Ernest Drucker, PhD, Co-Chair of Real Reporting Foundation and the Common Sense for Drug Policy Foundation, passed away on January 26, 2025 at his home in New York City, NY. He is sorely missed by his family, colleagues, and many friends.

Ernie Drucker's obituary in the New York Times notes:

"For more than three decades, Dr. Drucker, primed with epidemiological evidence, waged cutting-edge campaigns to improve the lot of prison inmates; the homeless; patients with tuberculosis; workers exposed to asbestos; and HIV-infected drug users and their families who had been ravaged by the repercussions of AIDS.

Drug Policy Facts now has an official account on the social media platform BlueSky. We can be found at:

https://bsky.app/profile/drugpolicyfacts.bsky.social 

New research by the Monitoring The Future project at the University of Michigan shows that substance use by US youth is on the decline, continuing a trend noted in the first two years of COVID.

According to the University of Michigan's communications office (Missing rebound: Youth drug use defies expectations, continues historic decline, Michigan News, Office of the VIce President for Communications, University of Michigan, Dec. 17, 2024):

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday, March 11, 2025 on a warrant from the International Criminal Court. The Associated Press reports ("Philippine ex-leader Duterte is being flown to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity," March 11, 2025) that:

"The global court in The Hague had ordered Duterte’s arrest through Interpol after accusing him of crimes against humanity over deadly anti-drug crackdowns he oversaw while in office, Marcos said in a late-night news conference. Duterte had been arrested at the Manila international airport Tuesday morning when he arrived with his family from Hong Kong."

Over 750 people from across the world attended the two hour memorial service via social media for activist Kevin Zeese, who suddenly passed away in his sleep on Sept. 6, 2020 at the age of 64.

Activists and friends described aspects and contributions of his exceptional life and contributions to a variety of reform movements.