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Andrew Drasen on drug legalization and regulation — a full essay series on evidence-based reform, accountability, and what legalization actually buys us.
Drug legalization is not endorsement. It is regulation — testing, labeling, accountability, and a controlled supply that prohibition cannot deliver. This tag collects every post in the Drug Legalization Series plus related essays on pilot programs, case studies, and the hard objections answered directly. For the full series in reading order, visit the Drug Legalization Series hub. These posts are written for policymakers, program directors, and anyone who believes drug policy should be written for outcomes — not fear.
Read the full series in order on the Drug Legalization Series hub.
All posts All topics Recovery Reentry & Policy
Drug Legalization Series · Part 19
Part 19 explains why controlled substance regulation is already being administered every day through prescription drug monitoring program systems, methadone clinic regulations, buprenorphine prescribing rules, pharmacy oversight, and the regulated pharmacy model logic behind risk-based reform.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 18
Part 18 makes the case for a public health approach to drug policy over moral panic, using harm reduction strategies, overdose prevention, addiction stigma reduction, and risk-based drug regulation to reduce death, disorder, and failed policy.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 17
Part 17 uses real drug policy case studies to examine what worked, what failed, and why across Portugal drug decriminalization, Oregon Measure 110 results, British Columbia safer supply, Switzerland heroin-assisted treatment, and cannabis legalization outcomes.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 16
Part 16 lays out a drug legalization pilot program framework that pilots risk-based drug regulation, measures overdose prevention and public safety outcomes, and scales only what works with strong diversion control, 42 CFR Part 2 privacy, and outcomes-based funding.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 15
The strongest arguments against drug legalization deserve direct answers. This post breaks down drug legalization pros and cons, youth access, public safety, mental health, and whether legalization actually increases drug use.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 14
A regulated pharmacy model for high-risk substances could replace street chaos with standards, cut overdose risk, and connect people to treatment on demand fast.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 13
We explore the connection between drug addiction and homelessness, mental illness, and housing first addiction recovery in part 13 of the drug legalization and regulation series.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 12
Prison release overdose risk is highest in the first days and weeks after release. This chapter explains which pre-release and post-release programs actually reduce overdose, recidivism, and instability.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 11
Evidence-based drug prevention programs beat scare tactics—here’s what actually reduces youth drug use, why fear-based drug education fails, and how prevention fits inside drug legalization and strict regulation.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 10
In part 10 of the drug legalization and regulation series, we explore how drug legalization accountability answers a hard question: what gets enforced when use isn’t a crime, and how a regulated drug market protects the public.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 9
This post explains what risk-based drug regulation looks like in practice: a risk-tier model built around supply control, age limits, potency limits, licensing, taxation, enforcement priorities, and the recovery infrastructure required to make it real.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 8
In part 8 of the drug legalization blog series, we explore fear-based drug policy, Oregon's Measure 110 results, and what effective policy would entail.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 7
A recovery lockbox captures enforcement savings and regulated-market revenue to fund MOUD, recovery housing, and reentry using National Drug Control Budget FY 2025 realities and real jail costs.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 6
Tusi (pink cocaine), xylazine, medetomidine, nitazenes, and THC analogues prove enforcement can’t keep up. Regulation creates testing, labeling, and accountability.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 5
Drug prohibition violence is not an accident. It is a predictable result of illegal markets. How gangs and drug trafficking, cartel revenue, and drug market violence grow under prohibition.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 4
Drug legalization and regulation is not endorsement. It is a regulated drug supply with testing, labeling, fentanyl test strips, and real accountability that prohibition cannot deliver.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 3
Being convicted of a drug felony: voting rights, gun rights, and the permanent sentence that is rarely talked about. Part 3 in the drug legalization series.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 2
Drug felony consequences go far beyond court. Here’s how felony drug possession consequences create employment and housing barriers, crush credit, and trap people long after release.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 1.5
Legalization isn’t one policy. This post explains legalization vs decriminalization vs regulation, and what strict regulation actually delivers in safety and outcomes.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 1
Drug legalization isn’t endorsement. Part 1 explains why punishment fails, why reentry is deadly, and why harm reduction saves lives.