Drugs on the Docket

This episode explores the evolution of gun and drug laws in the United States, highlighting common policy origins and legal principles underpinning the current fight for access. Hosts Hannah Miller and Doug Berman are joined by guest Jacob Sullum to discuss his latest book,  Beyond Control: Drug Prohibition, Gun Regulation, and the Search for Sensible Alternatives —a critique of regulatory framewo...

In the first episode of season 4, host Hannah Miller and cohost Douglas Berman unpack amici briefs and oral arguments from the Supreme Court case, United States v. Hemani. The case raises deep questions about enforcement, personal liberty, and how far the government can go to prevent harm. Guests Joel Johnson and Jake Charles bring expert perspectives to this pending case that sits at the uneasy c...

In the final episode of the season, host Hannah Miller teams up with cohost Logan Davis to explore the complex intersection of federal drug policy and campus life. Cohost-turned-guest Douglas Berman is joined by Dr. Jim Lange to discuss the legacy of the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and trends in student substance use, enforcement, and recovery support. This episode sheds light on how hig...

In the U.S., federal sentencing guidelines for drug-related offenses operate based on drug type and quantity. The most common category of federal drug offenders found with large quantities of powder cocaine are ‘boat defendants’—poor, unarmed foreign nationals detained at sea. When professors Kendra McSweeney and Mat Coleman dug into the sentencing data for this rare type of drug courier, they unc...

In this episode, Host Hannah Miller and co-host Douglas Berman speak with NYU law professor Rachel Barkow about her latest book,  Justice Abandoned . Barkow presents a powerful critique of the Supreme Court’s role in perpetuating mass incarceration by failing to enforce key constitutional protections. She offers insights into how the justice system got here—from the political climate of the l...

In this episode of Drugs on the Docket, Udi Ofer—renowned human rights lawyer and founding director of Princeton’s Policy Advocacy Clinic—shares insights on training the next generation of policy advocates and navigating bipartisan criminal justice reform. From the EQUAL Act to sentencing disparities, Ofer joins hosts Hannah Miller and Douglas Berman to provide a compelling look at how p...

In October 2022, President asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to review how marijuana is scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This sparked a multi-step formal rulemaking process that is ongoing. In this episode we showcase a virtual panel discussion hosted by the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center on April...

In the first episode of Season 3, returning guests Doug Passon and Mark Allenbaugh join hosts Hannah Miller and Douglas Berman to examine the legacy of United States v. Booker , the landmark Supreme Court case that 20 years ago transformed the federal sentencing guidelines from mandatory to advisory. They discuss the impact of Booker on judicial discretion, federal drug sentencing, and legislative...

Host Hannah Miller and co-host Douglas Berman, executive director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, speak with journalist and Moritz College of Law alum, Chris Geidner. Geidner publishes Law Dork, which provides wide-ranging legal reporting and analysis of U.S. trial and appellate courts as well as the Supreme Court. In this episode, Geidner offers his insights into a number of 2024 SCOTU...

Host Hannah Miller and co-host Doug Berman, executive director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, speak with the Honorable Judge Carlton W. Reeves, Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission and U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi. Judge Reeves discusses his role as Chair of the Sentencing Commission and the recent activities of the Commission, includin...

In this episode, host Hannah Miller and co-host Douglas Berman, executive director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, speak with author and professor David Pozen to discuss his new book, The Constitution of the War on Drugs . In this groundbreaking work, Pozen provides a comparative history lesson on U.S. court cases in which constitutional arguments for drug-rights were or were not employ...

Host Hannah Miller sits down with guests Tasha Perdue and Sydney Silverstein to discuss their recent research centering on the overdose crisis, the relationship between stigma, substance use, and treatment, Good Samaritan laws, and the role of law enforcement in harm reduction efforts. Tasha Perdue is an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University John Glenn College of Public Affairs and affi...

Host Hannah Miller and co-host Douglas Berman, executive director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, continue their conversation with Alison Siegler and Erica Zunkel. Part 2 covers how the University of Chicago Law School’s Federal Criminal Justice Clinic pushed the boundaries of criminal defense and leveraged the First Step Act to secure compassionate release for stash house defendants wh...

Host Hannah Miller and co-host Douglas Berman, executive director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, kick off Season 2 with guests Alison Siegler and Erica Zunkel from the University of Chicago. Part 1 of this two-part episode focuses on clients ensnared in undercover stash house sting operations carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and how the Feder...

Host Hannah Miller and co-host Doug Berman round out our first set of bonus episodes with an update to Season 1 Episode 6. Listen as they discuss recent state-level court rulings regarding probable cause in response to increasing marijuana legalization across the U.S. They also dig into the way culture can influence both what we see as acceptable behavior in our communities and police interactions...

Host Hannah Miller and co-host Doug Berman are taking a second look at Season 1 Episode 5, the United States Sentencing Commission, and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Listen as they discuss an amendment to the current sentencing guidelines, the research that led to this policy change, and the impact the amendment could have on thousands of incarcerated individuals. Transcript

Host Hannah Miller and co-host Doug Berman reflect on Season 1 Episode 4, and delve further into the history and inequitable application of mandatory minimum sentences and current legislative efforts to improve the federal legal system. Listen as they explore the upcoming case before SCOTUS, Pulsifer v. United States , and its potential to widen or narrow the safety valve through which thousands o...

Host Hannah Miller and co-host Doug Berman look back at Season 1 Episode 3, and discuss what a new Chief Justice for the Ohio Supreme Court could signal about the court’s interest in reentry efforts. They also unpack a provision from Ohio Senate Bill 288 that allows prosecutors to apply for expungement on behalf of those with some low-level marijuana possession offenses. Transcript

Host Hannah Miller and co-host Doug Berman delve into an appellate court case,  United States v. Kim , through the lens of  Ruan v. United States , a major Supreme Court decision and topic of Season 1 Episode 2. Listen as they offer insights into how the Supreme Court case may reshape the government’s response to America’s overdose crisis through the prosecution of doctors for over-presc...

Host Hannah Miller and co-host Doug Berman look back at Season 1 Episode 1, providing updates and insights into the continued struggle to change the crack to powder cocaine ratio from 18:1 to 1:1 and further reduce unwarranted sentencing disparities. Transcript

In this episode, host Hannah Miller and co-host Ric Simmons, professor of law at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, speak with Gabriel “Jack” Chin about unlawful search and seizures, the Fourth Amendment, and police discretion. Chin is professor of law at the University of California Davis School of Law where he teaches criminal law, criminal procedure, and immigration law. Chin’s wr...

In this episode, host Hannah Miller and co-host Douglas Berman, executive director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, speak with Doug Passon and Mark Allenbaugh. Passon is a criminal defense lawyer of over twenty-five years, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, and host of the  Set for Sentencing  podcast. Allenbaugh is an attorney and entrepreneur with nationally-re...

In this episode, host Hannah Miller and co-host Erik Luna, executive director of the Academy for Justice at Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, speak with Weldon Angelos and former United States District Court Judge Paul Cassell. In 2004, Angelos was sentenced to a mandatory 55-year prison term for a low-level marijuana offense due to the mandatory applicat...

In this episode, host Hannah Miller and co-host Douglas Berman, executive director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, speak with Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor just weeks before her retirement. Chief Justice O’Connor was the tenth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio and the first woman to lead the state’s judicial branch of government. With a public service career...

In this episode, host Hannah Miller and co-host Patricia Zettler, associate professor of law at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, speak with Jenn Oliva and Kelly Gillespie. Oliva is professor of law at UC College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings Law). Gillespie is professor and director of the Center for Health Law Studies at Saint Louis University Scho...