states. In the decades since, the federal government has frequently asserted its primacy over the states on drug laws, despite the opposition … Read more
How drug policy made in response to crisis misses the mark In 2008, 50,000 kilograms of cocaine and 660,000 kilograms of marijuana were seized within the United States. According to Drug Enforcement Administration statistics, that same year also saw 26,425 domestic drug arrests. These staggering numbers might seem to suggest that the United States is … Read more
American anti-opium efforts in Afghanistan Afghanistan’s war-devastated economy has one booming sector - the country produces 90 percent of the world’s opium. Money from this trade funds insurgents and terrorists, and encourages corrupt government officials to undermine security and the rule of law. Nevertheless, for decades U.S. policy towards Afghanistan failed to acknowledge the impact … Read more
The HPR has a unique process for choosing covers topics. Before the selection meeting, staff and contributors submit proposals with a brief description of the topic and a list of potential articles. After a group discussion, we vote to narrow the field to the two or three best proposals, and then continue to vote until … Read more
How the debate over crack cocaine sentencing has moved beyond race In 1986, amid America’s crack epidemic and the associated violence in inner cities, Congress decided to punish possession of five grams of crack as harshly as it punishes possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine. Known as the 100:1 disparity, this law has inundated … Read more
The militarizing of Mexico’s police forces adds a new facet to the war against drugs In Mexico, the war against drug cartels has become more than a question of eradicating illicit substances or capturing criminals; with over 13,000 dead in the last three years, the fight now concerns the future of the country. Earlier this … Read more