drug courts

Drug Courts Don’t Just Force People Into Treatment. They Deny Us, Too.

Standing in the courtroom as I awaited sentencing, the light tapping of the stenographer gave me déjà vu. The watchful…

July 6, 2023

WA Drug Penalties Uncertain as Legislature Adjourns in Stalemate

On April 23, Washington state lawmakers ended the current legislative session still in limbo over whether to increase penalties for…

April 24, 2023

How Drug Courts Keep You in Prison, Even Without Drug-Related Charges

In 2016, Larry Vessey Jr. was sentenced to 58 months in the custody of Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC).…

April 18, 2023

Court-Ordered Into AA? You Could Use The Satanic Temple Instead.

Two-and-a-half years after a bad relationship left her homeless, and 16 months after Child Protective Services took her children, Stephanie…

December 29, 2021

The Influential HOPE Probation Program Is Badly Misnamed

Last month, a woman won $7 million in a federal court in Hawaii against the state’s Department of Public Safety,…

December 1, 2021

What Drugs, Sex Work and One Key Case Mean for the Baltimore DA Race

In 2018, attorney Ivan Bates ran against incumbent Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and performed terribly, receiving only 28 percent…

November 24, 2021

Can Harm Reduction Reform the Drug Courts?

Among prohibitionists and proponents of the drug war, drug courts are touted as a means of diverting people from incarceration.…

August 18, 2021