Category Archives: War On Drugs

The future of marijuana legalization

Heres what you need to know about the future of marijuana legalization in the United States, from its racist beginnings to today.

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

There is no better place in Florida to hold a Sacred Mushroom Summit than Gainesville.

The city gave rise to the famed Gainesville Green marijuana strain. People gladly squished through pastures mined with cow patties in search of mind-altering fungi. Joints were regularly smoked at college football games. And ecstasy-fueled raves at Simon's downtown drew elite techno DJs from Europe.

The summit, set for Friday through Sunday at the Thomas Center, will feature lectures and presentations on the use of hallucinogens of the Americas including ayahuasca, cannabis and peyote.

Topics will include medical use, psychological, anthropological and historic aspects of the drugs,religious freedom and legal issues.

There is a whole lot going on right now in this area, said organizer Tom Lane, who has written books on historic use of psychoactives. This type of medicine pre-dates the colonial days. Indigenous sages were using this in Mexico way before the colonials got here.

Hallucinogens are going through a revival. They were widely studied through the mid-1900s for medical and therapeutic value but got ground up in the war on drugs later in the century after LSD, marijuana and mushrooms were used recreationally.

Now medical marijuana is legal in many states and recreational marijuana increasingly so. Oregon voters approved a measure to legalize the use of psilocybin mushrooms in a therapeutic setting and cities such as Denver, Oakland and Santa Cruz, California,have decriminalized possession of psychoactive plants and fungi.

Moreover, universities are once again taking a look at the effectiveness of psychedelics on mental health.

Take the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research for instance. It has $17 million in funding to study psilocybin the compound that makes some mushrooms "magic" for new treatment of psychiatric and behavioral disorders, its website states.

Research indicates its effectiveness in treating depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction.

Lane said speakers will include alternative health advocates, therapists, a mushroom spore grower and attorney Greg Lake, who is versed in the issues of use of psychoactives in spiritual settings and the regulation of it for formal therapeutic use.

Session topics will include shamanism and the historic use of substances in Mexico and Central America.

We are not doing anything where there would be a reason to arrest anybody, Lane said of the summit. There is going to be nothing illegal.

Originally posted here:

Psychoactive substance summit set for the weekend in Gainesville - Gainesville Sun

Families of persons killed in anti-drug operations under the Duterte administrations war on drugs regained hope for justice following the release of a report focused on assistance for them by the Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS), an independent office of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The report, released on Aug. 27, stated that families and drug war survivors overwhelmingly support the request of former ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to allow a full investigation of the bloody anti-drug campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte. Lawyer Kristina Conti, counsel for Rise Up for Life and for Rights, which provides legal assistance to at least seven families of drug war victims, said the report has given her clients a spark of hope to obtain justice.

During the victim[s] representation stage there were many whose eyes had dimmed at the prospect of Duterte [staying] longer in power, at the reality that nothing has been or likely to be done about the killings, Conti said. The ICC report shows the spark of hope they have now, that someday, there will be an end to all this and justice for them all [will be served].

Lawyers and human rights groups, such as the National Union of Peoples Lawyers and Human Rights Watch (HRW), likewise welcomed the report.

HRW Asia Deputy Director Phil Robertson said the report will certainly encourage other victims and their families to step forward and tell their stories. But Robertson said they must be protected from any sort of harassment or retaliation by the Duterte government when they surface.

How is the VPRS report relevant to the quest for justice over the drug-related killings and other abuses committed under Dutertes drug war? Here are five things you need to know about the report on victims representations of the ICC:

The submission of representations is part of the procedure in the ICC that allows victims to express their views, concerns and expectations to the judges about the pending request of the courts Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) for a full investigation of Dutertes drug war.

This is an integral part of the process, structured as it is to ensure victims rights [to] representation. This is the first active opportunity for victims to make their voices heard in the preliminary investigation procedure, international law expert Romel Bagares explained when asked for a comment.

From June 15 to Aug. 13, VPRS received 212 representation forms from survivors and families or representatives of those killed or injured. However, only 204 of the forms, collectively or individually sent through email or online, were considered relevant.

On Aug. 27, the VPRS transmitted to the ICC judges the 204 pertinent representations and its preliminary assessment report on the victims answers. The ICC judges will carefully analyze all information received and will issue their decision on the OTP request in due time, it explained.

The VPRS said the 204 forms represent approximately 1,530 individual victims and 1,050 families. However, the office did not clarify how many of the 1,530 victims were dead or survivors of the drug war.

According to the VPRS victims booklet, the ICC defines a victim as someone who suffered harm as a result of a crime punishable by the court. It may include victims of sexual violence, children, persons with disabilities, or elderly persons, as well as organizations or institutions with properties dedicated for charitable or humanitarian purposes, among others, that sustained harm.

As most victims of the drug war are already dead, the victims booklet provides that family members who suffered from harm, such as emotional trauma or material loss, due to the killing of their relatives are also considered victims.

The VPRS clarified, however, that the representations will neither be used as evidence in the court nor shared with the prosecutor.

The process of collecting representations was launched a day after Bensouda disclosed on June 14 that she had sought judicial authorization from the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I (PTC I) to proceed with the investigation of alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines from November 2011 to March 17, 2019. (See ICC begins accepting information on Duterte's drug war - Vera Files)

Bensoudas request came after she wrapped up the three-year preliminary examination into the drug war. She alleged that killings, torture, and other crimes targetting suspected drug personalities were already rampant in the Davao region, where Duterte is from, since 1988 or long before he became president in 2016. (See Gov't officials, police conspired to carry out Duterte's war on drugs -- ICC prosecutor - Vera Files)

Of the 204 relevant representations, 192 or 94% of the victims agreed that the ICC judges must authorize an investigation into the matter.

According to the VPRS, the main motivating factors for their position include the desire to have their voices heard, bring the perpetrators to justice, and launch an investigation by an "impartial international court. Other reasons cited were to end impunity, prevent such crimes from happening again, find out the truth about what really happened, and clear the names of the innocent.

The thousands of Filipino deaths during Duterte's reign of terror [] have destroyed so many lives. I stand for them, I stand for my brother. You are our last hope ICC. Please help us investigate on (sic) this and hold those people involved accountable. Thank you, wrote one of the victims quoted in the VPRS report.

The VPRS said it believes that fear of reprisals and re-traumatization forced victims in five representations to refuse an investigation. Among the concerns they raised involved security, inconvenience of having a young child to take care of, and lack of knowledge about the actual incident.

Seven other representations did not give clear answers on their position on the proposed investigation.

Ruben Carranza, reparations and war crimes tribunals expert at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), said victims representations provide the ICC prosecutor and the PTC judges a view of what they, including those unable to submit their representations, expect as justice, apart from the punitive form of justice, (that) a criminal court can give.

Drawing from a previous experience working with the VPRS, Carranza said the office wants to be prepared to address victims needs that might emerge in the course of the ICC proceedings.

Other tasks delegated to the VPRS include assisting victims to organize their legal representation or apply for reparations.

Drug war victims, who are mostly men, want the ICC prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes against humanity that inflicted psychological and physical harm, among others, on them. Such crimes were allegedly committed by the police; unidentified riding-in-tandem individuals wearing civilian clothes, bonnets and masks to hide their identities; and other unnamed personalities.

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The VPRS assessed that murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, and other inhumane acts were the most reported crimes. Only a few cited attempted murder and sexual violence, such as rape.

However, it noted that sexual violence could be severely underreported because victims fear the possibility of death. It said some female victims were forced to have sexual intercourse or give in to sexual favors, also known as palit-puri (sex for freedom) or palit-katawan (rape for freedom), in exchange for their liberty.

The VPRS said female relatives of those killed, seen as collateral victims, are largely ignored by the [g]overnment and deprived of its services. In a forum about the ICC in June, womens rights expert Socorro Reyes said 60,000 to 100,000 women and children became widows and orphans as a result of the killing of 12,000 to 20,000 persons in the drug war.

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All 204 representations reported that the crimes resulted in psychological and social harm to victims. Others cited physical and material harm, as well as loss of educational opportunities and deprivation of liberty. Other victims raised concerns about the ineffectiveness of the Philippine judicial system, reparations for damages, and the social and cultural impact of the drug war.

"There is a new social norm now that is brainwashing and is gaining acceptance by many Filipinos today as a result of not only this physical but also culture war on drugs. That is, if you were a victim of [extra judicial killing], you deserved to die, the report quoted one victim as saying.

Both the victims and the ICC prosecutor are waiting for the decision of the PTC judges. If they rule in favor of the prosecutor, Karim Khan, Bensoudas successor, will start gathering evidence and identifying suspects in the killings and other crimes in the drug war. Khan may request the court to issue arrest warrants or summonses to bring the identified suspects to the ICC headquarters in the Netherlands for confirmation of charges and possible prosecution based on the courts legal procedures.

Palace Spokesperson Harry Roque dismissed the ICC report as based only on the opinion of drug war victims.

[W]e consider the Public Redacted Registry Report on Victims Representation submitted to the ICC as more of the opinion of victims wanting the ICC probe rather than erosion of support of the Filipino people, Roque said in a statement on Aug. 30.

Roque repeated his inaccurate claim that the Philippines is not obliged to cooperate with the ICC following the countrys withdrawal from the Rome Statute.

His assertion contradicted the March 16 ruling of the Supreme Court on petitions assailing Dutertes unilateral withdrawal, stating that the country remains covered and bound by the statute even after the pullout took effect in March 2019. (See VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Duterte, Panelo spew three false claims about ICC - Vera Files)

As of July 31, the government has reported 6,181 deaths during drug operations since July 2016. However, rights groups, including United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, have estimated that the actual death toll could be more than triple the government figure.

Sources

International Criminal Court, Public Redacted Registry Report on Victims Representations, Aug. 27, 2021

International Criminal Court, Information for victims - Republic of the Philippines, Accessed Aug. 31, 2021

International Criminal Court, Public redacted version of Request for authorisation of an investigation pursuant to article 15(3), 24 May 2021, ICC-01/21-7-SECRET-Exp, June 14, 2021

Communication with international law expert Romel Bagares, Aug. 30, 2021

Communication with war crimes tribunals and reparations expert Ruben Carranza, Aug. 30, 2021

Communication with Public Interest Law Center lawyer Kristina Conti, Aug. 30, 2021

Communication with Human Rights Watch Asia Deputy Director Phil Robertson, Aug. 30, 2021

Presidential Communications Operations Office, On the Public Redacted Registry Report, Aug. 30, 2021

Rise Up for Life and for Rights official Facebook page, Accessed Aug. 30, 2021

International Criminal Court, Victim Representation Form, Accessed Aug. 30, 2021

International Criminal Court, Statement of the Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, on her request to open an investigation of the Situation in the Philippines, June 14, 2021

International Criminal Court, VPRS Victim's Booklet [ENG], Accessed Aug. 30, 2021

International Criminal Court, Rome Statute

Supreme Court, G.R. No. 238875/G.R. No. 239483/G.R. No. 240954. March 16, 2021 [Date Uploaded: 7/21/2021], March 16, 2021

Real Numbers PH, #RealNumbersPH, Aug. 28, 2021

Original post:

VERA FILES FACT SHEET: Five things about the ICC report on victims' representations - Vera Files - Vera Files

Richard Wershe Jr.is getting into thecannabisindustry, and plans to use his new business endeavor to push social justice.

Wershe,a former FBI and Detroit police informant known as "White Boy Rick," famously served more than three decades behind bars for a non-violent drug offense after being convicted in 1988 in Wayne County Circuit Court.Now 52, Wershe is believed to have served the longest prison sentencebeginningas a juvenile for a non-violent drug offense. He wasreleased from prison last year after serving 32 years and seven months.

NowWersheis partnering withPleasantrees cannabis company and is launchinghis own brand of products called "The 8th,"areferenceto the 8th Amendment of theU.S. Constitutionthat prohibits cruel and unusualpunishment of criminal defendants.

Wershe's cannabis brand, which includes cannabisplants, T-shirts, concentrates and other products, is expected to launchthis fall. The black T-shirtswill feature two broken handcuffs and the words "White Boy Rick" on the front.

This comes as Eminem is slated to portray Wershe in an upcoming Starz television series by rapper 50 Cent. Wershe's life also has been the focus of books, films and a Hollywood film starring Matthew McConaughey.

Wershe says he hopesto raise awareness about the harshness of sentences for non-violent drug offenses, and use a substantial portionof his proceeds to help people who havebeen wrongfully convicted andimprisoned for non-violent drug offenses.

"It's about being over-punished," Wershe said. "How isit that a non-violent offender is punished more severely than a violent offender? That's not equal justice under the law."

He said he chose to partnerwith Pleasantrees because he likes the company's social justice and social equity program. The company offersjobs to those recently released from prison who because they were wrongfully convicted or incarcerated under excessive sentences.

"Mr. Wershe was recently released from prison after serving over thirty-two years for non-violent drug offenses allegedly committed while he was a minor. As such, his life story, which has been the subject of several recent films and documentaries, is a prime example of the unduly harsh penalties levied against victims of the decades-long War on Drugs which was started by the Nixon Administration and further escalated in the Reagan Era," said Pleasantrees company officials in a statement announcing the partnership.

Attorney Jerome Crawford, Pleasantrees director of legal operations and social equity, said Wershe is the "poster child" of excessive as well as cruel and unusualpunishment.

"He is a walking example of crueland unusual punishment where a minor is sent to prison for three decades of his life behind bars fora non-violent drug crime," said Crawford. "He can give voice to the voiceless. Having him on our team is really a representationof our social equity plan."

One of the people Wershe hopes to help isRudi Gammo, 42, who was sentenced in 2018 in Oakland Countyto five and a half years in prison. He owned a medical marijuana dispensary in Detroit, but was charged for letting patients grow marijuana in homes he owned in Oakland County.

Wershe attended a rally at the Oakland County Circuit Court on Wednesdayto urge a judgeto release Gammo.

"This is what we do," Wershe said about his efforts to help Gammo. "This is what this brand is all about."

Gammo's attorney, Barton Morris Jr., said for a number of yearsunlicensed and unregulated "gray market"products were grown by caregivers and sold by hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries in Michigan. Morris added that prior to2018, when state voters approved an initiative for recreational adult use of marijuana,"this was the only way to operate, and was permitted by most municipalities."

"Rudi was convicted of something that became legal a few short months later when the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act (MRTMA) became law in November 2018. Even though the 'Clean Slate'bill was signed into law this past fall; the law that permits thousands of Michiganders to expunge many misdemeanor and felony marijuana offenses, he still remains behind bars," Morris,principal attorney and founder of the Cannabis Legal Group, said in a statement.

Morris said Gammo, who is at the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian,is one of the "most prominent" examples of the need for restorative criminal justice in Michigan.

Recreational cannabis use was legalized in Michigan in 2018. Under the law, individuals over the age of 21 can possess 2 ounces of cannabis.Medical marijuana became legal in the state in 2008.

Harrison Township-based Pleasantrees, which operates in Michigan and Massachusetts, said it is amongMichigans largest wholesalers of medical and recreational cannabis. The company has three recreational cannabis retail establishmentsin Hamtramck, East Lansingand Denton Township in Roscommon County.

Pleasantrees also has two cultivation facilities in Harrison Township. The company has launched its first retail location in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and is seeking to expand toHolyoke, Massachusetts.

Wershe said in a lawsuit he filed in Julyagainst the city of Detroit, Detroit police officers and FBI agents that he was first approached by FBI agents when he was 14. He regularly metwith FBI agents and Detroit police officers to give information on Detroit's burgeoning drug gangs before he wassentenced at 17 to life behind bars without parole for possession to deliver more than 650 grams of a controlled substance.

Wershe's sentence was later amended to life with the possibility of parole, and in 2017 the Michigan Parole Board unanimously granted Wershe parole.Documents obtained by The Detroit News after Wershe's parole was granted showed that his remorse and good behavior played a role in the board's decision.

bwilliams@detroitnews.com

See the rest here:

Wershe launching own brand of cannabis products with social justice focus - The Detroit News

Photo courtesy of The Guardian

In 2018 the former President of Sri Lanka, influenced by Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs policy, attempted to resume executions for people convicted of drug trafficking. The Presidents move reignited the debate on capital punishment. Although the Supreme Court issued an interim injunction preventing resumption, calls to resume executions have since been frequently used by successive politicians for electoral purposes.

Historically public opinion, or what is perceived to be public opinion, has influenced criminal justice policy in Sri Lanka on numerous occasions. For instance, as the report of the National Study of Prisons conducted by the Human Rights Commission states, in 1999, in response to a public outcry against persons being released from prison too early, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga suspended the commutation of death sentences to life imprisonment and limited the number of days that incarcerated persons received pardons. These changes disrupted a system of periodic evaluation of their sentences against their behaviour to avoid long term incarceration.

Public opinion can therefore have a direct influence on criminal policy and politicians often introduce harsh punishments claiming merely to reflect public opinion. However, research on public opinion on penal policy has shown that while politicians assume the public to be punitive the public, on the contrary, often stresses more reform-orientated and less punitive goals.

We set out to test the level of support for the death penalty in Sri Lanka. In particular, we explored to what extent the public endorsed the war on drugs rhetoric, testing the public appetite to sentence drug-related offenders to death. We posted a Twitter poll during 1 to 8 July 2021 asking the public to respond to questions on the death penalty. The number of responses ranged between 152 and 170 depending on the question posed. We make no claims that the results of the Twitter poll are representative of the public, and further research is necessary to confirm our hypothesis. Bearing in mind this caveat, our poll confirmed the US finding and showed a striking lack of correspondence between the public will and politicians perception of that will.

We used a scenario-based question to gauge public sentencing preference for drug possession:

Chethana got married when she was 15. Her drug-dependent husband forced her into sex work to fund his drug habit. She becameaddicted to heroin and was charged with possession of 2.5 grams of heroin.

In Sri Lanka, the possession of heroin above two grams is a capital offence, which means the court has the discretion to sentence Chethana to death. Chethanas circumstances of domestic abuse and drug dependency have been commonly found amongst women in prison for drug-related offences. The majority of respondents (79%) did not think Chethana should be punished. Among the remaining minority of respondents who thought Chethana should be punished, only four per cent thought that Chethana deserved a death sentence. An overwhelming majority thought she should receive a community sentence.

In addition, respondents did not see the death penalty as a solution to the countrys drug problems. The majority of respondents (79%) disagreed with the statement in Sri Lanka, drug problems can be solved by the resumption of executions. In addition, when respondents were asked to choose the most effective policy to solve drug problems, resuming executions was perceived to be the least effective policy (7%); the most popular response was treat [drug problems] as a health issue (40%), followed by target supply of drugs (35%), and decriminalise personal drug use (18%). These results strongly suggest that the call to resume executions for drug-related offences, if implemented, would be at odds with public opinion.

Our results clearly suggest that the respondents are not only rejecting the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences but also for at least some categories of homicide, as the following scenario-based question demonstrates.

Nimals income depends on his two cows. He found one cow bleeding with a broken toddy pot. A drunk man claimed that a cow broke hispot and threatened Nimal with a knife saying I will cut you like I cut your cow. Nimal stabbed and killed the man during a struggle.

In Sri Lanka, the mandatory death penalty applies to murder. If Nimal were to be convicted of murder, the court must sentence him to death. Again, Nimals case of a poor man resorting to violence due to poverty is common among persons on death row as illustrated by the National Study of Prisons. While the majority of respondents considered Nimal should be punished, only 5 per cent of respondents thought that the death penalty was the appropriate punishment.

Indeed, our results show that the respondents are ready to abolish the death penalty altogether, with 76 per cent of respondents taking the position that the death penalty should be abolished in law. The majority of respondents also do not see the death penalty as a deterrent to crime: 70 per cent of respondents considered the abolition of the death penalty having no impact on crime rates. After 45 years without an execution, the death penalty appears to be no longer about law and order and seems to have become a reputational issue, with 60 per cent of respondents believing that the retention of the death penalty harms Sri Lankas international reputation.

Even though the last execution took place in 1976, the courts continue to hand down death sentences every year. As long as the death penalty remains a lawful punishment, the possibility of an execution is a reality for the 1,284 persons on death row (as of September 2020). In addition, we must not forget that executions are not the only way the criminal justice system kills its detainees. Due to the increasing number of persons on death row, the detention conditions on death row have seriously deteriorated due to overcrowding, limited infrastructure and poor prison healthcare, leading to an increase in the number of deaths in custody without being judicially executed. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, persons in prisons have become even more vulnerable to the possibility of becoming seriously ill or dying in prison. The outbreak of COVID-19 in prisons since October 2020 has led to over 13,000 cases of infection and at least 21 deaths (as of August 2021). As Sri Lanka and the rest of the world struggle to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, an early release of persons in prisons becomes key to preventing and containing infections in prisons an option unavailable to those on death row.

This was an exploratory piece of research. Our sample was small, self-selected and not representative of the Sri Lankan public overall. Nevertheless, the results are striking and, we think, important. In 2022, we will be undertaking a larger-scale in-depth survey with a fully representative sample of the Sri Lankan public.

Link:

Who Wants the Death Penalty? - Groundviews

The war on drugs may profess to be waged against narcotics, but it overwhelmingly targets people a view increasingly shared by experts on drug use. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, touched on this recently when she wrote about addiction stigma in STAT, noting that societal norms surrounding drug use and addiction continue to be informed by myths and misconceptions.

Starting in the 1980s, a rowdy group of individuals began advocating for a different approach to drug policy called harm reduction. These activists, researchers, social workers, attorneys, and others, from a myriad of different backgrounds, have focused on the harms of drug use not the drugs alone.

Maia Szalavitzs new book Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction is an in-depth history of a powerful idea, exploring many angles of drug policy, including prescription drug use, supervised consumption, and legalizing cannabis. Throughout, she also details the racial inequities and social justice tensions that have defined the drug war.

BOOK REVIEW Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction, by Maia Szalavitz (Hachette Go, 384 pages).

Szalavitz, a science journalist, unwraps the many layers of harm reduction, a philosophy that has also been adopted in approaching sex work, restorative justice, Covid-19, and other areas. When it comes to illicit substances, harm reduction runs the gamut from sterile syringe access programs to supervised drug injection rooms to distributing the opioid-overdose antidote naloxone.

Depending on who you ask, harm reduction has many different definitions, including radical empathy which requires meeting people where theyre at. Szalavitz offers multiple interpretations, but writes that, simply: Harm reduction applies the core of the Hippocratic oath first, do no harm to addiction treatment and drug policy. This takes the focus off of psychoactive drug use itself.

Tracing the roots of the movement, Szalavitz introduces us to characters like the Goddess of Harm Reduction and the Johnny Appleseed of Needles, whose lives are dedicated to spreading evidence-based practices of harm reduction. Some advocates were arrested, ostracized by friends and family, or lost their lives to overdose.

For years, the U.S. government rejected harm reduction services, even going so far as to ban federal funding for needle exchange programs. But now there are jobs, conferences, and nonprofit organizations committed to harm reduction. And in President Joe Bidens budget for the 2022 fiscal year, $30 million has been earmarked for services like syringe access, the first time Congress has appropriated funds specifically for harm reduction, according to The New York Times.

Szalavitz follows the evolution of the movement, beginning with her own story in New York in the 1980s. Addicted to opioids during the height of the U.S. HIV/AIDS epidemic, the young writer had no clue that sharing syringes could spread the deadly new virus that was already killing so many. Yet between 55 and 60 percent of people who use intravenous drugs at the time were positive with the virus.

Ideally, of course, people who inject drugs should never share syringes. Doing so can spread bloodborne pathogens like HIV and hepatitis C. But ideal situations dont always exist in the world of street narcotics. So some public health agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, began recommending a middle ground: If you must reuse a syringe, properly disinfect it using bleach and clean water, which by some estimations can greatly reduce the chances of contracting HIV (though certain sources say otherwise).

Before that knowledge became more widely known, a friends girlfriend taught Szalavitz this trick to lower her risk of infection, setting her life on a completely different course. She credits this fortuitous acquaintance with saving her life.

Szalavitz became enraged that no one had given her this simple advice. Why had she not encountered a public health campaign blasting this information to all who needed to hear it? But back then, Szalavitz says, few in government seemed to care about people who use drugs. It didnt seem fair or right to see anyone as being that worthless, Szalavitz writes. I needed to know, she adds, how to keep others from suffering the fate Id only narrowly avoided.

Harm reduction applies the core of the Hippocratic oath first, do no harm to addiction treatment and drug policy. This takes the focus off of psychoactive drug use itself.

Thus began a three-decade reporting career on harm reduction, drug policy, and crucially, science, that has spanned, as she likes to put it, from High Times to The New York Times (and includes Undark). In this book, she interviewed hundreds of people to catalog the first- and second-hand accounts of people who have helped bring harm reduction into the public consciousness.

The book takes us from Vancouver, Canada and San Francisco, California, to Liverpool, England. Throughout are gossipy details about regular people: their broken relationships and personal dramas, their allegiances and falling outs. This isnt the books main focus, but is a reminder that every movement involves a decent share of infighting and argument, tiny tests that demonstrate the resiliency of an idea.

To make harm reduction work, its progenitors needed to rely on strong research. In 1987 several drug activists in Liverpool started The Mersey Drugs Journal, where they documented local efforts and helped put the term harm reduction on the map. Because their ideas reached beyond the borders of Merseyside County, the publication was renamed The International Journal of Drug Policy. Currently issued by Dutch publishing monolith Elsevier, the peer-reviewed journal has an impact factor of 5.0 (meaning it is often cited by other researchers) and is indexed in 11 international databases.

By emphasizing conducting research on its efforts, harm reduction created an enormous intellectual obstacle for its opponents, Szalavitz writes. After all, if studies show that a policy doesnt reduce harm, it cant be part of harm reduction. And how can you oppose a policy that works?

Szalavitz has often been witness to harm reduction history, including an important 1991 court case that paved the way for legalizing syringe access in New York. It began in March of that year with the arrest of eight demonstrators from the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, commonly known as ACT UP, a grassroots political group that fought to end the HIV/AIDS crisis through civil disobedience. They were about to hand out sterile syringes on a Lower East Side intersection when the police swarmed the crowd and handcuffed the activists, charging them with needle possession.

Reporting for local outlets, Szalavitz witnessed the arrests and much of the trial, with opposing sides offering evidence for and against syringe access. Testifying for the defense was the citys former health commissioner, Stephen Joseph, who had notably clashed with ACT UP on numerous occasions. But this time he agreed with them, describing their actions as courageous, and drew a parallel to 19th-century British physician John Snow, who traced a cholera outbreak to a single London water pump, similar to how ACT UP activists traced HIV to unsterile injection needles and sought to eliminate the source of infection.

Undark is a non-profit, editorially independent magazine covering the complicated and often fractious intersection of science and society. If you would like to help support our journalism, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. All proceeds go directly to Undarks editorial fund.

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The defense also presented evidence that syringe access programs reduce the transmission of infectious disease and encourage people who use drugs to enter treatment. One witness noted that the U.S. was nearly alone in the developed world in rejecting needle exchange, and pointed to supportive data from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Australia. As Szalavitz writes, there was no scientific evidence that needle exchange caused harm all of the existing data showed the opposite.

Without refuting evidence, the prosecution lost their case and the door opened for needle exchange programs to be legalized in New York. Decades later, the data is even stronger for syringe access, a practice that has been championed by the CDC, the American Medical Association, and the World Health Organization.

Yet the fight for harm reduction is far from over. In mid-July, the Atlantic City Council voted to shut down New Jerseys largest needle exchange program, ignoring the objections of the citys health director and many other healthcare professionals. A similar scenario played out this year in Scott County, Indiana, which was the epicenter of a devastating HIV outbreak in 2015. Experts say a syringe program helped put a lid on the outbreak. Yet in June, Scott County commissioners voted to end the program.

And in July, President Biden tapped former West Virginia health commissioner Dr. Rahul Gupta to be director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. But some have criticized Guptas failure while commissioner to protect syringe access in West Virginia, which has consistently had the highest rate of overdose deaths in the U.S. in recent years, according to the CDC. The state severely restricted syringe exchange earlier this year, amid an HIV outbreak the CDC described as the most concerning in the country.

June 17, 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of the War on Drugs, in which President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse public enemy number one. Yet last year was by far the most deadly period in American history for drug overdoses. More than 92,000 people lost their lives, according to preliminary data from the CDC. This in spite of more than $1 trillion spent over four decades by the United States to enforce its drug policy.

The harm reduction movement offers a vastly different approach. It has also acknowledged, Szalavitz notes, that the drug war is historically documented to be deeply rooted in racism, not science, and has been disproportionately waged against people of color. The essence of harm reduction, Szalavitz, writes, is compassion and respect for the inherent dignity and value of human life.

A philosophy and strategy developed by drug users and researchers for drug users, however improbably, she continues, has gone global and proved to be a gift to public health.

Troy Farah is an independent journalist from Southwest California. His reporting on science, drug policy, and public health has appeared in Wired, The Guardian, Discover Magazine, Vice, and others. He co-hosts the drug policy podcast Narcotica. Follow him on Twitter @filth_filler.

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Book Review: The Rise of Harm Reduction in the War on Drugs - Undark Magazine

As we witnessed the agony of our nations withdrawal from Afghanistan, most of us thought that, after 20 years there, we were ending Americas longest war. But conventional wisdom is wrong.

The United States is still fighting the war on drugs that President Richard Nixon officially declared more than 50 years ago on June 17, 1971.

Both wars have been fueled by false assumptions. And when the concepts used to justify a war prove misguided, its reasonable to believe that our leaders, supported by the public, will change course. This is what caused us to leave Afghanistan. The same thing can happen with the war on drugs.

The false premises that have propped up the war on drugs are clear.

The first misguided assumption is that the best way to keep individuals from using, and too often abusing, drugs is to punish them.

Prohibition, which criminalizes drug use, does not work. As President Jimmy Carter famously observed, it is a cure worse than the disease. If punishment were a meaningful deterrent, we would have won the drug war long ago.

The second false assumption is that drug use, rather than the harm caused by drugs, should be the object of our concern and the metric by which we should define success. But our policy metric when it comes to drugs should be harm, not abstinence.

Tragically, it took the AIDS crisis in the early 1980s to even conceive of this approach. Its so obvious when you think about it. As AIDS spread, it became clear that individuals using drugs were being infected by sharing contaminated needles, and that such infections could be minimized by making clean syringes available.

Like the decriminalization of certain drugs, harm reduction enjoys growing public support. Clean needles are now available in 300 exchanges across the country, and a federal ban on such services has been lifted. Naloxone, an antidote which can quickly bring an individual back from drug overdose, is legal in 49 states and available over the counter; there are more than 120 overdose prevention sites throughout the world, where individuals can safely test their drugs and use them under medical supervision. We will have such a site in the United States very soon.

Making clear the false premises of the war on drugs helps us understand what an end to that war would look like. We also have proposed federal legislation that would get us there. On June 15, 50 years after Nixon declared his war on drugs, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-New Jersey, and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Missouri, working with the advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance, introduced the Drug Policy Reform Act.

This bill would decriminalize low-level possession of all drugs, treating such offenses like traffic violations. It would shift drug regulatory authority from the Department of Justice to Health and Human Services to emphasize that substance use is a health issue and not a criminal issue.

If passed, this bill would drive a stake through the heart of the war on drugs.

How close are we to the bills passing? Developing a national constituency for the Drug Reform Policy Act will require the same kind of state-by-state trench warfare that has brought us to the cusp of national marijuana legalization. Oregon took the first step in February 2021 when it decriminalized low-level possession of all drugs, in combination with access to 10 treatment centers across the state.

It has taken more than 50 years for policies to emerge that respond to the potential dangers of drug abuse and addiction with healing and compassion rather than the false assumptions that underlie punishment and incarceration.

It is time now to bring an end to what is, in fact, Americas longest war.

Send letters to letters@suntimes.com.

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Americas real longest war the war on drugs - Chicago Sun-Times

How psychedelic drugs could be used to treat depression, anxiety, PTSD

California is on its way to decriminalizing psychedelics. Heres how this plays into the larger movement to legalize psychedelics across the country.

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

As a January 2020 bill to decriminalizecertain hallucinogenic drugs in Vermont currently sits in committee, a grassroots petition was recently started to "legalize psychedelics for mental health in Vermont."

Garnering over 260 signatures over the past two weeks, the petition cites research from theJohns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research as evidence of the safety and mental health benefits of psychedelic drugs. Johns Hopkinshas found that psilocybin, also known as "magic mushrooms,"canhelp relievedepression, anxiety,nicotine addiction, and alcohol dependency.

The petition urges Vermont to follow in the steps of other parts of the countrythat have decriminalized certain psychedelics, which includeOregon; Denver; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Santa Cruz, California; and Washington, D.C.

Testing underway: Researchers focus on use of psilocybin to treat Parkinsons disease

Bill H.878, introduced byVermont State Representative Brian Cina (P/D-Burlington) would decriminalize "certain drugs commonly used for medicinal, spiritual, religious, or entheogenic purposes," including psilocybin, peyote, ayahuasca, and kratom.

"It's a waste of society's resources to criminalize behaviors that stretch to the roots of humanity," Cina said.

Psychedelic substanceshave been used by Indigenous people around the world for millennia from the Amazon basin to the Great Plains.We used this medicine before Jesus Christ walked this Earth," Indigenous healing artistLisaNa Macias Red Bear saidin an article by the publicationNEO.LIFE.

Growing trend: Megan Fox, Christina Haack are praising psychedelics. What medical experts want you to know.

This link between government regulation of psychedelics and the colonization of the Americas connects to the last argument of the Vermont petition: that the criminalization of psychedelics stems from racism and the war on drugs.

Psychedelics usage and research were drastically restricted in the 1970's and 80's as part of a crackdown onthe counterculture movement of the 1960's, writes journalism professor Don Lattin. Harvard University psychologist and"high priest" of psychedelics Dr. Timothy Leary was proclaimed the "most dangerous man in America" by Richard Nixon, whospearheaded the "war on drugs"in 1971.

In every year from 1980 to 2007, Black people across the U.S. were arrested on drug charges at a rate of 2.8 to 5.5 timesthat of white people, Human Rights Watch reports.

Contact April Fisher at (845) 598-0655 or amfisher@freepressmedia.com. Followher on Twitter: @AMFisherMedia

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Psychedelic drug legalization: where Vermont stands on mushrooms, more - Burlington Free Press

Drug users and advocates of drug policy reform are suing the Canadian government because they believe that the consistent prohibition of drugs is unconstitutional.

On Tuesday the non-profit organisation, Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs (CAPUD), filed a statement claim in British Columbia Supreme Court against the Attorney General of Canada.

They argued that the government is responsible for overdose deaths because the war on drugs forces users to source their drugs from toxic supply companies.

The aim of the statement is to target and strike down sections of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act the federal framework for prosecuting drug offences which they allege results in thousands of overdose deaths across Canada each year.

Since 2016 22,000 people have died from a drug overdose.

According to the statement of claim, the majority of these overdose deaths have been caused by fentanyl in particular, which has infiltrated Canadas drug supply.

Canadas longstanding policy of criminalising illicit drugs, the purpose of which is to prevent harm, is now having the opposite effect. Criminalising the use of illicit drugs, and, correspondingly, making the illicit market the only possible source of most drugs, is now killing thousands of Canadians each year, the document outlines.

It continues to outline that drug prohibition is a violation of the Charter rights of people who use drugs which includes: the rights to life, liberty, security of the person, rights against cruel and unusual punishment and equality rights.

Additionally, the lawsuit outlines that drug dependence and addiction is a medical condition that attracts limited or no moral blameworthinessbut simultaneously has forced people who use drugs to do so in dangerous environments that could leave them badly injured or dead.

CAPUD adds that their aimed strike down of parts of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act includes targeting possession offences.

Additionally, the group wants the government to address and strike down trafficking offences, including the trafficking for subsistence. This will support personal drug use and ensure the safe supply of drugs to vulnerable people who are dependent on them.

One of the plaintiffs, Hawkfeather Peterson, states that the intention of the lawsuit is an attempt to incite action,

Drug users now know that no one is coming to rescue us. We need to step up and force the matter. This is really about our fundamental human rights. We deserve dignity and freedoms but above all else we deserve safety. Drug users have been left to die. And we are hopeful that this action will create real change to protect our already vulnerable population.

This lawsuit arises in the midst of a federal election.

The NDP (National Democratic Party) has been the only party to commit to end the criminalisation and stigma of drug addiction.

The Liberal party say they will repeal mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes in addition to giving police and Crown attorneys discretion to not charge people for drug possession and to instead guide them into drug treatment court and/or addictions services.

The Conservative party have taken a different approach, saying that their plan is to help people lead a drug-free life and that law enforcement should focus on drug traffickers.

On Tuesday, B.C. reported that more than 1,000 people have died of a drug overdose in the first half of 2021 alone, placing it back on track to be yet another record year for fatal overdoses in only the western province.

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Canada's government is being sued as War On Drugs continues - Happy Mag

Sports experts agree that it is possible to use sports as a tool to prevent crime and drug use among youth anywhere given the right approach, policies and infrastructure.

Lamu politician Eric Mugo is a sports expert who holds a Bachelor's degree in sports science and a Master's in sports from Kenyatta University. He says sports provide life skills training that gives one resilience against risky and anti-social behaviour.

He says sports employ skills teaching that increases adaptive and positive behaviour and, thereby, addresses risk factors related to violence, crime and drug use.

Mugo is also the former deputy governor of Lamu county and has declared interest in the governor position on the The Service Party ticket. He says there is so much more that sports can do to redeem a generation thats lost in drugs.

Sport is a tool for personal transformation and character building for children and adolescents. It teaches us how to live with our differences, to learn the value of others and to respect others, Mugo says.

He says for sports to be of use in combating drug abuse, there must be consistency and funding. It should be made an all-time affair and not just a seasonal recorded occurrence.

The youth must see a life from the sports. As much as sports is done more for leisure and recreation, we need to have an eye on it as an investment and have a long-lasting roadmap. It must not be seasonal. When we are done with, lets say, soccer, we get to rugby, athletics, and so on, Mugo said.

He calls for the need to nurture both indoor and outdoor sports and equally place emphasis on talent identification. And of most importance, we register our teams with the relevant bodies."

Mugo says the benefit of investing in sports will cause a ripple effect if well executed, and it stands to benefit not just the players but many other sectors for a county like Lamu.

He explains that if anchored on serious pillars, it becomes easier for sponsors to come up with a move that encourages investors to come on board, hence growing the sporting sector.

We must encourage local sponsorship like businessmen and companies from Lamu county, banks, the new port (Lapsset), airlines, even transport companies, he says.

The ripple effect comes in the form of things that will brand Lamu and attract both tourists and investors, while offering a livelihood to the youth from such funding, whether full or partial.

Mugo says at such a level, it will be easier to form sporting clubs, which will encourage player transfers at a fee just like it is with football clubs in the west.

We can do it right here. Many sponsors will always take pride in such transfers as they scout for the best players. Through such and many others, we shall see many youths and even non-youths attracted to sports. It is through such engagements that we will discourage youth from engaging in drugs, he said.

Participation in sports reduces the risk of overall illicit drug use, he says, but particularly during high school, adding that this may be a critical period to reduce or prevent the use of drugs through sport.

We have to understand the youth capacity and bring them to sports culture to prepare them for the future, he said.

The sports expert said the youth are not bound to be drug addicts but rather, its the ample time they have and also lack of activities they can derive fun from that entraps them in drugs, pornography, prostitution and social ills.

Lets drive the theme: 'Fun and Money in Sports'.

Football Kenya Federation Lamu chairperson Fuad Ali says the sports sector is neglected. He says much of the little sporting infrastructure has been left to rot away and is in a deplorable state.

The county does not have a single stadium and most games take place on playgrounds in the various schools.

The only formidable sporting grounds are the Shella and Twaif grounds, all of which are in deplorable state.

These grounds can be upgraded and improved to national and international standards. We need adequate funding to allow this to happen, Ali said.

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Power of sports in war on drug abuse - The Star, Kenya

Another year is nearing its end, which means one last batch of records before turning the calendar to 2022. Some of these albums, like Lil Nas Xs Montero, have been teased for quite some time, while others, like Kacey Musgraves Star-Crossed, seem like theyre arriving just as soon as theyre even announced. Theres plenty of room in between, too, for traditional album rollouts and records that may still be twinkles in their creators eyes. Here are 45 records to look forward to in the coming months. (As of August 30, all release dates have been confirmed. But, as usual, everything is subject to change.)

October 8

For their new album Talk Memory, the members of BadBadNotGood focused on collaboration and improvisation, bringing in a varied group of musiciansrespected Brazilian composer Arthur Verocai, Terrace Martin, Laraaji, Karriem Riggins, and harpist Brandee Youngerto expand on their established sound. The result is a more free-form BadBadNotGood, evidenced by the nine-minute lead single Signal From the Noise, a psychedelic jazz odyssey. Noah Yoo

All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

September 10

Bomba Estreos first album since 2017s Ayo is divided into parts based on the four classical elements, and the release strategy has followed suit. In February, the wide-ranging Colombian pop group released a three-song Agua EP, with a title track featuring Lido Pimienta and Afro-Cuban duo Okan. Another three-track helping, the Aire EP, arrived in April, before Tierra in July. The full album Deja lands on September 10, and, according to singer Li Saumet, its about the connection and disconnection of human beingsfrom the planet, from ones own self. Marc Hogan

TBA

Two years after 2019s Romance, which featured the gigantic single Seorita, Camila Cabello has announced her third full-length record. Familia does not currently have a release date, but its is led by the song Dont Go Yet. This album was inspired by two things: family & food, Cabello tweeted Your family by blood, but also your chosen family. Who you want to sit at the dinner table, get wine-drunk, & dance in the living room with. Quinn Moreland

TBA

In early February, Cardi B shared her new single and video, Up. In an interview timed to the release, she said she wanted to put out an album in 2021 and had like 50 songs recorded. Since then, Cardi has performed her 2020 hit with Megan Thee Stallion, WAP, at the Grammys, although the song isnt expected to be submitted for awards consideration until next yearhopefully timed to the release of the follow-up to her 2018 debut Invasion of Privacy. Marc Hogan

October 22

Haley Fohrs latest album as Circuit des Yeux is her first LP for new label Matador. The title, -io, is the name Fohr created to describe the universe of grief that enveloped her after the death of a close friend, shortly before the pandemic began. She worked alongside 13 renowned musicians from Chicagos jazz and experimental scenes to create the songs. Noah Yoo

October 15

Can the songs on Coldplays follow-up to 2019s Everyday Life possibly be as remarkable as their titles, several of which are emoji? Find out in a couple of months, when Chris Martin and the lads release their Max Martinproduced ninth album, Music of the Spheres, with such tracks as [Ringed Planet Emoji] and . So far from the upcoming LP, the group has shared the single Higher Power and the 10-minute album-closer Coloratura. Making more friends might be easy in a wooden house, but spacewell, there arent enough alphanumeric characters to express it, are there? Marc Hogan

November 12

Written over the span of two years and recorded with the help of producer/drummer Stella Mozgawa, Courtney Barnetts third solo album is titled Things Take Time, Take Time. Its the follow-up to 2018s Tell Me How You Really Feel and is led by the song Rae Street. Cat Zhang

November 12

Damon Albarns latest solo album started life as an orchestral piece. In 2019, the Gorillaz and Blur frontman announced plans to take the piece on the road with a string ensemble in 2020. After the pandemic wrecked those plans, Albarn revisited the music in the studio to develop what would become his new record. The albums 11 tracks were inspired by the breathtaking beauty of Icelands landscapes. Noah Yoo

November 5

Thank You is Diana Ross 25th solo album and first in 15 years. The 13-song comeback album boasts a wide range of collaborators, including Jack Antonoff, Jimmy Napes, Tayla Parx, and Spike Stent, and was recorded entirely at the former Supremes singers home studio during lockdown. So far, Ross has released the nostalgic gospel-pop title track. This collection of songs is my gift to you with appreciation and love," she said of the project. Eric Torres

September 3

CLB September 3, thats what a brief, unexpected, and altogether bizarre promo on ESPNs SportsCenterpromised. A few days later, Drake made it official: The new album Certified Lover Boyis coming out this Friday. Hes been teasing the album for a year, announcing its title upon the August 2020 release of the single Laugh Now Cry Later. The formal follow-up to Scorpionwas expected to arrive in January, but chose to delay the record, in part, due to a knee injury. Matthew Strauss

October 15

A little less than a week after his sister Billie Eilish released Happier Than Ever, Grammy-winning producer Finneas announced his solo debut, Optimist. The first single, A Concert Six Months From Now, came with a video shot at the Hollywood Bowl. Im tired of being your ex, Finneas sings, proof that if its the hope that kills you, then optimism still hurts pretty bad, too. Marc Hogan

October 22

Liz Harris returns with Shade, a collection of songs recorded over the last 15 years, many made at her home in Astoria, Oregon, and others originating from a residency at Mount Tamalpais in Portland. She recently released Unclean Mind, a guitar-led track and departure from her typical piano and voice arrangements. Gio Santiago

October 22

Helado Negro recorded his new album and 4AD debut, Far In, entirely in his Brooklyn apartment, but he took inspiration from farther away: Marfa, Texas, where he spent the height of the pandemic. As Eric Torres wrote in his recent profile of Helado Negro, the musician intentionally moved away from themes of identity to focus more on evoking emotions through poetic, enigmatic verses. Gio Santiago

October 1

Illuminati Hotties promise freewheeling, anarchist punk tracks on their third record, Let Me Do One More. After years of label conflicts, the band will be releasing the album through frontwoman Sarah Tudzins imprint, Snack Shack Tracks. The songs tell a story of my gremlin-ass running around L.A., sneaking into pools at night, messing up and starting over, begging for attention for one second longer, and asking the audience to let me do one more, Tudzin has said. Big Thiefs Buck Meek makes an appearance, as does Great Grandpas Alex Menne. Kelly Liu

September 10

Jos is J Balvins first name, and, as such, Jose is, in a way, the reggaeton superstars first self-titled album. Balvins fifth LP and the follow-up to last years Colores was announced with a Jose-Emilio Sagardirected video for a new song called Que Locura. Elsewhere on the tracklist: In Da Getto, J Balvins collaboration with Skrillex. Noah Yoo

September 10

Following his 2019 album Assume Form and two EPsone featuring club-ready tracks and another of coversJames Blake will be releasing the new album Friends That Break Your Heart. The 12-track record features SZA and J.I.D., and more. Blake said of the lead single, Say What You Will: The song is about finding peace with who you are and where youre at regardless of how well other people seem to be doing. Cat Zhang

September 24

A critically-acclaimed memoir (Crying in H Mart) and a full-length album (Jubilee) werent enough to keep Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast busy this year. The indie pop artist wrote and performed an original soundtrack for the video game Sable, which sees the light of day this fall. This is not her first foray into video games; for her 2017 record Soft Sounds From Another Planet, she released a role-playing game called Japanese BreakQuest featuring 8-bit versions of the record. Cat Zhang

September 17

In February, more than 15 years after his solo debut, Jos Gonzlez shared his first-ever Spanish-language release, El Invento. The song heralded the Swedish singer-songwriters first studio album in six years, Local Valley. Another new track, Visions, followed in April and added synth loops and bird sounds. Gonzlezs previous studio effort, 2015s Vestiges & Claws, came eight years after its full-length predecessor, 2007s In Our Nature, although there was a handful of Gonzlez records with his folk-rock band Junip in between. Marc Hogan

September 10

Kacey Musgraves released Golden Hour, her Grammy-winning pop breakout, after marrying country musician Ruston Kelly. Accordingly, the album was optimistic and bright, a kaleidoscope of love. Musgraves follow-up, Star-Crossed, is being released the year after she and Kelly divorced, and its not like Musgraves to ignore a rooms elephant. Its a modern tragedy in three acts, she recently told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, and I think it would have been extremely awkward if I just acted like this last chapter didnt happen for me. Matthew Strauss

September 24

Last July, Kari Faux summed up her quarantine in a Pitchfork interview as a lot of self-reflection and a lot of avoidance of self-reflection. On August 17, the rapper/producer from Little Rock, Arkansas, announced her new album Lowkey Superstar Deluxe, which includes new songs, remixes, and featured performances from J.I.D, Smino, and more. At the same time, Faux also released the first single, Too Much, Too Fast, which features Deante Hitchcock. Marc Hogan

October 1

Im a punk, Kedr Livanksiy told Pitchfork last year. The Russian electronic artist, whose alias means Lebanon cedar, is punk in a very different way than youll read about in the glossy magazine trend pieces with their obligatory Travis Barker quotes. Her 2019 album, Your Need, found the Moscow producer gliding between ethereal electro-pop and underground breakbeats. The follow-up, Liminal Soul, brings her vocals even more to the fore, as heard on the pulsating first single, Stars Light Up. Liminal Soul reunites Livanskiy with fellow Moscow producer Flaty and features electronic group Synecdoche Montauk. Marc Hogan

November 19

London experimental musician Klein wrote, produced, performed, and mixed Harmattan, her follow-up to 2020s Frozen and debut on classical label Pentatone. She has already shared the dream-like first single, Hope Dealers, which she describes as an R&B tribute song to grime. The album features guest vocalist Charlotte Church and the synthesizer-transposed vocals of grime MC Jawnino on the track Skyfall. Tantalizingly, Harmattans announcement included a written introduction by the cultural theorist Fred Moten, who describes the album as a soundtrack of epic revolt against beginnings and ends. Marc Hogan

TBA

Its been a bit more than a few months since Lana Del Reys latest album, Marchs Chemtrails Over the Country Club, but shes already staging a comeback. So far, shes floated two potential titlesRock Candy Sweet and Blue Banistersand shared three songs: Text Book, Blue Banisters, and Wildflower Wildfire, which featured production from Mike Dean. Im writing my own story, Del Rey wrote on Twitter alongside a teaser of what appeared to be a new music video. And no one can tell it but me. Sam Sodomsky

September 17

For the past few months, Lil Nas X has been in fearless album mode. Whether obliterating streaming records in stripper heels with his devil-seducing video for title track Montero (Call Me by Your Name or upping his performance game on late-night shows, the Old Town Road artist is clearly planting a flag in pop star territory in preparation for his debut, which finally arrives this September. Lil Nas X recently followed up Montero with the guitar-laced Sun Goes Down, capturing his teenage years with the 20/20 hindsight of someone whos grown comfortable in their skin, and Industry Baby,another single with an eye-catching music video. Eric Torres

September 17

Lindsey Buckinghams upcoming self-titled album will be his first solo LP since 2011s Seeds We Sow. In the meantime, he toured with Fleetwood Mac as part of their reunited Rumours-era lineup, released a duets album with fellow on-off Fleetwood Mac member Christine McVie, and parted ways with Fleetwood Mac. In 2019, Buckingham underwent open-heart surgery. He has said that many of the songs on Lindsey Buckingham, including first single I Dont Mind, are about the challenges couples face in long-term relationships. Also streaming is On the Wrong Side, a more uptempo track with a characteristic Buckingham guitar solo. Marc Hogan

September 3

Sometimes I Might Be Introvert will be Little Simzs first full-length record since Grey Area in 2019. That same year, she had a starring role in the Netflix revival of Top Boy. The British MC has remained active, putting out an EP last year titled Drop 6 and building anticipation for her album with the singles Introvert and the Cleo Solassisted Woman. With the music video for Woman, Simz stepped into the directors chair for the first time. Alphonse Pierre

TBA

Could it be Lizzo season? On August 13, the Minnesota artist returned with her first single as a lead artist since 2019s Cuz I Love You. Titled Rumors, the track features Lizzos Atlantic Records labelmate Cardi B. Theres no official word yet about a prospective follow-up to Cuz I Love You, which featured the hits Truth Hurts, Good as Hell, and Juice. But Rumors has already started tongues wagging. Marc Hogan

September 10

In 2018, Low released their 12th album, Double Negative, which found the slowcore pioneers bending themselves into a deliriously ambitious new shape. It was a wondrous metamorphosis. This past June, the now-duo of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker (Lows bassist for the past decade, Steve Garrington, has departed) announced their follow-up, Hey What, and it reunites them with producer BJ Burton, who helmed Double Negative, as well as 2015s Ones and Sixes. The singles, like Days Like These and Disappearing, promise yet another glorious reinvention. Marc Hogan

October 8

Los Angelesbased Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin are releasing their debut LP Mercurial World after sharing a string of EPs and singles over four years. The duo first met in Miami as teenagers, bonding over their shared love of Genesis and King Crimson. Now, Tenenbaum and Lewin make glittering retro synth pop, recorded over a year and a half during the pandemic. Mercurial Worlds lyrical musings span from online persona to the theory of time, its tracklist bookended by opener The End and closing track The Beginning. Kelly Liu

September 10

A lot has happened since Matthew E. Whites 2015 album Fresh Blood: He got married, made his television debut, and released two collaborative records. Whites first solo album in six years, K Bay, is named after his studio refuge in Richmond, Kensington Bay. It features familiar collaborators, including guitarist Alan Parker and keyboardists Devonne Harris and Daniel Clarke. Backed by his own label Spacebombs house band, the record is a bold reclamation of independence and identity. White recently shared two radiant singles, Genuine Hesitation and Electric, ahead of its release. Kelly Liu

September 10

In conjunction with a 30th-anniversary reissue of The Black Album, Metallica are releasing The Metallica Blacklist. Benefiting various charities, its a 53-track, four-hour compilation of different artists covering Black Album songs. Heres a sampling of the names on the tracklist: Phoebe Bridgers, Weezer, St. Vincent, J Balvin, Miley Cyrus, Kamasi Washington, Rina Sawayama, the Neptunes, Mac DeMarco, Moses Sumney, and Mickey Guyton. Whew. Marc Hogan

September 17

Last year, Moor Mother teamed up with New York rapper Billy Woods for the captivating, avant-garde album BRASS. Now, the Philadelphia-based experimental artist returns with the solo album Black Encyclopedia of the Air, recorded with soundscape artist and producer Olof Melander in March 2020. She has shared the blistering Zami, named after the Audre Lorde book, and the anxious, Pink Siifufeaturing Obsidian, which she says focuses on thinking about ones proximity to violence. Thinking about violence in the home. Violence in communities. Black Encyclopedia of the Air will be Moor Mothers first release for Anti-, and features Elucid, Nappy Nina, Maassai, and more. Eric Torres

TBA

Normanis solo debut has been a long time in the making. Fans have been clamoring for a full-length album from the singer-songwriter since her first proper solo single, Motivation, came out in 2019. Now, it finally seems like Normanis LP is around the corner. I naturally gravitate toward eerier, darker sounds, she told W when asked about the making of the album, ahead of sharing the comeback single Wild Side. Sound selection is my favorite part of the production process, especially when you get in with a producer who is willing to break barriers. Noah Yoo

October 22

Parquet Courts new album Sympathy for Life features some of the same threads the New York band explored in its past work. The album is, of course, inspired by the city, but where Parquet Courts last album, Wide Awake! was what co-frontman Austin Brown called a record you could put on at a party, the new LP is influenced by the party itself. Produced alongside longtime XL Recordings affiliate Rodaidh McDonald and PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish, Sympathy for Life is led by the song Walking at a Downtown Pace. Noah Yoo

TBA

Saweetie has been such a constant in the music world in the past several years that it feels like her debut album has already happened. But after tons of EPs, hit singles, and gross-out recipes, Pretty B*tch Music is finally set to arrive. The album already has a couple of big lead singles under its belt with Tap In and the Doja Catassisted Best Friend. Alphonse Pierre

TBA

The Smile are a new band made up of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, both of Radiohead fame, and drummer Tom Skinner, a London jazz scene fixture who plays with Sons of Kemet. On May 22, they made their live debut as the surprise headliner for Glastonburys streaming event. The bands release plans are unclear, but Yorke has credited Nigel Godrich as a producer, and their Glastonbury set delivered some Radiohead-like songs with titles like We Dont Know What Tomorrow Brings and Thin Thing. Marc Hogan

September 24

Sufjan Stevens made his latest album, A Beginners Mind, with Angelo De Augustine, creating the album at a cabin in Upstate New York. The record is loosely based on Stevens and De Augustines time together watching movies, resulting in songs like Back to Oz, which he completed after watching Return to Oz. Gio Santiago

November 19

2012s Red is the second Taylor Swift album to get the Taylors Version treatment. In addition to re-recorded versions of the original tracksincluding an additional 10-minute version of fan-favorite All Too Welland one-off cuts (Ronan), there will be new bonus songs featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Chris Stapleton, and Ed Sheeran. Ever the plotter, Swift revealed some of these clues in a puzzle for her fans to crack. Cat Zhang

October 1

UK electronic artist Tirzah released her mesmerizing debut, Devotion, back in 2018. The follow-up, Colourgrade, was created mainly with regular collaborators Mica Levi and Coby Sey, forming a trio that bonded more closely after touring together for Devotion. Recorded after the birth of her first child and before the birth of her second child, the 10-song album focuses on connection, love, and motherhood and features the enigmatic, off-kilter singles Send Me, Sink In, and Tectonic. Eric Torres

September 24

Have you ever wondered what Kurt Vile would sound like if he fronted the Velvet Underground? Ill Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground & Nico features Vile, Michael Stipe, Iggy Pop, St. Vincent, Courtney Barnett, the Nationals Matt Berninger, Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, and more, covering tracks off the bands 1967 debut. The collection also marks the final production work from the late Saturday Night Live music coordinator Hal Willner, who died last year after showing COVID-19 symptoms. Quinn Moreland

October 29

I Dont Live Here Anymore, the War on Drugs first album since 2017s A Deeper Understanding, is led by the single Living Proof, which sees frontman Adam Granduciel experiment with restraint while still throwing in an electric guitar solo. The band plans to hit the road in 2022still a little while away. Luckily, the group shared its first live album last year. Quinn Moreland

TBA

The Weeknds next album willif you believe GQs descriptionbe made up of Quincy Jones meets Giorgio Moroder meets the best-night-of-your-fucking-life party records. The Weeknd also told the magazine that the follow-up to last years After Hours is the album [hes] always wanted to make. His August solo single Take My Breath is a reunion with Max Martin and Oscar Holter, who previously produced the inescapable After Hours hit Blinding Lights. Marc Hogan

October 8

The World Is a Beautiful Place and Im No Longer Afraid to Dies fourth album Illusory Walls is a testament to patience. The bands first proper LP since 2017s Always Foreign took about a year to complete, with recording and writing taking place remotely between Connecticut and quarantined Philadelphia. The title, a nod to the video game Dark Souls, refers to a hidden surface that seems to prevent entry, but upon inspection, is nothing more than a visual illusion, singer/guitarist David F. Bello has said. The first taste of the new album is Invading the World of the Guilty as a Spirit of Vengeance, also named as a Dark Souls allusion. Marc Hogan

October 15

Its been five years since Xenia Rubinos released Black Terry Cat, and shes now releasing the follow-up Una Rosa in the fall. She calls one of the standout singles, Sacude, her El Juidero: It is my reimagining or retelling of rhythms and melodies I have heard all my life that I carry inside me. Gio Santiago

October 15

Young Thug has had rockstar dreams for some time now, and he may finally live them out on Punk, rumored to be his foray into the genre. He premiered a handful of songs from the project during his NPR Tiny Desk set; the music was heavy on melancholy guitars, live drums, and a delivery that was like Thugs version of spoken word. It sounds like Punk should be drastically different from the more traditional Atlanta rap that filled his Slime Language 2 compilation, although even those cuts have gotten the rockstar treatment. Alphonse Pierre

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