U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plan to negotiate the possible release of WNBA player Brittney Griner, who yesterday was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony for traveling with cannabis products. That jaw-dropping punishment highlights stark differences between the United States and Russia in the treatment […]
A recent robbery at Best Buds, a marijuana dispensary in Portland, Oregon, was “so violent” that it “sent shockwaves through the industry,” Willamette Week reports. “Thieves pistol-whipped one employee and shot at another as he emerged from the restroom with his hands up.” That was not an isolated incident. Willamette Week notes that “crime at […]
In my column this week, I note that the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was hailed as victory for “common sense” gun control when it was approved last month, increased the penalties for illegal possession of firearms. The law raised the maximum sentence for people with felony records from 10 to 15 years and created […]
A new report on federal firearm offenses shows that the vast majority involve illegal possession, often without aggravating circumstances or a history of violence. The data undermine the assumption that people who violate gun laws are predatory criminals who pose a serious threat to public safety. They also highlight the racially disproportionate impact of such […]
In Russia, a court has sentenced Moscow council member Alexei Gorinov to seven years in prison for spreading “knowingly false information.” Charges were brought against Gorinov after he opposed the council holding a children’s drawing contest and a dancing festival while the war in Ukraine is underway. “I believe all efforts of [Russian] civil society […]