COVID-19

Growing Coca, Poppy May Be Latin Americans’ Economic Safety Net Amid Pandemic

The coronavirus crisis has interrupted transnational drug supply—but that might not last long, the UN Office of Drug and Crime…

May 12, 2020

Locked in a Crowded TV Room: Pandemic Revelations From a Federal Prison

Like many others affected by the coronavirus crisis, Simon,* a 43-year-old Black man, was confined to a room with a…

May 11, 2020

“Challenges Drive Us Forward”—Harm Reduction in St. Petersburg, Russia

“It’s been a hell of a month,” said Alesya Shagina, a peer outreach coordinator for Humanitarian Action, of their recent…

May 11, 2020

The CDC Must Adopt Decarceration as a Matter of Public Health

Even before COVID-19 upended American social and economic life, mass incarceration was devastating communities nationwide. But with data suggesting that…

May 8, 2020

Alabama’s Prosecutors Want a COVID Bailout. They Shouldn’t Get It.

Court fines and fees unfairly perpetuate cycles of poverty for disadvantaged Americans, but that has not stopped many hundreds of…

May 7, 2020

Racial Disparities Widen Despite Historic-Low NYC Drug Arrests in Lockdown

New York City drug arrests hit historic lows in the weeks after Governor Andrew Cuomo initiated the state's "shelter-in-place" policy…

May 6, 2020

“Disturbing”—Cannabis Policing Meets Social Distancing Enforcement

On May 2, photos of New Yorkers congregating in some of the most affluent neighborhoods and parks in the city…

May 5, 2020

Two Prominent COVID-19 Federal Prison Deaths’ Common Denominator? Joe Biden

"Don’t let yourself or your property get mixed up in the world of illegal drugs," US Attorney Ron Parsons of…

May 1, 2020

Pressure Builds on ICE to Release Far More People During Pandemic

The pandemic has exposed inhumane health and sanitary conditions in US jails and prisons; advocates and some lawmakers have responded…

April 17, 2020

Fighting the Health Threats of Loneliness as We Flatten the Curve

At publication time, over 97 percent of Americans in 43 states are under mandatory social distancing orders designed to reduce…

April 16, 2020