![Republican vice presidential nominee Senator J.D. Vance speaks at a campaign rally in Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20, 2024.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2162183272.jpg)
The Tragedy of J.D. Vance The Tragedy of J.D. Vance
Vance could have been a key player in addressing the roots of the opioid crisis. Instead, he went in another direction.
Jul 23, 2024 / Gregg Gonsalves
![Trump shakes doctor's hand](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Trumpanddoctor.jpg)
Donald Trump and “Doc” Ronny Jackson Are Hypocrites About Drugs and Dementia Donald Trump and “Doc” Ronny Jackson Are Hypocrites About Drugs and Dementia
The incoherent former president and his allegedly pill-pushing White House physician need to look in a mirror.
Jun 24, 2024 / Jeet Heer
![Activists rally in support of overdose prevention centers at the State Capitol in Albany on March 5, 2024.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SarahDuggan_DPA-1440x907-134KB.jpg)
Overdose Prevention Centers Save Lives. Why Won’t Governor Hochul Authorize Them? Overdose Prevention Centers Save Lives. Why Won’t Governor Hochul Authorize Them?
Activism / May 17, 2024 Overdose Prevention Centers Save Lives. Why Won’t Governor Hochul Authorize Them? Across New York, overdose deaths are skyrocketing. But state officials…
May 17, 2024 / Adam Smith-Perez
![A hand-drawn poster with a heart on it, with words including](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/oregon-drug-treatment-gt-img.jpg)
Oregon Revives the Drug War Oregon Revives the Drug War
The state’s landmark decriminalization initiative wasn’t given a real chance.
May 8, 2024 / Comment / Lydia Kiesling
![A man holds a sign reading](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mental-health-not-crime-img.jpg)
In the US, Mental Health Treatment Can Be a Death Sentence In the US, Mental Health Treatment Can Be a Death Sentence
Deploying the language of “helping” those in need, policymakers are reaching not for a Band-Aid but a club.
Feb 6, 2024 / Mattea Kramer and Dr. Sean Fogler
![The Blue-Blood Families That Made Fortunes in the Opium Trade](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Ghosh-Merchants_of_Addiction-ftr.jpg)
The Blue-Blood Families That Made Fortunes in the Opium Trade The Blue-Blood Families That Made Fortunes in the Opium Trade
Long before the Sacklers appeared on the scene, families like the Astors, the Peabodys, and the Delanos cemented their upper-crust status through the global trade in opium.
Jan 23, 2024 / Feature / Amitav Ghosh
![Extracting heroin from poppies on April 10, 1978, in Los Angeles, Calif.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-170580518.jpeg)
A Metaphysical Memoir of Heroin A Metaphysical Memoir of Heroin
Michael Clune’s White Out is among the most intense and intellectually thrilling books on opiate addiction.
Jan 8, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Kolitz
![A person holds drug paraphernalia near the Washington Center building on SW Washington St. in downtown Portland, Ore., on April 4, 2023.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/drugs-oregon-ap.jpg)
We Need to Modify—Not Trash—Oregon’s Trailblazing Drug Decriminalization Law We Need to Modify—Not Trash—Oregon’s Trailblazing Drug Decriminalization Law
Measure 110 made Oregon the first in country to decriminalize all drugs. The law was poorly implemented and should be changed, not discarded.
Dec 22, 2023 / Column / Sasha Abramsky
![A black and white photo of two people handing out Narcan.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/JordanGale14-Jordan-Gale-1.jpg)
In Defense of Drug Decriminalization—Yes, in Oregon In Defense of Drug Decriminalization—Yes, in Oregon
By passing Measure 110, Oregonians sought to begin undoing the harms caused by over 50 years of a failed War on Drugs. Those harms won’t be fixed overnight.
Sep 8, 2023 / Abdullah Shihipar, Alexandria Macmadu, and Brandon D.L. Marshall
![A Black man holds a sign reading,](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/harm-reduction-poster-gt-img.jpg)
Will the Opioid Crisis Deliver Its Worst Harms to Black and Brown People? Will the Opioid Crisis Deliver Its Worst Harms to Black and Brown People?
It started as a crisis among white people. But now that overdoses are surging in Black and Brown communities, government is failing to invest in the healthcare-based approaches tha...
Aug 28, 2023 / Helena Hansen, Jules Netherland, and David Herzberg