Welcome to the Drug Issue of The Highlight
Drugs are a perennial American preoccupation, from the war on illicit ones to our massive pharmaceutical industry. This month, Vox reporters looked into the pressing drug questions of the moment: What happens when weed replaces alcohol? Given high costs and various medication shortages, how much do expiration dates matter? What is pink cocaine? We even have an interview with a biohacking anarchist about DIY medicine, for The Highlight podcast.
There’s plenty of non-drug stuff for you to enjoy too: pieces on how to reconcile after a family estrangement and how to rewild your own backyard, recommendations from Vox’s book critic, and an exploration of why nostalgia won’t get us out of the loneliness epidemic.
How weed won over America
Land of the free, home of the blazed.
By Marin Cogan
What in the world is pink cocaine?
It’s not cocaine, but it can be just about anything else — except a good idea.
By Celia Ford
Are drug expiration dates meaningless?
That Tylenol’s shelf life is longer than you think.
By Keren Landman, MD
The world’s most mysterious psychedelic is already inside your brain
DMT, “the nuclear bomb of the psychedelic family,” explained.
By Oshan Jarow
How marijuana legalization played itself
Pricey, legal weed is great news — for the black market.
By Lavanya Ramanathan
Mixael Laufer on DIY health care
Medicine shouldn’t be so hard to access — so the Four Thieves Vinegar Collective is helping people make their own.
By Jorge Just
Nostalgia won’t fix the loneliness epidemic
There are practical, everyday ways to get out of your head and into community.
By Allie Volpe
Yes, you can fight climate change in your backyard
One wildflower at a time.
By Cat Willett
What counts as a landslide? Your biggest election questions, answered.
Split-ticket voting, the Senate, down-ballot issues, and more.
By Eric Levitz and Christian Paz
Family estrangement doesn’t have to be forever
Reconnecting with someone you’ve cut ties with isn’t easy — but it can be done.
By Fortesa Latifi
“I’m looking for a fever dream of a book.”
In November’s month’s edition of Ask a Book Critic, novels to scratch the surrealist itch, lesbian necromancers in space, and more.
By Constance Grady