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Jacob Sullum (Dec 31, 2008)
Ohio recently became the sixth state to ban Salvia divinorum , a psychedelic member of the mint family native to Mexico, where it has been used for centuries as an aid to... more
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Jacob Sullum (Dec 24, 2008)
A couple of years ago, perceiving a giant, light-covered fir at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash., as a symbol of Christmas, the Jewish organization Chabad of Seattle sought to... more
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Jacob Sullum (Dec 17, 2008)
Even Americans whose knowledge of the legislative process is limited to the "I'm Just a Bill" episode of "Schoolhouse Rock" know about the veto: If Congress approves... more
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Jacob Sullum (Dec 10, 2008)
In January 2007, Rep. David Price introduced a bill that would have applied American criminal law to all government contractors who commit felonies while working in... more
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Jacob Sullum (Dec 03, 2008)
Last month, on the same day the California Supreme Court agreed to review a state ban on same-sex marriage, the online matchmaker eHarmony settled a New Jersey... more
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Jacob Sullum (Nov 26, 2008)
A year ago, Jack Banas, prosecuting attorney for St. Charles County, Mo., said he would not bring charges against Lori Drew for her role in a MySpace prank that... more
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Jacob Sullum (Nov 19, 2008)
Remember when Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned us that the economy was about to collapse unless Congress immediately authorized him to spend $700 billion on... more
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Jacob Sullum (Nov 12, 2008)
Last week, voters in Massachusetts approved a ballot initiative that eliminates criminal penalties for possessing up to an ounce of marijuana, replacing them with a $100... more
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Jacob Sullum (Nov 05, 2008)
The Apollo Alliance, a coalition of environmentalists and labor unions, wants the federal government to spend $500 billion over 10 years to "build America's 21st century... more
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Jacob Sullum (Oct 29, 2008)
I am not, technically speaking, an undecided voter. I plan to vote for the presidential candidate whose views about the proper role of the federal government are closest... more
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Jacob Sullum (Oct 22, 2008)
Despite all the facile comparisons between the current economic situation and the conditions that preceded the Great Depression, the most recent figures show GDP... more
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Jacob Sullum (Oct 15, 2008)
John McCain calls his promise to help millions of Americans with their mortgages the McCain Resurgence Plan. Ostensibly, the "resurgence" has something to do with home... more
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Jacob Sullum (Oct 08, 2008)
Casting about for an explanation of the baffling resistance among Republicans in the House of Representatives to the $700-billion Wall Street bailout that every... more
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Jacob Sullum (Oct 01, 2008)
"Without immediate action by Congress," President Bush warned last week, "America could slip into a financial panic." Instead, Bush wanted a political panic. The only way... more
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Jacob Sullum (Sep 24, 2008)
Last spring, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to arms, Democrats hoped the decision would neutralize the gun... more
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Jacob Sullum (Sep 17, 2008)
When it comes to questions about youthful marijuana use, Sarah Palin is no Slick Willie. "I can't claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled," the Republican vice... more
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Jacob Sullum (Sep 10, 2008)
The Republican platform unveiled last week notes in passing that "the Constitution assigns the federal government no role in local education." Yet the same document offers... more
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Jacob Sullum (Sep 03, 2008)
A few years ago, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma suggested taking money earmarked for a notoriously extravagant "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska... more
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Jacob Sullum (Aug 27, 2008)
In 1985, when New York raised its alcohol purchase age to 21 under federal pressure, I was a sophomore at Cornell. One day, I was responsible enough to order a beer; the next... more
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Jacob Sullum (Aug 20, 2008)
In a 2007 survey of California voters, 84 percent said they thought the government should force restaurant chains to display calorie numbers on their menus and menu boards.... more
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Jacob Sullum (Aug 13, 2008)
When Owen Beck was 17, doctors amputated his right leg to stop the spread of bone cancer. His parents, desperate to find a drug that would relieve their son's excruciating... more
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Jacob Sullum (Aug 06, 2008)
If someone develops a practical mind-reading device, you can expect the Department of Homeland Security to argue that skulls are merely another "closed container" that... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jul 30, 2008)
Frustrated by Tom Coburn's "unprecedented obstructionism," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cobbled together a "Tomnibus" of 35 bills with "broad -- virtually unanimous... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jul 23, 2008)
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the District of Columbia had violated the Second Amendment by making armed self-defense in the home impractical and banning... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jul 16, 2008)
"This is a difficult case," writes Judge Michael Hawkins, dissenting from a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. That is not the way most people... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jul 09, 2008)
Members of Congress don't like being criticized, especially close to an election. They also don't like facing challengers who can pay for their own campaigns.
In 2002,... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jul 02, 2008)
"What works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne," Barack Obama said after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Washington, D.C., gun ban. The Illinois senator was talking... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jun 25, 2008)
In asking Congress to allow warrantless surveillance of Americans' international communications, President Bush is seeking permission to do something he believes he does... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jun 18, 2008)
According to federal drug czar John Walters, the marijuana available in the United States is better than ever. Well, that's not quite the way he put it, but it's closer... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jun 11, 2008)
For years I've argued that a bill authorizing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco products is bad for consumers. I've said the Family Smoking... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jun 04, 2008)
In the 2007 romantic comedy "Knocked Up" a woman who suspects her husband of having an extramarital affair discovers he is actually sneaking off to play fantasy baseball.... more
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Jacob Sullum (May 28, 2008)
The week before a state appeals court condemned the wholesale removal of children from the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, a spokesman for Texas Child Protective... more
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Jacob Sullum (May 21, 2008)
In a recent speech to the National Rifle Association, John McCain presented himself as an advocate of judicial restraint. The presumptive Republican presidential... more
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Jacob Sullum (May 14, 2008)
"We need to stand up to the special interests, bring Republicans and Democrats together and pass the farm bill immediately," Barack Obama declared last November. It was... more
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Jacob Sullum (May 07, 2008)
In 2001, shortly before Michael Bloomberg became a candidate for mayor of New York, an interviewer asked him if he'd ever smoked marijuana. "You bet I did," he said,... more
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Jacob Sullum (Apr 30, 2008)
I'm not quite as old-fashioned as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), which hews to the early-marriage customs of the 19th century and... more
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Jacob Sullum (Apr 23, 2008)
In his recent Supreme Court opinion upholding Kentucky's execution method, Chief Justice John Roberts says the state's lethal injection procedure passes constitutional... more
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Jacob Sullum (Apr 16, 2008)
According to John Yoo, the president's powers under the Constitution are so broad that the Constitution itself cannot restrain them. In a recently declassified 2003 memo, the... more
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Jacob Sullum (Apr 09, 2008)
Last week the House Energy and Commerce Committee overwhelmingly approved legislation that would authorize the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco... more
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Jacob Sullum (Apr 02, 2008)
There are two kinds of people in the world: the kind who think it's perfectly reasonable to strip search a 13-year-old girl suspected of bringing ibuprofen to school,... more
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Jacob Sullum (Mar 26, 2008)
On Friday [March 21], a House Appropriations Committee website was so overwhelmed by legislators' wish lists that it crashed, forcing the committee to extend the... more
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Jacob Sullum (Mar 19, 2008)
In most of the places where this column appears, the four-letter words it contains will not be spelled out. Instead, they will be rendered as initial letters followed... more
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Jacob Sullum (Mar 12, 2008)
In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed piece, Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the District of Columbia's gun restrictions,... more
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Jacob Sullum (Mar 05, 2008)
For Americans tired of hearing how we lag behind other developed nations in teaching children math, science and reading, a new report highlights an area where the United... more
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Jacob Sullum (Feb 27, 2008)
Under the Second Amendment, Barack Obama says, "There is an individual right to bear arms, but it is subject to common-sense regulation, just like most of our rights... more
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Jacob Sullum (Feb 20, 2008)
By now, you probably have heard the rumors about Barack Obama and drugs. A recent New York Times report suggests the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential... more
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Jacob Sullum (Feb 13, 2008)
Last month, when an officer of the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission interrogated him about his decision to reprint the notorious Muhammad cartoons that... more
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Jacob Sullum (Feb 06, 2008)
Last August, panicked at the prospect of an imminent terrorist attack that could be averted only by... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jan 30, 2008)
In his 2007 State of the Union speech, right at the moment when the Democrats took over Congress, President Bush came out of the closet as a fiscal conservative. The... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jan 23, 2008)
During this week's Democratic presidential debate, Hillary Clinton said that putting together the right kind of stimulus package is "a part of economic justice." The... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jan 16, 2008)
Ron Paul is not just a rare politician. The Texas Republican's combination of principle and plainspokenness, which has helped his presidential campaign break... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jan 09, 2008)
In his inaugural New York Times column, William Kristol suggests Mike Huckabee may be the right Republican presidential candidate to beat "a liberal Democrat" who will... more
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Jacob Sullum (Jan 02, 2008)
Critics of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma blame it for promoting abuse of the painkiller by encouraging family doctors to prescribe it. "As a result of the... more