author and advisor to 'Prohibition'
Author of several books, including Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition; advisor to and on-air commentator on the PBS documentary, Prohibition; former Public Editor for the New York Times (2003)
PROFILE
Daniel Okrent
Guest
FROM Daniel Okrent
To the Point
The Crackdown on Medical Marijuana: Prohibition Revisited? Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, but it's still an illegal, "Schedule 1" drug under federal law. Now the Obama Administration is cracking down , insisting that medical marijuana is a front for recreational use, and generating huge, illicit profits. The poster child is California, which started the movement in 1996 and where medical marijuana reportedly is a multi-billion-dollar business. Is the federal government blind to “compassionate use" by needy patients? Is medical marijuana a scam? What are the parallels to the era of Prohibition?
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To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
To the Point
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.