Mike Riggs, The Atlantic Cities

This Map Shows the Extent of (Preventable) Whooping Cough Outbreaks

Before it became somewhat more culturally acceptable to not vaccinate your kid, America had all but relegated pertussis to the waste bin of western diseases.

• Mike Riggs, The Atlantic Cities
• January 22, 2014

Florida Is Trying to Fix a Hole in Its 'Stand Your Ground' Law

The Florida law that dominated headlines before, during and after the George Zimmerman trial could soon be getting a significant amendment.

• Mike Riggs, The Atlantic Cities
• January 14, 2014

Prescription Drug Abuse Isn't Just for Rural Areas Anymore

A new series of maps published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that the prescription pill crisis has spread away from rural areas, and now reaches virtually every part of the country.

• Mike Riggs, The Atlantic Cities
• November 18, 2013

Seattle Police Backtrack on Their Mass Surveillance Plans

The Seattle Police Department did something amazing this week: After word got out that the department had created a citywide surveillance network without input from community members or a policy to govern the system's use, the police department agreed to deactivate the whole thing.

• Mike Riggs, The Atlantic Cities
• November 15, 2013

The Road to Marijuana Legalization Runs Through Cities, Not States

Residents of Portland, Maine, will vote next month on a ballot measure to legalize marijuana possession. If the measure passes, adults 21 and over will theoretically be able to possess up to 2.5 ounces of pot under Portland law.

• Mike Riggs, The Atlantic Cities
• October 16, 2013

The Amount of Pot Police Seize Has Increased 465% in 20 Years

A new paper in the British Medical Journal Open reports that illegal drugs have only gotten cheaper and more pure in the last 20 years. The fact that drug availability is on the rise despite a decades-long war on drugs, say the authors, proves that international drug control strategies simply aren't working.

• Mike Riggs, The Atlantic Cities
• October 2, 2013

Here's the Best Way to Visualize the Futility of Stop-and-Frisk

What's the best way to look at New York City's controversial stop-and-frisk policy? BKLYNR's "All the Stops" feature shows stop-and-frisk data independent of its geography.

• Mike Riggs, The Atlantic Cities
• September 10, 2013

The Battle Over the Business of Recreational Marijuana

Nearly 10 months after Colorado and Washington state legalized the use and sale of recreational marijuana, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy announced Monday that he's invited Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole to testify at a September 10 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

• Mike Riggs, The Atlantic Cities
• August 27, 2013