Join Ads Marketplace to earn through podcast sponsorships.
Manage your ads with dynamic ad insertion capability.
Monetize with Apple Podcasts Subscriptions via Podbean.
Earn rewards and recurring income from Fan Club membership.
Get the answers and support you need.
Resources and guides to launch, grow, and monetize podcast.
Stay updated with the latest podcasting tips and trends.
Check out our newest and recently released features!
Podcast interviews, best practices, and helpful tips.
The step-by-step guide to start your own podcast.
Create the best live podcast and engage your audience.
Tips on making the decision to monetize your podcast.
The best ways to get more eyes and ears on your podcast.
Everything you need to know about podcast advertising.
The ultimate guide to recording a podcast on your phone.
Steps to set up and use group recording in the Podbean app.
Join Ads Marketplace to earn through podcast sponsorships.
Manage your ads with dynamic ad insertion capability.
Monetize with Apple Podcasts Subscriptions via Podbean.
Earn rewards and recurring income from Fan Club membership.
Get the answers and support you need.
Resources and guides to launch, grow, and monetize podcast.
Stay updated with the latest podcasting tips and trends.
Check out our newest and recently released features!
Podcast interviews, best practices, and helpful tips.
The step-by-step guide to start your own podcast.
Create the best live podcast and engage your audience.
Tips on making the decision to monetize your podcast.
The best ways to get more eyes and ears on your podcast.
Everything you need to know about podcast advertising.
The ultimate guide to recording a podcast on your phone.
Steps to set up and use group recording in the Podbean app.
This Is a Very Weird Moment in the History of Drug Laws
Drug policy feels very unsettled right now. The war on drugs was a failure. But so far, the war on the war on drugs hasn’t entirely been a success, either.
Take Oregon. In 2020, it became the first state in the nation to decriminalize hard drugs. It was a paradigm shift — treating drug-users as patients rather than criminals — and advocates hoped it would be a model for the nation. But then there was a surge in overdoses and public backlash over open-air drug use. And last month, Oregon’s governor signed a law restoring criminal penalties for drug possession, ending that short-lived experiment.
Other states and cities have also tipped toward backlash. And there are a lot of concerns about how cannabis legalization and commercialization is working out around the country. So what did the supporters of these measures fail to foresee? And where do we go from here?
Keith Humphreys is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University who specializes in addiction and its treatment. He also served as a senior policy adviser in the Obama administration. I asked him to walk me through why Oregon’s policy didn’t work out; what policymakers sometimes misunderstand about addiction; the gap between “elite” drug cultures and how drugs are actually consumed by most people; and what better drug policies might look like.
Mentioned:
Oregon Health Authority data
“Why are there so many illegal weed stores in New York City? (Part 1)” by Search Engine
“Why are there so many illegal weed stores in New York City? (Part 2)” by Search Engine
Book Recommendations:
Drugs and Drug Policy by Mark A.R. Kleiman, Jonathan P. Caulkins and Angela Hawken
Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke
Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas De Quincey
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota and Efim Shapiro. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Sonia Herrero.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
2026-01-16
2026-01-06
2026-01-02
2025-12-10
2025-12-05
2025-11-10
2025-11-07
2025-11-02
2025-10-28
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free