Research Library

Effective drug policy requires acceptance that, for better or worse, licit and illicit drug use is part of our world. The authors recommend several steps the federal government can take to facilitate more pragmatic and effective drug policy at all levels of government.

If the global economy is to recover after the pandemic, the United States must reestablish mutually beneficial economic relations with China. But the new administration should be careful to resist unrestrained Chinese "soft power" influence on our education, research and creative industries.

Decades of research demonstrate the critical importance of early childhood development, but the United States ranks last among wealthy countries in child health outcomes. This brief lays out a series of recommendations to improve the developmental potential of American children.

In testimony before the Texas House of Representatives Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Neill Harris expressed support for limiting arrests for fine-only offenses and expanding cite-and-release eligibility to include nonviolent misdemeanors and low-level drug possession. These changes will save taxpayers money and reduce the racially disparate burdens of incarceration without compromising public safety, she said.

The drastic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on organized crime in Mexico requires policymakers and law enforcement in the U.S. and Mexico to adapt their strategies, the authors write.

The death of George Floyd has accelerated calls for police reform. Although decriminalizing drugs and the people who use them will not end police violence, it is part of the structural change needed to fix the problem, writes fellow Katharine Neill Harris.

Despite a revised institutional approach to fighting corruption, Mexico continues to face issues related to systemic corruption in the public and private arenas, writes nonresident scholar Stephen D. Morris.

David R. Brockman, nonresident scholar in religion and public policy, identifies the major religious and political proponents of Christian Americanism in Texas since 2008 and explores how they promote the ideology.

Products containing hemp extracts high in CBD are gaining mainstream popularity, acceptance and federal legality. In this article, Lisa Pittman, nonresident fellow in drug policy, focuses on litigation issues particular to hemp.

According to the authors, as a leading agricultural state, Texas is poised to become the new leader in hemp production, whether for medicinal or industrial purposes.