Social distancing and stay-at-home measures provided scientists with a natural experiment to study social phenomena that hinge precisely on human mobility and contact — including criminal activity. A study by Center for the U.S. and Mexico experts and co-authors explores the relationship between COVID-19 and criminal activity in Mexico.

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Purpose – Despite the progression of recreational cannabis legalization, the legal system remains the largest…

The recent shift toward legalization has not been enough to undo the racism endemic to U.S. cannabis policy. The authors lay out policies to improve equity and erase the racist legacy of prohibition.

States with large African-American populations are more likely to have harsher incarceration practices, worse conditions of confinement and tougher policies toward juveniles compared with other states, according to a study led by Katharine Neill, the Alfred C. Glassell III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy.

Abstract

The aim of the study is to assess the validity of three measures of illness severity (prior year's hospital…