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.

Born Illegal - The US Federal Analogue Act

This is the story of Anthony Reed, a promising young man with a very bright future who was arrested and charged with a felony under the infamous "Analogue Act" for possessing one dose of 2C-I, what he thought was a "legal" substance. Includes an interview with Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin, the invent

By Charles Shaw

/ 30 Sep 2010

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of September 27th, 2010

We lead this week with the release of the much anticipated trailer from Charles Shaw and openDemocracy's The Exile Nation Project, a testimonial documentary about the far-ranging consequences of the American criminal justice system.

By Charles Shaw and Mark Weiss

/ 28 Sep 2010

The Exile Nation Project: Trailer

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.

By Charles Shaw

/ 26 Sep 2010

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

By Charles Shaw and Mark Weiss

/ 20 Sep 2010

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

By Charles Shaw

/ 24 Aug 2010

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

By Charles Shaw

/ 10 Aug 2010

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

By Charles Shaw

/ 2 Aug 2010

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

By Charles Shaw

/ 26 Jul 2010

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

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

By Charles Shaw

/ 19 Jul 2010

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

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

By Charles Shaw

/ 12 Jul 2010

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

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.

By Charles Shaw

/ 5 Jul 2010

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

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

By Charles Shaw

/ 5 Jul 2010