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.

The Exile Nation Project - Interview with Mary Barr (Pt. II)

Part II of the Exile Nation Project's interview with former crack cocaine addict and prostitute Mary Barr, who now works as a lecturer at John Jay College of Law.

By Charles Shaw

/ 10 Jul 2012

How Chicago said yes to pot

The sudden passage of the law is the latest example of the absurdity surrounding marijuana policies and politics—an ongoing saga in which elected officials vow to crack down on a behavior that millions of Americans have engaged in, then giggle at their own jokes about getting stoned and getting th

By Charles Shaw

/ 9 Jul 2012

A quiet revolution: drug decriminalisation policies in practice across the globe

The main aim of the report was to look at the existing research on twenty countries to establish whether the adoption of a decriminalised policy led to significant increases in drug use - the simple answer is that it did not.

By Charles Shaw

/ 9 Jul 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Mary Barr (Pt. 1)

Mary Barr is a former crack cocaine addict and prostitute who now works as a lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and as an advocate for addicts and sex workers. During Mary's time on the streets, she was arrested 50 times in 5 years, beaten, stabbed, raped, and left for dead. All the

By Charles Shaw

/ 2 Jul 2012

Oliver Stone on the Insanity of the War on Drugs

American film icon Oliver Stone expounds on the true nature of the American War on Drugs to Current TVs Gavin Newson.

By Charles Shaw

/ 20 Jun 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Robert Manor

Robert Manor was the Prison & Jail Monitor for the John Howard Association. The John Howard Association is a Chicago-based not-for-profit working for prison reform within a complex social and political environment. In this comprehensive interview Robert talks plainly about the systemic problems of

By Charles Shaw

/ 19 Jun 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Allison T. Moore

Allison Moore was once labelled a "habitual offender" by the State of Pennsylvania for receiving seven convictions for theft, fraud and forgery. Having reformed her life, she now works as an author and motivational speaker for women in prison. Now further motivated by a son in prison on drug charg

By Charles Shaw

/ 30 May 2012

SPECIAL REPORT: The Costs of "Supermax" Long-Term Isolation

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is proposing to close the only Supermax prison in the Illinois Department of Corrections. This just-released report from the John Howard Association details why. Supermax imprisonment is a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

By Charles Shaw

/ 23 May 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Ronald "Shaka" Howard

Ronald "Shaka" Howard is a former crack cocaine addict who spent 25 years in the California Department of Corrections. During an altercation with another inmate, Shaka was shot by prison guards and lost his leg. Released after 25 years, Shaka is today trying to rebuild his life and treat the ongoi

By Charles Shaw

/ 23 May 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Dorothy Johnson-Speight

Dorothy Johnson-Speight is the Executive Director of Mother's in Charge, a Philadelphia-based charity made up of Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunts & Sisters who have all lost a loved one to violence. The organization was founded in 2003 after the murder of Dorothy's son, Kalik. He was shot seven times

By Charles Shaw

/ 15 May 2012

The Exile Nation Project - "Forgiving her son's killer"

In this special preview clip from her upcoming interview, Dorothy Johnson-Speight speaks bravely and poignantly about the need to have compassion and forgiveness for her son's killer as a necessary requirement for spiritual growth and healing.

By Charles Shaw

/ 12 May 2012

U.S. House to Vote on Amendment Blocking Funding for Obama’s Attack on Medical Marijuana

The U.S. House is expected to vote soon – possibly today – on a bipartisan amendment to the Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill that would prohibit the Department of Justice from undermining state medical marijuana laws.

By Charles Shaw

/ 9 May 2012