The New York Times editorial board expressed concern this week that the massive marijuana craze in America might have some major side effects — besides drowsiness and the munchies.
The Times editorial board, which dedicated a series of articles to pushing for marijuana legalization over 10 years ago, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/opinion/regulate-legalized-marijuana.html">admitted</a> on Monday that some of its arguments for legalized weed have been proven wrong after states began allowing recreational and medicinal marijuana use. It seems that many talking points from the pro-marijuana legalization side are falling apart as research uncovers some brutal truths about America&#8217;s pot craze.
&#8220;In our editorials, we described marijuana addiction and dependence as &#8216;relatively minor problems.&#8217; Many advocates went further and claimed that marijuana was a harmless drug that might even bring net health benefits. They also said that legalization might not lead to greater use,&#8221; the Times editorial board wrote. &#8220;It is now clear that many of these predictions were wrong. Legalization has led to much more use. Surveys suggest that about 18 million people in the United States have used marijuana almost daily (or about five times a week) in recent years. That was up from around six million in 2012 and less than one million in 1992. More Americans now use marijuana daily than alcohol.&#8221;
Later, the editorial board added, &#8220;The unfortunate truth is that the loosening of marijuana policies — especially the decision to legalize pot without adequately regulating it — has led to worse outcomes than many Americans expected. It is time to acknowledge reality and change course.&#8221;
It&#8217;s rare for the Times to admit to so clearly pushing a narrative that turned out to be wrong. So, if America&#8217;s pot problem is becoming so evident that even the legacy media is pumping the brakes, how bad is it?
Addiction and other health issues stemming from marijuana use have spiked in the past decade as more states hopped on the pot bandwagon. As the Times pointed out, a large percentage of marijuana users aren&#8217;t just smoking a joint or two on the weekend; they&#8217;re consuming marijuana on a daily basis. According to <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/marijuana-use-disorder">research</a> from Yale Medicine, a staggering 30% of cannabis users &#8220;meet the criteria for addiction.&#8221;
This heavy reliance on marijuana comes with multiple potential health risks, including cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, which gives users intense stomach pain and can cause vomiting. At least one recent study has also linked cannabis use to schizophrenia. The <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/young-men-highest-risk-schizophrenia-linked-cannabis-use-disorder">study</a>, published in &#8220;Psychological Medicine,&#8221; found that up to 30% of schizophrenia cases in young men can be linked to cannabis use disorder.
A <a href="https://fortune.com/well/article/marijuana-abuse-cannabis-use-disorder-workplace-absenteeism-sick-days/">study</a> conducted by UC San Diego School of Medicine and the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, meanwhile, found that employees who use cannabis regularly were more likely to miss work.
The advocacy group Smart Approaches to Marijuana has also <a href="https://learnaboutsam.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SAM-impact-report-2026-2027.pdf">pointed</a> to research showing that driving fatalities involving marijuana skyrocketed between 2000 and 2018. Kevin Sabet, the president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, told The Daily Wire that legalization leading to increases in addiction was &#8220;absolutely predictable.&#8221;
&#8220;Despite the promises of the legalizers, federal data show that (just as the Times notes) legalization drives use, including youth use increases,&#8221; Sabet said. &#8220;This is true in the national aggregate and in individual state data. It’s not rocket science: If you make a powerful addictive drug easier to access (and send the signal that it’s OK to use in the process), more people are going to use it. That is what I and many other people who were aware of the danger warned would happen and it is precisely what did happen.&#8221;
Now that nearly half the country has legalized marijuana in some or all forms, Sabet said the best path forward is for &#8220;states to focus on making sure that people, and above all young people, know how dangerous and destructive marijuana is: a permanent investment in infrastructure meant to promote prevention and awareness.&#8221;
&#8220;And it’s beyond important to remember here what the Times piece truly reveals,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Namely, that while people may disagree about policies and execution, they are now all agreed on the same set of facts. And those facts show beyond doubt that marijuana is dangerous, addictive, and creating havoc across America.&#8221;
The data pointing to some of these issues was available when the Times editorial board began publishing its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/high-time-marijuana-legalization.html?op-nav">series</a> arguing for federal legalization. In a 2014 <a href="https://www.nber.org/digest/oct14/consequences-legalizing-marijuana?page=1&amp;perPage=50">paper</a>, researchers Hefei Wen, Jason M. Hockenberry, and Janet R. Cummings found that marijuana legalization led to an increase in marijuana abuse and dependence. The 2014 paper also found that as legalization surged, so did the rate at which adolescents experimented with the drug.
Ironically, the Times editorial board&#8217;s shift on marijuana coincides with the federal government in the process of reforming how it regulates the drug. In December, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-reclassifies-marijuana-at-federal-level-we-have-people-begging-for-me-to-do-this">signed</a> an order to open the door to reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug, meaning marijuana would be in the same <a href="https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling#:~:text=Schedule%20I%20drugs%2C%20substances%2C%20or,)%2C%20methaqualone%2C%20and%20peyote.">category</a> as drugs that have “a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” For decades, the U.S. government has categorized marijuana as a Schedule I substance, which is defined as &#8220;no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.&#8221;
The U.S. government&#8217;s potential reclassification would not legalize marijuana at the federal level, but it could reduce the scale of marijuana-related offenses. As the president was considering the marijuana reclassification last year, nearly 50 organizations signed a letter urging Trump to keep marijuana classified as a Schedule I drug, arguing that marijuana &#8220;fits squarely&#8221; in the definition of a Schedule I drug, &#8220;a fact acknowledged in every scheduling review prior to 2023.&#8221;

Marijuana USA

20 Million Americans Say They’re Always High, And Even Liberals Recognize The Craze Has Gone Too Far

Drugs

Leftists

Marijuana

New York Times

Social Issues

U.S.

Controversial live-streamer Clavicular could be facing years in prison following an arrest on drug and forgery charges.
The streamer, whose real name is Braden Peters, was <a href="https://ktar.com/arizona-news/clavicular-arrested-scottsdale/5819599/">taken</a> into custody on February 7 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Peters, 20, was later charged with multiple offenses, including two felony counts, according to court records reviewed online.
During an initial court appearance, which was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVWl-gK9y4Y">streamed</a> on Peters’ Kick channel by a friend who was present at the time, a judge determined there was probable cause to proceed on all charges. The hearing quickly circulated on social media as viewers watched the legal proceedings unfold in real time.
Court documents show Peters was booked on two Class 4 felony counts: possession of a forged instrument and possession or use of a dangerous drug. He also faces a Class 1 misdemeanor charge for a minor using false identification to gain entry into a liquor establishment.
At the hearing, Peters’ attorney challenged the forgery charge, arguing it failed to meet the legal threshold required under Arizona law. Defense counsel asserted that the statute requires intent to defraud, and claimed the alleged fake identification was merely discovered during questioning, not actively used to deceive anyone.
The defense also questioned the legitimacy of the search that allegedly led to the drug charge, arguing there was insufficient justification and that employees at the venue never claimed Peters presented false identification. Counsel further suggested Peters was acting as a promoter at the location, a claim they argued undermined the state’s case.
Despite those objections, the judge ruled that the circumstances surrounding the arrest were sufficient to establish probable cause on all counts. A status conference has been scheduled for February 23 at 8:30 a.m., with a preliminary hearing set for February 26 at the same time.
If convicted, Peters could face substantial prison time. Under Arizona law, a Class 4 felony carries a maximum sentence of 3.75 years for a first-time, non-dangerous offender. The misdemeanor charge carries a potential sentence of up to six months in jail, along with fines that can reach $2,500.
Should the court impose the felony sentences consecutively, Peters’ total prison time could reach 7.5 years, placing his maximum possible sentence near eight years, with the addition of any time imposed for the misdemeanor. If the sentences are instead ordered to run concurrently, the maximum prison term would be significantly lower.
Peters has built an online following around extreme physical discipline and self-improvement content — not all of it traditional. He has previously acknowledged a history of drug use, including admitting to methamphetamine use.
During an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8qj9RNA938">interview</a> with Daily Wire host Michael Knowles, Peters said, &#8220;I do meth, yeah. Meth is very similar to &#8230; Adderall, but it&#8217;s got a little bit better psychoactive benefits &#8230; stimulants cause appetite suppression.&#8221; When pressed on why he was doing meth despite its negative effects, he replied, &#8220;I have enough willpower to be able to taper off of meth.&#8221;
Clavicular also drew public backlash last month for viral clips in which he and a circle of controversial online figures — including Nick Fuentes, Andrew and Tristan Tate, Justin Waller, and streamer Sneako — participated in live-streamed partying, which included the playing of a Ye song that has been widely condemned for its antisemitic lyrics.
He previously drew national attention in December after appearing to run over a supposed “stalker” with his Tesla Cybertruck during a livestream. Authorities later declined to file charges in that incident, though the platform temporarily banned his account.
This most recent bump against the law only adds to the deeply online saga surrounding the controversial streamer, whose career, if he&#8217;s convicted, may come to an abrupt, and lengthy, pause.

Clavicular

Cortisol Spike: Controversial Streamer Clavicular Arrested, Faces Two Felony Charges

Arizona

Courts

Crime

Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, who is accused of running a billion-dollar multinational drug trafficking ring and carrying out multiple killings, pleaded not guilty in court on Monday.
Wedding made his first court appearance Monday since he was arrested in Mexico last week.
United States officials said Wedding had been hiding in Mexico for more than a decade. He was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list last March when authorities offered a $15 million reward for any information leading to his arrest.
According to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/olympic-snowboarder-accused-drug-smuggling-ring-heads-court-129575968">ABC News</a>, Wedding, who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics, moved close to 60 tons of cocaine between Colombia, Mexico, Canada, and Southern California. Wedding is believed to have worked with the Sinaloa Cartel, which is one of Mexico&#8217;s most powerful drug rings.
FBI Director Kash Patel was there for Wedding&#8217;s arrest and described the snowboarder as a modern-day Pablo Escobar.
&#8220;Just to tell you how bad of a guy Ryan Wedding is, he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco-trafficker in modern times,&#8221; Patel said Friday. &#8220;He&#8217;s a modern-day El Chapo. He is a modern-day Pablo Escobar, and he thought he could evade justice.&#8221;
Per ABC, Mexican authorities said Wedding turned himself in at the United States Embassy in Mexico City last week, something Wedding&#8217;s defense attorney, Anthony Colombo, denies.
“He was arrested,” Colombo said. “He did not surrender.”
The defense attorney added that Wedding was in good spirits, but did say that this has been an overwhelming experience for his client.
Wedding was indicted in 2024 on federal charges of running a criminal enterprise, murder, conspiring to distribute cocaine, and other crimes. United States authorities claim in court papers that Wedding’s group obtained cocaine from Colombia and worked with Mexican cartels to move drugs by boat and plane to Mexico and then into the United States using semi trucks. The group would store cocaine in Southern California before sending it to Canada and other locations in the United States, per the indictment obtained by ABC.
Wedding is also accused of directing the killings of two members of a Canadian family in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment in 2023 and for ordering a killing over a drug debt in 2024. The news outlet reported Wedding was indicted on new charges of orchestrating the killing of a witness in Colombia to help him avoid extradition back to the United States.
In Canada, Wedding faces separate drug charges dating back to 2015.
Wedding is scheduled to be back in federal court February 11 with a trial set for March 24.
Wedding competed for Canada in the men&#8217;s parallel giant slalom at the Olympics in 2002. He finished 24th.

Credit: Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images

Former Olympic Snowboarder Pleads Not Guilty To Murder, Drug Trafficking Charges

Mexico

Ryan Wedding

Sports

Two illegal immigrant truckers from India were arrested Saturday for allegedly hauling 309 pounds of cocaine inside a semi-truck they were driving through Putnam County, Indiana, The Daily Wire has learned.
Gurpreet Singh, 25, and Jasveer Singh, 30, were driving from Joplin, Missouri, when they were pulled over by Indiana State Troopers, who observed that their truck was drifting, <a href="https://x.com/angelaganote/status/2008194673597124716" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to FOX59. The troopers brought in a drug-sniffing K9, who helped them locate 140-kilogram packages containing approximately 309 pounds of cocaine that were concealed in the truck&#8217;s sleeper berth.
The cache of drugs is worth an estimated $7 million, according to reports.
During the traffic stop, the illegal immigrant pair presented the troopers with their California-issued commercial driver&#8217;s licenses.
In a statement shared with The Daily Wire, the Department of Homeland Security blamed Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom for the alleged drug smuggling attempt.
“Thanks to Gavin Newsom’s reckless policies, these two criminal illegal aliens were granted commercial licenses by the state of California and were arrested for trafficking a whopping 300 pounds of cocaine inside a semi-truck,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire.
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“Gavin Newsom and his fellow sanctuary politicians even refused to honor an arrest detainer on one of these criminal illegal aliens in December. Sanctuary policies put American lives at risk. ICE law enforcement lodged arrest detainers to ensure these drug traffickers are not allowed back into American communities,&#8221; she said.
Gurpreet Singh crossed the southern border illegally on March 11, 2023, near Lukeville, Arizona, and was released into the country under the Biden administration, DHS told The Daily Wire.
Jasveer Singh crossed the border illegally on March 21, 2017, near Otay Mesa, California. He was arrested in December 2025 in San Bernardino for allegedly receiving stolen property, but was released after sanctuary authorities in California refused to honor a federal immigration detainer.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has since filed detainers with local authorities to ensure that they&#8217;re handed over for deportation rather than eventually released onto the streets after their latest alleged crimes, according to DHS.
During his latest encounter with police, Jasveer said he was employed as a truck driver, but that he hitched a ride with a different carrier for the latest trip, according to FOX59. He said he was instructed to haul an empty tractor-trailer to an Indian restaurant near Richmond, Indiana, to eat food and wait for his cargo load to arrive.
Meanwhile, Gurpreet said he hitched a ride from California to Joplin in a different truck before he met up with Jasveer as they headed to the same Indian restaurant, the outlet reported.
Jasveer also said that the truck lacked the required Electronic Logging Device that ensures drivers aren&#8217;t on the roads for longer than what is considered safe, according to FOX59.
The Trump administration has heavily scrutinized Newsom as it investigates the issuance of commercial driver&#8217;s licenses across the country to illegal immigrants following a string of fatal collisions.
California recently announced that it would delay its effort to cancel thousands of commercial driver&#8217;s licenses issued to foreign drivers.
The Trump administration instructed California to get it done by Jan. 5, threatening to withhold $160 million in federal funding if the state failed to make the deadline.
Newsom responded, saying their delay was a result of &#8220;federal mismanagement.&#8221;
&#8220;YOUR staff told CA DMV they were open to an extension 8 days ago. In fact, FMCSA agreed an extension made logistical sense and was reasonable (in a meeting on Dec. 18)! DMV relied on that guidance and acted accordingly,&#8221; Newsom wrote in a Dec. 31 X post.
&#8220;Only after the plan became public did your agency suddenly object,&#8221; he wrote.

Untitled design – 2026-01-05T153203.397

Illegal Immigrants Caught Hauling 300 Pounds Of Cocaine In Semi-Truck

illegal immigrant

Illegal Immigration

India

Indiana

Truckers

After Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to clarify President Donald Trump&#8217;s Saturday comment that the United States would &#8220;run&#8221; Venezuela following the capture and extradition of Nicolás Maduro, the president reiterated his position Sunday.
“We&#8217;re dealing with the people. We&#8217;re dealing with the people that just got supported. And don&#8217;t ask me who&#8217;s in charge, because I&#8217;ll give you an answer, and it&#8217;ll be very controversial,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One. “We&#8217;re in charge.”
Trump added that there would be elections in Venezuela “at the right time.” 
“We&#8217;re going to run it, fix it,” he said. “It&#8217;s a broken country. There&#8217;s no money. There&#8217;s inflation, like we would have had if I didn&#8217;t win this election, we would have been Venezuela on steroids.”
When asked whether he believed America was back in the business of nation-building, Trump said rebuilding the Venezuelan economy would be good for the country. 
“We’re in the business of having countries around us that are viable, successful and where the oil is allowed to freely come out, because that&#8217;s good, it gets the prices down. That&#8217;s good for our country,” Trump said. “This is Venezuela, our area, the ‘Donroe Doctrine,’” a play on words riffing on the Monroe Doctrine to describe his Trump-branded approach to American leadership in the Western Hemisphere. 
Trump said that he was inspired to take action against Maduro because of the drugs coming into the United States from Venezuela. Over the last few months, the War Department has conducted strikes on more than 30 boats suspected of running drugs, many of them coming from Venezuela. Trump said that drugs coming by sea into the United States were down 97%.
During his conversation with reporters, Trump called for Mexico to take more action to stop drug trafficking. 
“You have to do something with Mexico,” Trump said. “Mexico has to get their act together, because they&#8217;re pouring through Mexico, and we&#8217;re gonna have to do something. We&#8217;d love Mexico to do it. They&#8217;re capable of doing it. But unfortunately, the cartels are very strong in Mexico.”
Trump was also asked about Greenland and whether he had any plans to take control there. He said he wanted to focus on Ukraine and Venezuela for the next few months, but believed it was a strategically important country. 
“We need Greenland from a national security situation. It&#8217;s so strategic right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” Trump said. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

President Trump Returns To The  White House After Spending Holidays In Florida

Trump Says U.S. Is ‘In Charge’ Of Venezuela, Vows To ‘Run It, Fix It’

Donald Trump

Executive

Global Politics

Nicolas Maduro

Politics

Venezuela

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) believes Congress could soon play a larger role in the actions taken by the Trump administration against Venezuela.
Biggs spoke with The Daily Wire’s AmericaFest pre-show to discuss the recent actions against the South American nation and what it means in terms of border anti-drug policies as a border state lawmaker.
“Where we’re heading is Venezuela, effectively, has declared a narcoterrorist drug war on the United States of America. And we are engaged right now in trying to prevent them from getting to our country, and we’re trying to leverage, quite frankly, economically for Maduro to basically say, &#8216;Okay, we’re done being an exporter of narcoterrorism,&#8217;” he said.
Recently, the United States government has seized oil tankers with ties to the South American country, as Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro has not ceded power.
“Until he’s willing to do that, you’re going to see some action, and my guess is you’re going to see Congress be much more involved in this come January,” Biggs said.
When asked if there should be a formal declaration of war from Congress, he said, “The checklist that has to be gone through before there can be any kind of an attack on them, a kinetic attack on them, is the same thing that you would see in any other kind of threat or theater in the world.”
“We know who they are, we know that they&#8217;re drug runners, we know what they&#8217;re carrying, we know where they&#8217;re going. All that has to be confirmed, and they will stop; they won&#8217;t do it if they can&#8217;t answer all of those checkpoints,” Biggs continued.
However, he’s predicting that Congress will eventually be part of the process, as the situation could be “accelerated.”
The Republican is currently running for Arizona governor in a primary with businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson and Rep. David Schweikert.
Both Biggs and Robson have been endorsed by President Donald Trump, and whoever wins the primary will face off against Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs in November in one of the nation’s most competitive gubernatorial races. The Cook Political Report ranks the general election as a “toss-up.” Trump won the key battleground state in 2024.
Running to replace Biggs in Congress is former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who’s been a leading voice on border-related issues for years.
On the border, which has gone largely quiet since Trump took office, Biggs said it serves as proof that “we didn’t need new laws, we just needed to enforce the old ones.”
“We still have some problems — Arizona’s still the number one human and drug trafficking corridor,” he said. “We have it in our state, [and] we’re going to have to shut that down, but I will tell you, the morale is high from those who guarded the border, the Border Patrol guys and gals,” the congressman said.

Andy Biggs

Congressman Explains What Actions Could Come Next Against Venezuela’s ‘Narcoterrorist Drug War’

Military

South America

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. had &#8220;hit&#8221; an area in Venezuela where boats are loaded with drugs, marking the first known time Washington has carried out land operations in Venezuela since a pressure campaign began against President Nicolas Maduro&#8217;s government.
&#8220;There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,&#8221; Trump said.
&#8220;We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area&#8230; it&#8217;s the implementation area. That&#8217;s where they implement, and that is no longer around.&#8221;
It was not immediately clear what target was hit nor which part of the U.S. government acted.
Asked if the CIA had carried out the attack, Trump said: &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to say that. I know exactly who it was but I don&#8217;t want to say who it was.&#8221;
Trump has previously said that he has authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations in Venezuela.
On a radio show last week, Trump made vague comments about an apparent U.S. operation against a &#8220;big facility&#8221; in Venezuela.
The Central Intelligence Agency, the White House, and the Pentagon have not publicly elaborated on those comments and declined to comment on questions posed by Reuters. The Venezuelan government has not commented on the incident Trump described and there have been no independent reports from Venezuela of it.
Primazol, a chemical plant in Zulia state which suffered a fire on Christmas Eve, has denied online rumors that the blaze was what Trump alluded to in his comments. The company also said the fire was quickly extinguished and was under investigation. Nearby residents told Reuters they heard an explosion, saw the fire and smelled chlorine.
The Venezuelan communications ministry, which handles all press requests for the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Trump&#8217;s administration has previously touted its success in taking out suspected drug trafficking vessels, and the Pentagon has posted footage of several of its strikes on social media.
The lack of response by U.S. national security agencies had raised questions about whether the incident Trump mentioned was carried out covertly. Such an operation would likely limit the ability of U.S. officials to speak on the matter.
Last month, Reuters reported that the U.S. was poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations, as the Trump administration escalates pressure on Maduro&#8217;s government.
At the time, two U.S. officials said covert operations would likely be the first part of the new action against Maduro.
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The U.S. mission has primarily focused on military strikes against suspected drug trafficking vessels and has prompted intense oversight from Congress. More than 100 people have been killed in more than 20 strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
Earlier this month, U.S. military leaders briefed lawmakers on an incident in September in which an American strike killed 11 people but left several survivors who were killed in a second strike ordered by Admiral Frank Bradley.
Congressional Democrats have questioned whether the second strike was conducted in accordance with international law.
Trump&#8217;s administration has overseen a massive U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, including more than 15,000 troops.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Erin Banco and Idrees Ali; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk, David Gregorio and Rosalba O&#8217;Brien)

UK Hosts President Trump And First Lady Melania Trump For State Visit – Day Three

U.S. Hits Drug Boat Loading Facility In Venezuela, Trump Says

Cartels

World

Editor’s note: This week, we’re reprinting some of our best stories from the past year. This piece, originally published in September, discusses the dangerous drug sold at gas stations across the country derived from kratom.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary says his agency is working to get ahead of what could be the “fourth wave” of the deadly opioid crisis by targeting a substance derived from the kratom plant that is being sold to young people in gas stations and vape shops all across the nation.
The concentrated compound, 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, is up to 13 times more potent than morphine, according to Makary. Deceptive marketing and easy access are helping fuel its spread, luring in an increasing number of young Americans.
“We can’t get caught flat-footed again,” Makary recently <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-9RKbVl_m8">warned</a>. “We got burned with fentanyl, we got burned with prescription drugs. We cannot get behind the eight ball again. This may be the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic. Concentrated, synthetic, 7-OH may be the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic.”
“7-OH, people need to know, is an opioid,” he emphasized. “You can walk down the street in almost any neighborhood in America and buy an opioid.”
The kratom plant is native to Southeast Asia. In its natural state, some people find it to have healthful and medicinal qualities. The FDA has made clear that it’s not focusing on the natural kratom leaf. They’re targeting concentrated and synthetic forms of kratom, or 7-OH.
At the end of July, the FDA recommended that 7-OH be classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, making it illegal to sell or possess. The agency says it’s an opioid that comes with significant health risks, including addiction and overdose.
Some people may not have even heard of kratom before, but they’ve likely seen kratom-derived 7-OH products in gas stations, corner stores, vape shops, or even online. Kratom, overall, is a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. – and it’s growing fast. In just a few years, the industry is expected to almost double in size.
7-OH is sold in a variety of forms, including powders, vapes, drinks, pills, and products that appeal to children, such as <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-steps-restrict-7-oh-opioid-products-threatening-american-consumers?utm_source=chatgpt.com">fruit-flavored gummies and even ice cream cones</a>.
<div id="attachment_967745" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-967745" class="wp-image-967745 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-864x576.jpg" alt=" In this photo illustration, a bottle with Kratom liquid and bags of capsules with the herbal supplement Kratom inside are seen on May 10, 2016 in Miami, Florida. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Joe Raedle/Getty Images</div>
These products are often inaccurately labeled concerning their 7-OH content, and can be disguised or marketed as merely the kratom plant. There’s also no federal age restriction on these products, though <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/kratom-targeted-crackdowns-states-cities-rcna166661">several states</a> now prohibit the sale of such products to minors.
As far as widespread harm, especially to young Americans, the data are mixed – or perhaps underreported, and too early to tell.
The CDC says there have been some overdose deaths associated with kratom products, but often other substances were also involved. There was also a <a href="https://project.tampabay.com/investigations/deadly-dose/kratom-overdose-deaths-florida-mitragynine-testing/">recent report</a> from the Tampa Bay Times that links kratom products to hundreds of deaths just in the state of Florida, over the past decade. Additionally, more and more anecdotal accounts of 7-OH-related addictions and deaths fill the web, though they remain unverified.
A toxicologist and emergency physician from Albany Medical Center, Dr. Alicia Tudor, believes kratom-related harms are being underreported, specifically regarding overdoses.
“I’ll see it in the emergency department and then probably more often in the addiction clinic that I work at as well,” Tudor <a href="https://cbs6albany.com/news/wellness-watch/ballston-spa-mother-advocates-for-kratom-regulation-after-sons-death-controlled-substance-legislation-bill-protest-overdose-toxicology">told</a> WRGB.
Toxicology tests are not always given when patients come in for an overdose, she said. “Then the results would come back, you know, weeks later, and at that point, the patient’s been discharged and doing better,” Tudor added.
<div id="attachment_967751" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-967751" class="wp-image-967751 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-864x576.jpg" alt="Cari Scribner with photos of her son, Nickolas, on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in her home Ballston Spa, NY. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jim Franco/Albany Times Union via Getty Images</div>
New York mother Cari Scribner wants action taken on these highly concentrated kratom products. Her 27-year-old son, Nickolas, died last year from what appears to have been a kratom-related death.
Scribner <a href="https://cbs6albany.com/news/wellness-watch/ballston-spa-mother-advocates-for-kratom-regulation-after-sons-death-controlled-substance-legislation-bill-protest-overdose-toxicology">says</a> her son started using the products to manage anxiety, depression, and insomnia, believing it was merely an “all natural herbal, energy, and health supplement.”
In a similar tragedy, Makary relayed the contents of a letter from a grieving stepfather of a young man who had finally quit addiction, only to purchase 7-OH without being aware of its contents.
“He called me on May 31 to tell me he had stopped at the vape shop to buy a vape and was offered a fruity pill, and was told that it was kratom,” Makary read the letter aloud. “He said that he took the pill and became addicted, and should have done his research. He died the night he took two 20 mg 7-OH pills. The wrapper was at his bedside. There were no other drugs or alcohol in the house.”
While kratom has been widely used in the U.S. for some time, concentrated 7-OH has only risen in popularity within the last five years. Ultimately, the FDA is moving to stop the substance from causing more widespread harm before it’s too late.
And it’s not just the FDA taking action. Florida is leading the way on the state level. Earlier this month, Florida AG James Uthmeier announced an emergency rule to classify 7-OH as a Schedule I controlled substance. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine has also <a href="https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/governor-dewine-calls-on-pharmacy-board-to-schedule-+kratom-compounds-as-illegal-drugs">urged</a> the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to designate synthetic and natural kratom compounds as illegal drugs. Additionally, a number of other states have moved to add age restrictions for 7-OH or limitations on concentrations of the compound.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is currently reviewing the FDA’s recommendation to effectively ban 7-OH.

Kratom

Best Of 2025: This Drug Is Sold in Your Gas Station. It May Trigger the ‘Fourth Wave’ Of The Opioid Crisis.

Health

Prescription Drugs

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to clear the way for making marijuana a Schedule III drug, which brings along reforms in how the federal government regulates the substance.
The order means the drug will no longer be classified under Schedule I, which is at the same level as heroin, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/18/trump-pot-reclassification-cannabis-stocks-medicare-cbd.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC</a>. This does not make it legal nationwide, but it allows for more research and enables marijuana sellers in states where it’s legal to take advantage of tax write-offs at the federal level, <a href="https://www.marijuanamoment.net/trump-signs-executive-order-to-reclassify-marijuana-by-removing-it-from-schedule-i/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marijuana Moment</a> reported.
“Today I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing an executive order to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses,” the president said at an event in the Oval Office on Thursday.
“We have people begging for me to do this. People that are in great pain. For decades, this action has been requested by American patients suffering from extreme pain, incurable diseases, aggressive cancers, seizure disorders, neurological problems, and more, including numerous veterans with service-related injuries and older Americans who live with chronic medical problems that severely degrade their quality of life,” he continued.
The president stressed that the order does not mean that recreational marijuana is legal nationwide.
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“I want to emphasize that the order I am about to sign is not the legalization; it doesn&#8217;t legalize marijuana in any way, shape, or form and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug,” he said. Twenty-four states have made recreational marijuana legal, with many more having laws regarding its medical use.
However, the reclassification got some conservative pushback before it was formally announced in recent days.
Over two dozen Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the president earlier on Thursday opposing the reclassification.
“Reclassifying marijuana would send the wrong message to our children, worsen addiction, undermine public safety, and hand billions in tax relief to the marijuana industry and foreign criminal cartels. Marijuana has no proven medical value, increases roadway danger, and fuels addiction,” Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) posted to X.
“We must keep it classified as a Schedule I substance under DEA regulations and put families, public safety, and America’s future FIRST!” he added.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doobie-debate-blazes-groups-urge-trump-to-reject-flawed-weed-reclassification-push" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> reported in August that roughly 50 groups also sent a letter opposing the move, writing that the president has “an opportunity to make a stand for the safety of children across America by opposing the flawed proposal to reschedule marijuana.”

Trump Reclassifies Marijuana At Federal Level: ‘We Have People Begging For Me To Do This’

Trump Administration

Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton suggested Sunday that the Trump administration might soon begin to “murder” Americans.
Moulton, who is running for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, made the radical claim during an appearance on CNN in which he suggested that the administration’s actions against narcoterrorists in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean may be replicated against Americans.
“The President of the United States and his secretary of Defense are conducting murder on the high seas. They&#8217;re committing murder and Americans should care,” <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/1997768199379505464">said</a> Moulton. “None of us like drug traffickers, but we have laws that say that drug traffickers don&#8217;t get summarily executed, and if it&#8217;s happening off the coast of America with people that we don&#8217;t know, just give it time before Donald Trump starts doing the same kind of thing to people we do know right here at home.”
The administration has declared major drug cartels in South America as terror groups, and positioned roughly 15,000 troops in the Caribbean Sea to combat narcoterrorists trafficking fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the United States. The U.S. military has destroyed roughly two dozen boats and submarines in international waters that the administration said were trafficking illicit drugs.
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Democrats ramped up criticisms of the Trump administration’s war on drugs after a report from The Washington Post last month claimed that War Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a “kill them all” order carried out against survivors of a destroyed drug-running vessel.
Top military officials have contested the report. Adm. Mitch Bradley said in a closed-door hearing in Congress last week that Hegseth never gave such an order. In one September incident that has become the basis for Democratic claims of war crimes, Bradley made the call to send a follow-up strike against a vessel that he deemed was still a threat.
Democrats have pushed to have the classified video of the follow-up strike made public. Sen. Tom Cotton, who has seen the video, appeared on NBC News on Sunday and said he had “no problem” with releasing it as long as doing so does not risk national security.
“I will say that the [Department of War] may have valid concerns about revealing what we know about tactics and techniques that these cartels are using or about our sources or methods,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-cotton-has-no-problem-with-releasing-video-of-drug-boat-double-tap">said</a> Cotton. “I would trust Secretary Hegseth and his team to make the decision about whether they can declassify and release the video. But again, there’s nothing remarkable on that video in my opinion.”

Seth Moulton

Dem Congressman Suggests Trump Will ‘Murder’ Americans Like Narcoterrorists

Congress

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Pete Hegseth

GOP Sen. Tom Cotton has no objections to releasing the full video of the U.S. military strike on a drug boat that has become central to Democratic claims of war crimes committed by the Trump administration.
The Arkansas senator appeared on NBC News’ “Meet The Press” on Sunday and defended the actions taken by the U.S. military to curb the flow of fentanyl and other drugs into the United States, specifically striking vehicles used to ferry drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
One incident in September has sparked accusations from Democrats that War Secretary Pete Hegseth committed a war crime after a second military strike was ordered on a drug boat that was not destroyed by an initial missile.
The accusations against Hegseth began after The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/28/hegseth-kill-them-all-survivors-boat-strike/">reported</a> that the War secretary gave an order to “kill them all.” Top military officials have since testified to Congress that no such order was given, and Republican lawmakers who have seen the mission order have said that no such language exists in the order that would direct military personnel to commit war crimes.
Senate Republicans, including Cotton, have also reviewed the footage of the second strike on the drug boat and said that the strike did not constitute a war crime because the vessel, though damaged and capsized, still represented a valid military target and could have been used to call in additional narcoterrorists. Cotton said Sunday that he would have “no problem” releasing the video to the public, though the military may have national security reasons for not wanting the footage public.
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“I personally don&#8217;t have any problem with” releasing the footage, Cotton <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-december-7-2025-n1313135">said</a>. “It&#8217;s not gruesome. I didn&#8217;t find it distressing or disturbing. It looks like any number of dozens of strikes we&#8217;ve seen on Jeeps and pickup trucks in the Middle East over the years.”
“I will say that the department may have valid concerns about revealing what we know about tactics and techniques that these cartels are using or about our sources or methods,” he added. “I would trust Secretary Hegseth and his team to make the decision about whether they can declassify and release the video. But again, there&#8217;s nothing remarkable on that video in my opinion.”
Adm. Mitch Bradley testified to Congress last week, denying that Hegseth gave a “kill them all” order. Bradley said that while Hegseth was present to watch the first strike delivered against the drug boat in September, the War secretary left to attend to other matters. Bradley gave authorization for the second strike after assessing that the vessel was still a threat.
Hegseth’s orders at that point had not <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/even-the-new-york-times-isnt-sold-on-washington-post-hegseth-hit">specified</a> what to do if a drug boat was not completely destroyed in an initial strike, according to reporting from The New York Times.
Democrats have continued to push the story, alleging that Hegseth authorized a war crime and should be held accountable. Lawmakers have also <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/07/second-strike-democratic-lawmakers-demand-transparency-00679899">pushed</a> for release of the video depicting the second strike on the boat and suggested that service members who take part in illegal orders could be formally punished.

Tom Cotton

Tom Cotton Has ‘No Problem’ With Releasing Video Of Drug Boat Double-Tap

A former Honduran president who was convicted of helping drug smugglers import 400 tons of cocaine into the United States walked free on Monday after receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump.
Juan Orlando Hernandez, who received a 45-year sentence last year, was released from a federal prison in West Virginia after writing a letter to Trump in late October, arguing that he was the target of a political prosecution and was set up by the Biden administration. Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115629406693931908">announced</a> on Friday that he was planning on granting Hernandez &#8220;a Full and Complete Pardon.&#8221; The president said that &#8220;according to many people that I greatly respect,&#8221; Hernandez was &#8220;treated very harshly and unfairly.&#8221;
Hernandez&#8217;s wife confirmed on Tuesday morning that her husband was a free man.
&#8220;After nearly four years of pain, waiting, and difficult trials, my husband Juan Orlando Hernández RETURNED to being a free man, thanks to the presidential pardon granted by President Donald Trump,&#8221; Ana García de Hernández <a href="https://x.com/anagarciacarias/status/1995796971739656532">said</a>.
Hernandez was convicted in a U.S. court of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States in what prosecutors called a &#8220;corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy,&#8221; CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/us-arrests-indicts-former-honduran-president-juan-orlando-hernandez/">reported</a>. Hernandez was also accused of using money he received from drug trafficking &#8220;to enrich himself, finance his political campaigns, and commit voter fraud, including in connection with the 2013 and 2017 Honduran presidential elections.&#8221;
In his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/02/us/politics/hernandez-letter.html">letter</a> to President Trump pleading for mercy, Hernandez argued that his conviction was based on &#8220;uncorroborated statements from drug traffickers, one of whom even recorded a video exposing senior members of the Honduran radical left party, Libre, discussing bribes with traffickers, yet admitted during my rigged trial that they had no evidence to support their accusations against me.&#8221;
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Hernandez&#8217;s letter was given to Trump by the president&#8217;s adviser and longtime ally Roger Stone hours before the president said he was going to pardon the former Honduran president, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/02/us/trump-ukraine-putin-news#hernandez-honduras-trump">reported</a>.
Trump&#8217;s decision to free a former Central American president who was convicted of a massive drug trafficking scheme was criticized by some on the Right and the Left, especially since Trump is currently taking out suspected Venezuelan drug runners and pressuring Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to curb drug trafficking into the United States.
&#8220;Why would we pardon this guy and then go after Maduro for running drugs into the United States? Lock up every drug runner! Don’t understand why he is being pardoned,&#8221; Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) <a href="https://x.com/SenBillCassidy/status/1995213682406760812">said</a> last week after Trump announced his plan to pardon Hernandez.
Trump <a href="https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/1995264956262949278">told</a> reporters on Sunday that &#8220;many of the people of Honduras said that it was a Biden setup.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t mean Biden, look, Biden didn&#8217;t know he was alive,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;But it was the people that surrounded the Resolute Desk, that surrounded Biden when he was there. &#8230; [Hernandez] was the president of the country, and they basically said he was a drug dealer because he was the president of the country, and they said it was a Biden administration setup, and I looked at the facts and I agreed with them.&#8221;
The U.S. investigation into Hernandez <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/31/americas/honduras-juan-orlando-hernandez-dea-intl">began</a> in 2013, and he was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/juan-orlando-hern%C3%A1ndez-former-president-honduras-indicted-drug-trafficking">indicted</a> in early 2022. The indictment charges that between 2004 and 2022, Hernandez protected drug runners who trafficked hundreds of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States, and, in return, Hernandez and other Honduran officials received millions of dollars. Drug cartels in Honduras have long worked with cartels in countries such as Venezuela and Colombia to transport drugs into the United States, according to the Justice Department.
Trump&#8217;s pardon of Hernandez comes as Honduras is in the middle of a close presidential election, with results showing a &#8220;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2dgp8mvmno">technical tie</a>&#8221; between right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura and liberal Salvador Nasralla. Trump endorsed Asfura, saying that the candidate has the &#8220;confidence&#8221; of the United States.
&#8220;If Tito Asfura wins for President of Honduras, because the United States has so much confidence in him, his Policies, and what he will do for the Great People of Honduras, we will be very supportive,&#8221; Trump wrote last week. &#8220;If he doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is.&#8221;

Juan Orlando Hernandez

Trump Frees Former Honduran President Convicted Of Flooding U.S. With Cocaine

Trump Frees Former Honduran President Who Was Convicted Of Flooding U.S. With Cocaine

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Pardon

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