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.

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of February 16th 2012

Last Saturday, singer Whitney Houston died at the age of 48. The toxicology reports are yet to be completed, but it's reported her death was caused by a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol. Houston struggled for years with her addiction to both legal and illicit substances. Her tragic de

By Charles Shaw and Juliana Willars

/ 16 Feb 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Lynette Shaw

Lynette Shaw was the owner of the very first legal cannabis dispensary in the State of California, which she opened in Fairfax in the early 1990s. A key figure in the fight to legalize medical cannabis, Shaw's life as an activist began when her home was raided by police, after a dealer turned her

By Charles Shaw

/ 15 Feb 2012

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of February 9th 2012

This week we open with an editorial written by Amanda Fielding, who explains why so many countries who wish to engage in drug policy reform have such a difficult time implementing it: the UN Conventions. It's led to policies in the US that are often criticized for targeting minorities and the poor

By Charles Shaw and Juliana Willars

/ 9 Feb 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Scott Tracy Imler

Scott Tracy Imler is one of the central figures in the history of medical cannabis legislation. He was a co-author of the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996, more commonly known as "Prop 215," which made cannabis legal for medicinal use in the State of California. In 1996 Scott opened the fi

By Charles Shaw

/ 8 Feb 2012

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of February 2nd 2012

While activists push for reform of drug laws, various legislative entities continue to tighten restrictions on the use of psychoactive substances, from marijuana to "bath salts". One state in the US moves closer to drug-testing not only its welfare recipients, but its lawmakers as well. Mexico's c

By Charles Shaw and Juliana Willars

/ 2 Feb 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Jean Marlowe

Jean Marlowe is known as the Godmother of Medical Cannabis in the State of North Carolina.In this wildly entertaining interview, the feisty Marlowe gives her irreverent take on the hypocrisy of cannabis prohibition, and gives moving testimony about the damage done to medical patients caught up in

By Charles Shaw

/ 1 Feb 2012

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of January 26th 2012

Despite its lack of success on a global level, prohibition is alive and well as the primary solution most nations adopt to deal with drug problems. While legislators everywhere continue to ban substances and criminalize their users, the US Supreme Court surprised some by overturning a life sentenc

By Charles Shaw and Juliana Willars

/ 26 Jan 2012

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of January 20th 2012

The US celebrated the birthdate of civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, as several states consider legislation to require drug tests for those applying for government assistance. While drug use is certainly not restricted to minorities or the poor, they are disproportionately targe

By Charles Shaw and Juliana Willars

/ 20 Jan 2012

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of January 12th 2012

This week's stories reveal how the US continues to pursue militarized action in the War on Drugs, while municipal governments in Canada attempt to address the problem with harm reduction outreach. Mexico's once-glamorous resort of Acapulco is now ravaged by drug violence, and Costa Rica sees an em

By Charles Shaw and Juliana Willars

/ 12 Jan 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Stephani Conyers and Rebecca Forbes

A pair of videos from a mother and daughter testify to the brutality of the War on Drugs, and the consequences children face when their parents are locked up.

By Charles Shaw

/ 10 Jan 2012

oD Drug Policy Forum: Front Line Report - Week of January 5th 2012

2011 was a watershed year in drug policy all over the globe. The American and Canadian governments seemed to embrace status quo prohibition, while the citizens of both nations showed increasing support for reform laws, particularly with medical cannabis. Some countries in Europe moved towards lega

By Charles Shaw and Juliana Willars

/ 5 Jan 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Interview with Anthony Papa

In 1985 Anthony Papa was arrested in a New York cocaine sting, and under the draconian Rockefeller drug laws, was given two 15-to-Life sentences for the first-time offense of possessing four and a half ounces of cocaine. This is the amazing story of his arrest and incarceration, and how in 1997, h

By Charles Shaw

/ 23 Dec 2011