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Jacob Sullum

Senior Editor
Reason magazine
jsullum@reason.com
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Bio
Jacob Sullum is a senior editor at Reason magazine and Reason.com and a nationally syndicated columnist.
Sullum is the author of two critically acclaimed books: Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use (Tarcher/Penguin, 2004) and For Your Own Good: The Anti-Smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health (Free Press, 1998).
Sullum's weekly column, distributed by Creators Syndicate, is carried by newspapers across the U.S., including the New York Post and the Chicago Sun-Times. His work also has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Cigar Aficionado, National Review, and many other publications.
Saying Yes has been praised by both sides of the political spectrum. National Review called it "a highly effective debunking," and Mother Jones described it as "a healthy dose of sober talk in a debate dominated by yelping dopes."
For Your Own Good also was widely praised by reviewers, who called it "compelling" (The Wall Street Journal), "meticulously logical" (The New York Times), and a "cogent and thorough...must-read" (The Washington Post).
Sullum is a frequent guest on TV and radio networks, including Fox News Channel, CNN and NPR. A fellow of the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, he has been a featured speaker at the International Conference on Drug Policy Reform and the Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy.
In 1988 Sullum won the Keystone Press Award for investigative reporting, and in 1991 he received First Prize in the Felix Morley Memorial Journalism Competition. In 1998 his Reason cover story about pain treatment was a National Magazine Award finalist in the Public Interest category. In 2004 he received the Thomas S. Szasz Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Cause of Civil Liberties, and in 2005 he received the Drug Policy Alliance's Edward M. Brecher Award for Achievement in the Field of Journalism. His 2007 Reason essay "Thank Deng Xiaoping for Little Girls" won first place for commentary or feature in the Southern California Journalism Awards.
Sullum first joined Reason in 1989 as an assistant editor, later serving as associate editor and managing editor. He also has worked as the articles editor of National Review and as a reporter for the News and Courier/Evening Post in Charleston, South Carolina, and The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Sullum is a graduate of Cornell University, where he majored in economics and psychology. He lives in Dallas with his wife and three daughters.
AllOp-Eds
- The Terminator vs. the Constitution
California's video game law does violence to the First Amendment.
Jacob Sullum
November 3, 2010 - Division Dividends
Two-party control is better than the alternative, but not much.
Jacob Sullum
October 27, 2010 - Strange Love
How I learned to stop worrying and embrace the equal protection argument for gay marriage
Jacob Sullum
October 26, 2010 - The Amazing Elastic Commerce Clause
The individual health insurance mandate tugs on an overstretched federal power.
Jacob Sullum
October 20, 2010 - Logical Farce
Obama's wild attacks on "foreign money" reek of desperation.
Jacob Sullum
October 13, 2010 - Pot Prohibitionist Prevarications
Five whoppers told by opponents of California's marijuana legalization initiative
Jacob Sullum
October 6, 2010 - Faking the Pledge
Republican promises of fiscal sobriety ring hollow.
Jacob Sullum
September 29, 2010 - Ad Rage
Democrats blame the First Amendment for their impending losses.
Jacob Sullum
September 22, 2010 - Torture Tort Terror
Obama uses national security as a cover for violating people's rights.
Jacob Sullum
September 15, 2010 - Bullying Busybody for Senate
How Connecticut's attorney general beat Craigslist into submission
Jacob Sullum
September 8, 2010 - Simpson and the Sacred Cow
The reaction to the former senator's comments on Social Security shows he's right.
Jacob Sullum
September 1, 2010 - Life for Poker
The arrest of online gambling entrepreneur Daniel Tzvetkoff
Jacob Sullum
August 31, 2010 - Guilt by Complication
The Blagojevich blowout shows a long indictment may signal weakness.
Jacob Sullum
August 25, 2010 - Eye of Newt
The former House speaker knows a "stealth jihadi" when he sees one
Jacob Sullum
August 18, 2010 - Is It Crazy to Call Californians Irrational?
The weak case against gay marriage
Jacob Sullum
August 11, 2010 - The Spanish Prisoner
The unequal burdens of Arizona's immigration law
Jacob Sullum
August 4, 2010 - These Buds Are for You
Legal marijuana would be a boon for California consumers.
Jacob Sullum
July 28, 2010 - Bono and Buttman
If indecency is unconstitutionally vague, why isn't obscenity?
Jacob Sullum
July 21, 2010 - Who's Afraid of Federalism?
Gay marriage and the 10th Amendment
Jacob Sullum
July 14, 2010 - Natural Reluctance
Elena Kagan's disturbing refusal to acknowledge pre-existing rights
Jacob Sullum
July 7, 2010 - Gun Shy
Four Supreme Court justices make the case against constitutional rights.
Jacob Sullum
June 30, 2010 - Unfaithful Friend of Liberty
John Paul Stevens’ spotty record as a defender of individual rights
Jacob Sullum
June 28, 2010 - Oil Gushes and Power Rushes
Obama's "$20 billion shakedown" exemplifies his lawlessness.
Jacob Sullum
June 23, 2010 - Razing Arizona
The chilling effect of campaign subsidies aimed at equalizing speech
Jacob Sullum
June 16, 2010 - License to Kill
Obama blurs the line between warfare and summary execution.
Jacob Sullum
June 9, 2010 - Undisclosed Interests
Legislators fight corruption by silencing their critics.
Jacob Sullum
June 2, 2010 - Paul and the Private Parts
Bigots are not the only ones hurt by bans on discrimination.
Jacob Sullum
May 26, 2010 - Constitutionally Dangerous
A preventive detention law shows why we need to confine Congress.
Jacob Sullum
May 19, 2010 - The Bounds of Silence
Obama’s Supreme Court pick looks wobbly on freedom of speech.
Jacob Sullum
May 12, 2010 - Arrest Everybody
Arizona encourages police to emulate "the toughest sheriff in America."
Jacob Sullum
May 5, 2010 - Free Speech for Us
The Gray Lady’s inconsistent defense of the First Amendment
Jacob Sullum
April 28, 2010 - The Wide Net of ‘Material Support’
The war on terrorism becomes a war on free speech.
Jacob Sullum
April 26, 2010 - Getting Away With Poker
How is helping people play a card game like murder?
Jacob Sullum
April 21, 2010 - Unfaithful Friend of Liberty
John Paul Stevens’ spotty record as a defender of individual rights
Jacob Sullum
April 14, 2010 - Smoke a Joint, Lose Your Country
Rigid deportation rules make a mockery of justice.
Jacob Sullum
April 7, 2010 - The Disappearing Blood Stain
How New Orleans prosecutors nearly killed a man by withholding evidence
Jacob Sullum
March 31, 2010 - Don't Buy It
The crazy constitutional logic of the individual health insurance mandate
Jacob Sullum
March 24, 2010 - Death in Juarez
The bloody consequences of America's pharmacological intolerance
Jacob Sullum
March 17, 2010 - Insurers Gone Wild!
Why health insurers welcome Obama’s plan to tame them
Jacob Sullum
March 10, 2010 - Carry On
Does the Second Amendment apply outside the home?
Jacob Sullum
March 3, 2010 - Fight the Power
The unfulfilled promise of “constitutional conservatism”
Jacob Sullum
February 24, 2010 - List Price
The war on terrorism becomes a war on free speech.
Jacob Sullum
February 17, 2010 - A Promise Worth Breaking
Obama’s health insurance tax doesn’t go far enough.
Jacob Sullum
January 20, 2010 - Hold on to Your Boxers
What will the TSA demand from travelers next?
Jacob Sullum
December 30, 2009 - There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Lumpectomy
The folly of a "right to health care"
Jacob Sullum
December 23, 2009 - The Clarity of False Choices
How Obama’s rhetorical tricks mislead the public
Jacob Sullum
December 16, 2009 - Big Blighters
How developers use "blight" as a pretext to get the land they covet
Jacob Sullum
December 9, 2009 - These Boots Are Made for Talking
The fuzzy math and goofy logic of government-goosed employment
Jacob Sullum
November 25, 2009 - Menu Mandate's Missing Math
You can show people calorie numbers, but you can't make them count.
Jacob Sullum
November 18, 2009 - Obama's Hidden Fees
When the president does it, it's not a tax
Jacob Sullum
November 4, 2009
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