Georgetown Medical School
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School, president of the Institute for Behavior and Health, and author of The Selfish Brain: Learning from Addiction; first director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and drug czar under Presidents Nixon and Ford
Is the War on Drugs a Failure? Is It Time to Legalize? The global "War on Drugs" began 50 years ago at the United Nations. Richard Nixon made it US policy 10 years later. Since then it has "failed to cut drug usage, but has filled our jails, cost millions in taxpayer dollars, fuelled organized crime and caused thousands of deaths." That's according to the Global Commission on Drug Policy , which includes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, three former South American presidents, former Secretary of State George Shultz, ex-Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker, and British entrepreneur Richard Branson. We look at possible new strategies and their political viability in Washington.
Illegal Drugs: Public Health and Public Safety The global "War on Drugs" began in 50 years ago at the United Nations. Richard Nixon made it US policy 10 years later. Since then it has "failed to cut drug usage, but has filled our jails, cost millions in taxpayer dollars, fuelled organized crime and caused thousands of deaths." That's according to the Global Commission on Drug Policy , which includes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, three former South American presidents, former Secretary of State George Shultz, ex-Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker, and British entrepreneur Richard Branson. The Obama Administration says legalization would not take the money away from violent drug cartels and that drug use might increase more than ever. In any case, the panel has focused global attention on a crisis that's not going away. Does the political will exist to make any changes in strategy?
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.