Jeffrey Miron On July 24, President Trump signed an executive order that, among other things, eliminates funding for harm reduction programs. Such programs (syringe services, naloxone and fentanyl test-strip distribution, overdose prevention sites) acknowledge that risky drug use will occur and focus on minimizing the health, social, and economic harms of those behaviors, rather than advocating for abstinence. These programs appear to ...
Matthew Cavedon There’s no such thing as fish and chips without fish, and also chips. Likewise, there’s no such thing as a crime without two things: some sort of act, or actus reus, and some sort of blameworthy mindset, or mens rea. At least, that’s the classic account. Things have gotten a bit messy around mens rea, but actus reus ...
Matthew Cavedon Back in July, money to pay the private attorneys who represent 40 percent of federal criminal defendants ran out. Congress’s fix so far? Kick the can down the road. Fortunately for the 90 percent of federal defendants who cannot afford to pay a lawyer, including most of the January 6 defendants, the Constitution guarantees everyone charged with a ...
Clark Packard and Alfredo Carrillo Obregon The authors thank Cato Institute intern Saamiya Laroia for her substantial contributions to the research and writing of this blog post. Over the weekend, it was reported that the Trump administration reached an unprecedented deal with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to effectively lift export controls on certain semiconductor sales to Chinese buyers. ...
Mike Fox As a DC resident and former public defender in a crime-plagued city, I’ve witnessed the devastating effects of violent crime firsthand. In January 2024, a horrendous act of violence came to my front door. Upon returning from a brisk dog walk, I learned that my Northeast DC street had become a crime scene. A man had been carjacked ...
Jeffrey Miron and Jacob Winter Health care costs in the United States are among the highest in the world, and many Americans avoid seeing a doctor because of the expense. Increasing the number of doctors would expand access and reduce costs, and states can do this easily: by recognizing physician licenses from other states. A recent study supports this claim: ...
Matthew Cavedon If you blinked, you probably missed it: In the same press conference where he announced a federal takeover of DC policing, President Trump also mentioned that he is considering rescheduling marijuana. This small but positive move would build on efforts started under President Biden. For half a century now, marijuana has been classified under Schedule I of the ...
Stephen Richer In recent years, the ride-hailing company Lyft has celebrated Election Day by offering a one-day discount of $10 to all riders who enter an election-themed code (for the November general election it was “VOTE24”). At the same time, Rideshare2Vote, a nonprofit whose broader mission focuses on increasing turnout among Democratic and Progressive voters, offered completely free rides to polling places. Both offers ...
Jeffrey A. Singer The New York Post recently reported on the tragic deaths, “less than three months apart,” of two Texas friends, ages 21 and 22, who died from overdosing on nitazenes, a type of synthetic opioid more potent than fentanyl. One bought what he thought was Xanax on the underground market, and the other bought what he thought was ...
Jeffrey Miron By now, everyone has heard that, in response to President Trump’s urging, Coca-Cola will soon introduce a version of Coke sweetened with US cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). What not everyone knows is that this product, commonly known as Mexican Coke, already exists and is what people outside the US think of as Coke. In ...