“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”

- Bertrand Russell

About Charles Shaw

Charles Shaw is a writer and activist living in the Bay Area of San Francisco. He is the author of Exile Nation: Drugs, Prisons, Politics and Spirituality, and the Director of The Exile Nation Project. Charles serves as editor for the Dictionary of Ethical Politics and the oD Drug Policy Forum.

Articles by Charles Shaw

The Exile Nation Project: Trailer

Charles Shaw 26 September 2010

The Exile Nation Project has just released a four-minute trailer of their documentary archive of testimonies from criminal offenders, family members, and notable experts on the far-ranging consequences of the War on Drugs and the American Criminal Justice System.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of September 20th, 2010

Charles Shaw and Mark Weiss 20 September 2010

We lead this first report of the autumn session with exciting news from the first US government approved clinical trial of MDMA therapy for those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Also, as the November general election (and Prop 19) quickly approaches, the weed war heats up in California.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of August 23, 2010

Charles Shaw 24 August 2010

We lead this week's report with a groundbreaking new study from the UK Drug Policy Commission on the extreme social stigma suffered by addicts. It raises some fundamental questions about the nature of addiction and the extent to which it is seen as a moral, medical or social issue.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of August 9, 2010

Charles Shaw 10 August 2010

We lead this week's report with collection of voices calling for an end to the War on Drugs as a means of mitigating the violence that has engulfed places like Chicago and Mexico.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of August 2, 2010

Charles Shaw 2 August 2010

We lead this week the US House of Representatives passing two significant pieces of legislation meant to begin reforming the thoroughly broken US criminal justice system.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of July 26, 2010

Charles Shaw 26 July 2010

We lead this week's report with the Economist's cover story on the US prison system, a scathing indictment of the so-called Land of the Free. Never in the civilised world have so many been locked up for so little.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of July 19, 2010

Charles Shaw 19 July 2010

A weekly summary of what's going on in drug policy and criminal justice reform in the US & UK.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of July 12, 2010

Charles Shaw 12 July 2010

A weekly summary of what's going on in drug policy and criminal justice reform in the US & UK.

CALL FOR STORIES - The Exile Nation "Unheard Voices" Documentary Project

Charles Shaw 5 July 2010

The Exile Nation "Unheard Voices" documentary project is seeking interviews and testimonials from offenders, ex-offenders, family members, and relevant experts on the far ranging consequences of a criminal conviction.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of July 05, 2010

Charles Shaw 5 July 2010

A weekly summary of news and developments in drug policy and criminal justice reform in the US & UK.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of June 28, 2010

Charles Shaw 28 June 2010

A weekly summary of news and developments in drug policy and criminal justice reform in the US and UK.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of June 14, 2010

Charles Shaw 15 June 2010

A weekly summary of what's going on in drug policy and criminal justice reform in the US & UK.

The Cannabis Papers: a citizen’s guide to cannabinoids

Charles Shaw 14 June 2010

Taking their inspiration from "The Federalist Papers," a group of Illinois reformers have penned a series of 36 essays to detail the role of cannabinoids in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

The failed politics of sentencing reform

Charles Shaw 7 June 2010

In his exceptional white paper, American drug policy expert Eric Sterling of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation sets the stage for comprehensive sentencing reform, describes the current situation involving the War on Drugs, and critiques Federal drug law enforcement and its tragic misdirection.

Essential Reading on the US Prison-Industrial Complex

Charles Shaw 26 May 2010

Three must-reads on prison and race in America

This week's editor

Heather McRobie is a regular contributor to 50.50

Europe from the bottom up

European Union stars in Paris. Flickr/notarim. Some rights reserved.

A new Europe can only come from the bottom up
Etienne Balibar

A social Europe must be a political Europe
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As Europe is provincialized: a reply to Etienne Balibar
Sandro Mezzadra

European debate

A republican call for a basic income
Daniel Raventos and Julie Wark

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Women and the Arab Spring

oDRussia at journalismfestival .com

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Remote control war

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