Commentary

“Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.” — Francis Young, Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge (1988). These words ring as true today as they did almost 35 years ago. The DEA at the time disregarded its own judges ruling on whether cannabis should be rescheduled to a less restrictive level. With the passage of Question 4 on the ballot, which passed with almost two-thirds approval, cannabis will be legal for recreational use on a limited basis. I see the disconnect between how we treat this compared to alcohol and tobacco. There is no law that I know of which limits how much alcohol or tobacco you can have if you are over the legal age limit.

Plastic recycling isn’t working. Only about 6% of plastic in the U.S. is recycled, and the vast majority of all the plastic ever produced on this planet still exists somewhere. In the ocean alone, it is estimated that tens of trillions of pieces of plastic lie on the sea floor — that is, what hasn’t been pulverized by currents into micro-particles or is floating brazenly on the surface. Ocean plastic is even finding its way into the human food chain. Despite all of this, the plastics industry is spending millions to convince us that recycling is the answer, even though, according to a recent joint NPR/PBS investigation, their own internal studies suggest otherwise.

With all the criticism heaped on law enforcement in recent years, from claims of racial profiling and use of excessive force to outright corruption, it’s fair to wonder whether private security guards — especially those who carry weapons — are also receiving sufficient scrutiny. That concern has been underscored in recent weeks by multiple shootings involving civilian armed guards, who are often employed by businesses and affluent neighborhoods seeking to supplement the services of their local police departments.

With 2022′s election night in the rearview mirror, the 2024 presidential election will soon dominate the headlines. Donald Trump is still popular among Republicans and will likely run. As he said earlier this month, “in order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again,” and last week, he promised to make a “special announcement“ at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 15.

Anshel Pfeffer, a columnist for the left-wing newspaper Haaretz, was appalled after the Israeli electorate gave a far-right alliance nearly 11% of the vote, making it the third-largest parliamentary bloc in the Knesset. He calls the bloc leader, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a “fascist,” a description that fits a man who once kept a portrait of Israeli terrorist Baruch Goldstein in his living room.

This year, Baltimore has rehoused 1,188 individuals and families experiencing homelessness. But the annual point-in-time census counted 1,597 Baltimoreans in need of housing on just one night in February. Every day, more neighbors, friends and family reach out for help. But only 1,188 housing placements is not enough.We represent Baltimore City’s Continuum of Care. This group of elected volunteers includes people with lived experience of homelessness, service providers, system leaders and citizens of Baltimore. Hundreds of CoC members work together to make homelessness in Baltimore rare, brief and non-recurring. We set the strategy for engaging and serving those experiencing homelessness, leveraging $25 million in federal CoC funding to make the greatest impact. The majority goes directly to people experiencing homelessness as rental assistance and housing.

In the lead-up to the midterm elections, mainstream media attention focused some — though not enough — on voter suppression efforts, but too little attention was paid to the book bans that are metastasizing in states across the country. The same factions that have tried to gerrymander their way into power are trying to gerrymander our education, suppressing the ideas and lessons that hold the keys to what we have long endeavored to become: a fully inclusive multiracial democracy. The links between these book bans and the efforts to block Black and brown voters from the polls are as connected as the interstate routes that connect the dots on a map of our country.

Community members with disabilities deserve the same rights as everyone else and should have the same opportunities. Many want to work and earn a living wage, attend school or college, have friends, enjoy dates, lead a healthy life and participate in a faith or social community. Unfortunately, that is not the reality when the safety of disabled residents is in jeopardy. The disabled community continues to be marginalized through a lack of comprehensive public policy. As Baltimore continues to grapple with public safety challenges, community members with disabilities must not be left behind. Whether it is the case of a child with autism being found alone in the park or a deaf man killed at a Baltimore jail, we see frequent examples of the mistreatment of people with disabilities.