State and/or Local

Drug Enforcement and Policy Center launches Drugs on the Docket podcast

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Drugs on the Docket is a production of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center (DEPC) at The Ohio State University. Each episode explores how U.S. court rulings—primarily those handed down from the Supreme Court—impact drug law and policy and continue to shape the War on Drugs. Drugs on the Docket unpacks various ways courts have engaged with and responded to the opioid epidemic, police discretion, the sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine, and more. The series, hosted by Hannah Miller, invites guests with expertise in criminal justice, drug policy, and drug enforcement to help us break down the sometimes complex and always interesting stories behind today’s drug law landscape.

All six episodes are available now on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and YouTube.

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Fees, Fines, and the Funding of Public Services: A Curriculum for Reform

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“Knowledge of subnational systems of taxing and budgeting and of fiscal policymaking processes can be put to use to reduce and to end governments’ reliance on user fees for courts and for other aspects of criminal systems. This reader aims to help experts in public finance to understand the misuse of court-based assessments which are regressive revenue streams….  These materials interact with ongoing seminars, sometimes virtual, to link people experts in public finance with their counterparts seeking to reform unfair monetary sanctions. Through monographs such as this, we hope to support work underway to shape just and equitable revenue-generation mechanisms that avoid imposing harmful costs on vulnerable individuals, families, and communities.”

Link: https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/area/center/liman/document/fees_fines_and_the_funding_of_public_services.pdf

Effect of Drug Law Enforcement on Drug Market Violence: a systemic review

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“In this context, and since drug prohibition has not meaningfully reduced drug supply, alternative regulatory models will be required if drug supply and drug market violence are to be meaningfully reduced.”

– Sourced from bio in link

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395911000223?via%3Dihub

Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform Blog

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This blog by Drug Enforcement and Policy Center Executive Director Douglas A. Berman focuses on marijuana law, drug policy, and drug reform. Categories include everything from marijuana tax issues and regulatory law, to broader criminal justice developments and reforms. The blog is part of the Law Professor Blogs Network and is widely read and widely cited.

Link: https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/marijuana_law/

Drug War Facts

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Drug War Facts is a website that has provided reliable information and citations on public health and criminal justice issues surrounding drug policy and the failed War on Drugs. This resource first went online in 1998 and is consistently updated and expanded to encompass all things related to the drug war.

Link: https://www.drugwarfacts.org/

Commonwealth v. Eldred – Harvard Law Review

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This piece from Harvard Law Review examines the case Commonwealth v. Eldred. In this case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court holds a drug-free probation requirement enforceable for a defendant with substance use orders. This review was written one year after the court’s decision.

Link: https://harvardlawreview.org/2019/05/commonwealth-v-eldred/