On the cover

• A new war on drugs

 

News

• Polls and trends, Page 2

• Quick Takes, Pages 3 – 5

• Charter school supporters voice concerns about Leandro commission, Page 6

• JLF enters latest legal challenge targeting certificate-of-need laws, Page 7

• Smokable hemp and vaping: Seeing past the smoke in search of solutions … and problems, Page 8

• Oooh, that smell … Page 10

• Jackson, Dixon share thoughts on smokable hemp production, regulation, Page 11

• Vaporized?, Page 12

• Back to the kitchen?, Page 12

• Hazy regs, Page 13

 

Interview

• Samuel Abrams: Professor’s column highlights campus ideological diversity problem, Page 19

 

Opinion

• Terry Stoops commentary: What’s the biggest problem facing schools today?, Page 14

• Kristen Blair commentary: Time to reject political polarization on school choice, Page 15

• Shannon Watkins commentary: The success of community college ‘non-completers,’ Page 15

• George Leef commentary: Which country’s system of higher education is best?, Page 16

• Mitch Kokai commentary: Likely 2020 chief justice opponents squared off once this year, Page 17

• Becki Gray commentary: Overcriminalization: N.C. criminal laws are a mess, Page 18

• Editorial: Cooper’s coal-ash regulation amounts to a massive tax increase, Page 20

• John Trump commentary: The stately pillars of the Fourth Estate must remain strong, Page 22

• Andy Taylor commentary: Redistricting, gerrymandering, and legislating from the bench, Page 23

• Michael Walden commentary: Can we talk ourselves into a recession?, Page 23

• Jordan Roberts commentary: Democrats are trying to take away state health care flexibility, Page 24

 

Commentary by John Hood

• Uncertain policy has economic cost, Page 2

• Change how we pay teachers, Page 21

• Freedom has many meanings, Page 21