Drugs on the Docket is a production of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center (DEPC) at The Ohio State University. Each episode explores how U.S. court rulings—primarily those handed down from the Supreme Court—impact drug law and policy and continue to shape the War on Drugs. Drugs on the Docket unpacks various ways courts have engaged with and responded to the opioid epidemic, police discretion, the sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine, and more. The series, hosted by Hannah Miller, invites guests with expertise in criminal justice, drug policy, and drug enforcement to help us break down the sometimes complex and always interesting stories behind today’s drug law landscape. Drugs on the Docket is produced by DEPC’s Service Engagement Project Manager Hannah Miller and Public Engagement Specialist Holly Griffin. DEPC Executive Director Douglas A. Berman is our editorial advisor. Music by Joe DeWitt. Visit go.osu.edu/drugsonthedocket to learn more.
Season 4 Episode 5 – Criminal Justice Reform Is Not Dead with Udi Ofer
In this episode of Drugs on the Docket, Udi Ofer returns to discuss the state of criminal justice policy reform in the run up to the 2026 mid-term elections. Ofer, a renowned human rights lawyer and founding director of Princeton’s Policy Advocacy Clinic, provides a compelling look at how the criminal justice reform movement has evolved. He joins hosts Hannah Miller and Douglas Berman to share insights on the role of drug policy, bipartisanship, and emerging technologies in the future of criminal justice reform.
Ofer is Director of the Policy Advocacy Clinic, James L. Weinberg Visiting Professor, and Lecturer in the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Show notes:
Principles of Criminal Justice Reform (https://www.bipartisancjr.org/)
Criminal Justice Reform Didn’t End — It Decentralized, Just Security (https://www.justsecurity.org/131987/criminal-justice-reform-didnt-end-decentralized/)
These Students Are Shaping UN Human Rights Policy, The Nation (https://www.thenation.com/article/world/princeton-united-nations-ohchr-policy-advocacy-clinic/) (/www.thenation.com/article/world/princeton-united-nations-ohchr-policy-advocacy-clinic/)
Princeton Policy Advocacy Clinic (https://spia.princeton.edu/undergraduate-program/princeton-policy-advocacy-clinic)
Bolts Magazine (https://boltsmag.org/criminal-justice/)
The Marshall Project (https://www.themarshallproject.org/)
Visit go.osu.edu/drugsonthedocket to learn more about the podcast.
10 Sept 2026
Season 4 Episode 4 – Tale of Two Schedules with Sam Kamin, Robert Mikos, Cat Packer and Kathryn Cornelius
In June 2026, the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center brought together leading scholars, advocates and regulators for a webinar to explore the implications of marijuana rescheduling at the federal level, as well as what it does—and does not—change in the federal and state cannabis landscape. This conversation took place after the Trump Administration made a surprise announcement in April 2026 that it was rescheduling state medical marijuana products, but before a hearing in late June to consider full rescheduling of all forms of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. This episode is a recording of that webinar and features Sam Kamin, Robert Mikos, Cat Packer and Kathryn Cornelius, in conversation with Doug Berman. Together, they explore what partial rescheduling of marijuana means in practice, and what the future could hold for adult-use marijuana.
Sam Kamin is Chauncey G. Wilson Memorial Research Chair at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Robert Mikos is the LaRoche Family Chair in Law at Vanderbilt University Law School. Cat Packer is the Distinguished Cannabis Policy Practitioner in Residence at The Ohio State University Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, Director of Drug Markets and Legal Regulation at Drug Policy Alliance, and former Executive Director of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation. Kathryn Cornelius is Deputy Chief Legal Counsel at the Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Cannabis Control.
Show notes:
Final corrected hearing transcripts for the proposed rescheduling of marijuana (https://www.dea.gov/NPRM2026)
The Drug Enforcement and Policy Center’s resource page, Federal Marijuana Rescheduling: Process and Impact (https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/research/federal-marijuana-rescheduling-process-and-impact)
The Drug Enforcement and Policy Center’s resource page, Adult-Use Marijuana in Ohio: What You Need to Know (https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/research/adult-use-marijuana-ohio-what-you-need-know)
The Drug Enforcement and Policy Center’s resource page, Marijuana Reform and Taxes: How States Tax Adult Use Cannabis and Spend Resulting Revenue (https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/research/marijuana-reform-and-taxes-how-states-tax-adult-use-cannabis-and-spend-resulting-revenue)
Visit go.osu.edu/drugsonthedocket to learn more about the podcast.
24 Jul 2026
Season 4 Episode 3 – Hemani v. United States: Decision with Jake Charles and Joel Johnson (Part 2 of 2)
In this episode, host Hannah Miller and cohost Douglas Berman bring back Joel Johnson and Jake Charles to discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Hemani. We explore how Hemani fits into the Court’s evolving Second Amendment framework established by Heller, McDonald, Bruen, and Rahimi, the role of dangerousness, status, and historical analogues, and why—despite a unanimous ruling—Hemani leaves many issues in firearm dispossession and marijuana law unresolved.
Johnson and Charles are associate professors at Pepperdine University School of Law.
Show notes:
Part 1 on Hemani v. United States Oral Arguments (https://podcast.osu.edu/drugsonthedocket/2026/05/20/season-4-episode-1-united-states-v-hemani-oral-arguments-with-jake-charles-and-joel-johnson-part-1-of-2/)
SCOTUSblog page on Hemani decision (https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/a-victory-for-the-defendant-in-united-states-v-hemani-but-little-guidance-for-the-lower-courts/)
An off-ramp for the court’s next big gun case by Joel Johnson, SCOTUSblog (https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/an-off-ramp-for-the-courts-next-big-gun-case/)
Brief of Professor Joel S. Johnson as Amicus Curiae Supporting Respondent (https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-1234/391826/20260115133228705_Hemani%20Brief%20FINAL.pdf)
Breaking Down the Hemani Arguments by Jake Charles, Duke Center for Firearms Law Blog (https://firearmslaw.duke.edu/2026/03/breaking-down-the-hemani-arguments)
Brief of Second Amendment Law Scholars as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner (co-authored by Jake Charles) (https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-1234/389988/20251219131410902_Hemani%20-%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf)
Visit go.osu.edu/drugsonthedocket to learn more about the podcast.
Who has been a guest on Drugs on the Docket
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Bridget Dooling
Matt Lawrence
Cat Packer
Patricia Zettler
Doug Passon
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
105,385
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 55 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
49
Social presence
0
YouTube
82
Engagement
68
Contact Drugs on the Docket
Guest appearances
Books guests
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