What Should Our Drug Laws Be?

The recent legalization of marijuana in two US states and the continuing drug war in Latin America and beyond place drug policy issues at the forefront of national debate. Should we decriminalize or legalize marijuana more widely? And how about other drugs that are currently illegal? How should we react to the emergence of new synthetic substances? Is the incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders something that should end now, or not? Should addiction treatment ever be mandatory, rather than optional? And should harm reduction programs like needle exchanges be a key element of national drug policy?

By joining our Twitter chat—co-hosted with the national nonprofit addiction treatment organization Phoenix House—you'll be able to discuss all these questions and more with policy experts, journalists, professionals and anyone else with an opinion on drug laws.

To join, just log on to Twitter at 3 pm EST on Wednesday February 6 and search for the hastag #drugpol—and be sure to include #drugpol in all your tweets so other participants can see what you're saying. Follow @_TheFix and @PhoenixHouse, tweet your answers to the key questions asked by these accounts between 3 and 4 pm, and make sure your views are heard!