Research Library

James A. Baker, III, and George P. Shultz — both former secretaries of state and Treasury secretaries — offer "A Conservative Answer to Climate Change" in a commentary for The Wall Street Journal.

The economic and geopolitical implications of the United States’ nonconventional hydrocarbons revolution on energy markets throughout North America, including Mexico, and the possibilities for policy coordination in the region are explored in this paper.

Understood in its regional context, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs appears to be a continuation rather than a departure from Southeast Asian drug policy.

Katharine Neill, the Alfred C. Glassell, III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy, explains what you should know about the Justice Department's plan to release 6,000 nonviolent drug offenders from federal prison during four days in October and November.

In this report, the authors analyze the potential benefits of expanding jail diversion programs for low-level drug offenses in Harris County.

Baker Institute experts blog on opportunities for the U.S. and Mexico to jointly address the neglected tropical diseases found among the poorest people living in both countries.

A new White House initiative to address rising U.S. heroin use will increase funds to pinpoint the sources of heroin as well as hot spots for drug overdoses. Baker Institute Blog: http://bit.ly/1h0W7r2

In physics, extensive collaborations, access to colleagues’ data and rigorous peer review make it extremely difficult for individual researchers to bend the rules. Furthermore, physics does not harbor the types of ethical minefields characteristic of the biosciences. No thorny questions arise pertaining to human or animal life, nor do physicists commonly grapple with the ethical haze of intellectual property when patents and money are at stake. Things seem to be black and white in physics. But are they?

Drug policy has experienced an interesting shift recently. Along with legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, many states are also reducing penalties for nonviolent drug offenses and placing greater focus on treatment for drug users. The emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation for drug users is the result of many factors, including recognition that the drug war has not reduced drug use, a desire to reduce the prison population and save money, and a surge in the rate of overdoses from opioid and heroin use. What remains to be seen is whether the current popularity of drug treatment will become a more permanent feature of drug policy. In this Baker Institute Viewpoints series, five experts on drug policy examine the question, “Is the current emphasis on treatment in drug policy a short-term trend or is it here to stay?”