Filter

Founded in September 2018 and located in New York City, Filter is dedicated to promoting thoughtful and humane perspectives on drug use, drug policy, and human rights through journalism.

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One Year On, German Cannabis Legalization Has Uncertain Future

4 days ago | filtermag.org | Sarah Sinclair

Berlin’s “premier smoking lounge” shares a street with high-end wine bars and designer clothing stores. The faceless entrance of Tribe gives nothing away about the stylish interior upstairs, where guests sink into emerald velvet couches, deep in conversation. “Our vision from the beginning was to create something unique, that was not the typical stoner cliche,” Tribe founder Stefan Röhrl, who ran clubs in Barcelona and Ibiza before returning to Germany, told Filter.
“Love Rules”-Essential Exhibition Centers Harm Reduction History

5 days ago | filtermag.org | Helen Redmond

The history of harm reduction in the United States, led by people who use drugs, needs to be remembered, celebrated and understood—especially as a backlash full of lies and disinformation about what harm reduction means is unleashed across the country and beyond. A piece of that radical history is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art-affiliated MOMA PS1 in Queens, New York.
"Fentanyl Containment Devices" Are Not Quite What They Sound Like

6 days ago | filtermag.org | Kastalia Medrano

The Senate is considering a fentanyl exposure bill that would fund “containment devices.” Rarely do sponsors elaborate on what these actually are, other than that they’re very important, but they’re usually described as devices that contain and safely store suspected drug samples so that they can be preserved as evidence for later testing. If you’re picturing some sort of airtight container, that is wrong.
Texas City Pauses Marijuana Arrests for Two Years, Saves Over $400,000

1 week ago | filtermag.org | Kyle Jaeger

As the Republican attorney general of Texas ramps up legal challenges to local marijuana decriminalization laws, a new report from a key advocacy group estimates that the policy change in one city led to nearly a half-million dollars in cost savings over two years as law enforcement largely stopped making arrests for simple possession.
Judge Dismisses Federal Consent Decree for Minneapolis Police

1 week ago | filtermag.org | Alexander Lekhtman

A judge has thrown out the federal consent decree for the Minneapolis Police Department, which followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd by city police. The decision ends federal oversight, despite the Department of Justice having found the police department to engage in persistent illegal and racist practices. Any reforms to Minneapolis policing will now depend on the city or Minnesota governments.
Ohio Republicans Plan to "Gut" Voter-Approved Marijuana Legalization

1 week ago | filtermag.org | Alexander Lekhtman

Republican lawmakers in Ohio are seeking to undo major aspects of a voter-approved marijuana-legalization measure—by introducing restrictions that could increase criminalization, and gutting social equity provisions. In November 2023, Ohio voters decisively approved a ballot measure, Issue 2, by a 14-point margin. It took effect weeks later, legalizing personal possession of marijuana by adults over 21, as well as home cultivation of cannabis plants.
DEA Annual Report: Fentanyl Purity Down, Prohibition Not Yet Working

1 week ago | filtermag.org | Kastalia Medrano

The Drug Enforcement Administration is back with a new National Drug Threat Assessment, the annual report that returned in 2024 after a three-year hiatus. The 2025 NDTA, published May 15, is more bloated than 2024’s, despite the palpable sense that the DEA is running out of things to say. Probably the most useful piece of information in the 2025 NDTA is confirmation that fentanyl purity has been decreasing—at least in samples seized by the DEA.
Trump's DEA Pick Dodges Marijuana Questions as Nomination Advances

2 weeks ago | filtermag.org | Kyle Jaeger

A Senate committee has advanced the confirmation of Terrance Cole to become the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) amid an ongoing review of a marijuana rescheduling proposal that he’s refused to commit to enacting. On May 22, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10, along party lines, to move the nominee to the full Senate for potential confirmation.
CO Passes Historic, Somewhat Unclear Bill Making Prison Visits a Right

2 weeks ago | filtermag.org | Kastalia Medrano

Colorado is poised to become the first state to recognize prison visitation as a right, rather than a privilege. Though HB25-1023 is somewhat ambiguous as to which forms of visitation would be protected for people in higher-security housing, the bill’s approval could represent a watershed moment for prisoner rights if used as a precedent by lawmakers in other states. The Colorado legislature sent the finalized bill to Governor Jared Polis (D) on May 16.
Connecticut Psilocybin Decrim Bill Advances to Senate

2 weeks ago | filtermag.org | Alexander Lekhtman

The Connecticut House of Representatives has advanced a bill that would decriminalize possession of small quantities of psychedelic mushrooms. On May 19, representatives voted 74-65 to send House Bill 7065 on to the Senate, where similar proposals have died in previous legislative sessions. If enacted, it would take effect October 1.