Author: Mark Thornton

The Opioid epidemic is spreading across the heartland of America. The number of drug overdose deaths from both prescription (e.g., Oxycontin) and black market (e.g., heroin) opiates exceeded 30,000 in 2015. Initial estimates for 2016 indicate yet another new record of deaths. It is such an enormous problem that I taught a special class on it at our undergraduate instructional conference, Mises University, which you can listen to here. Recently the Commission on Combating the Opioid Crisis issued a preliminary report and recommended that the president declare a national emergency. From 2002 to 2015 the number of such deaths has increased by 280%. … Continue reading →

The post The Opioid Epidemic appeared first on LewRockwell.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently penned an opinion article in the Washington Post. He wrote that the illegal drug business generates violence and violent crime. True enough. He further noted that violent crime is down by half since the War on Drugs peaked in 1991. Again, this is true. Then he noted that as marijuana laws and federal sentencing guidelines have been relaxed, violent crime rates have increased. He noted that “In 2015, the United States suffered the largest single-year increase in the overall violent crime rate since 1991.” That is also true, but it is highly misleading, to … Continue reading →

The post Reefer Madness appeared first on LewRockwell.

The National Institute for Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse recently released a disturbing report on drug overdose deaths. The number of drug overdoses from both legal and illegal drugs increased from approximately 22,000 in 2002 to over 52,000 in 2016, making it a leading cause of accidental death. Even more disturbing is the increase in the number of overdose deaths from heroin. As recently as 10 years ago the number of heroin overdose deaths was stable at around 2,000 per year. After four years of increases, the number of such deaths has increased from approximately 3,000 in … Continue reading →

The post The Neocon Cure for an Opioid Epidemic appeared first on LewRockwell.

A heroin epidemic has been spreading across the United States, expanding enormously for the last several years. With it, the number of people dying has also increased dramatically. While politicians offer failed solutions like “securing the borders,” the real solution is to legalize drugs. The number of drug overdoses in the US is approaching 50,000 per year. Of that number nearly 20,000 are attributed to legal painkillers, such as Oxycontin. More than 10,000 die of heroin overdoses. I believe these figures vastly underestimate the number of deaths that are related to prescription drug use. The “face” of the heroin epidemic … Continue reading →

The post Curing the Heroin Epidemic appeared first on LewRockwell.

Prohibition kills a massive number of people in the United States every year. It does help make a few people extremely wealthy, but at the same time, it impoverishes the rest of us. This dire situation is mostly unknown, but it is not due to a simple misunderstanding or lack of knowledge about prohibition. It is because prohibition is nothing but a scam. Steve Kubby’s foreword to the book demonstrates that the state has no moral purpose for enforcing marijuana prohibition. Rather, the state is actively covering up the fact that marijuana is not highly dangerous and marijuana has well-established … Continue reading →

The post Marijuana, an Amazing Natural Drug appeared first on LewRockwell.

A heroin epidemic has been spreading across the United States, expanding enormously for the last several years. With it, the number of people dying has also increased dramatically. While politicians offer failed solutions like “securing the borders,” the real solution is to legalize drugs. The number of drug overdoses in the US is approaching 50,000 per year. Of that number nearly 20,000 are attributed to legal pain killers, such as Oxycontin. More than 10,000 die of heroin overdoses. I believe these figures vastly underestimate the number of deaths that are related to prescription drug use. The “face” of the heroin … Continue reading →

The post Curing the Heroin Epidemic appeared first on LewRockwell.

With more financing in place, the world’s tallest skyscraper is moving forward. Recent media reports indicate that the final segment of financing has been obtained for the $1.2 billion Jeddah Tower project in Saudi Arabia. This is the financing that would be necessary to bring the project to record heights. Media reports also show that the structure has risen to more than seventy-five meters (246 feet) and construction is proceeding at an uninterrupted pace. Above ground construction on the long delayed Jeddah Tower started in September 2014, but there was considerable doubt that the financing of the one kilometer (3,280.84 … Continue reading →

The post Crazed Skyscrapers appeared first on LewRockwell.

The “Skyscraper Curse” describes the eerie connection between record-breaking skyscrapers and global economic crises. There are no true skyscrapers being built in Auburn, Alabama, home of Auburn University. But, there has been a great deal of building big and tall. Luxury student apartment building leads the way, followed by high-end restaurants, and retail space. Two student apartment buildings were torn down this past week to make room for yet more building. The city government is also spending truckloads of money on street improvements and a state-of-the-art high school. What are people thinking? Don’t they realize we are in one of … Continue reading →

Legal recreational cannabis/marijuana/pot is almost one year old in Colorado. The Denver Business Journal recently published a retrospective containing several articles reviewing the experience. The general conclusion is that it has been a big success, not the tragedy some had predicted or claimed. The remarkable thing is that the report claims the biggest remaining problem for the industry is caused by the Federal Reserve! Some of the big concerns prior to legalization have turned out to be trivial or failed to materialize at all. Expectations of overdose deaths, delinquency, and crime did not materialize to the extent that the newspaper … Continue reading →