Corporate media's drug and crime coverage sucks.

Substance just hit 2,000 subscribers!

Dear Readers of Substance,

This week, we hit 2,000 subscribers! We are blown away.

We (Tana & Zach) wanted to take a short break from our regularly scheduled programming to speak to you directly and thank you for subscribing, for reading, for sharing our work, for telling your friends, and most critically, for your financial contribution to this project.

It’s cliche to call it a “labor a love” but really, we love what we do, which, as of late, is skewering America’s many neuroses and fixations that latch on to drugs, crime, and especially, the ferocious backlash to the mildest of reforms.

It’s especially the latter where we think the U.S. media is completely broken. And if you’re reading us you probably agree. In coverage of drugs and crime, politicians and law enforcement routinely lie and are rarely challenged. Those in power too often get treated with kid gloves and undue deference.

We don’t do any of that here. We have a low tolerance for cynical bullshit. And that’s why we are asking for your support.

We’re proud of our growing reach and we want as much of our work (ideally all) to be free for everyone. But we also have to keep the lights on (aka: pay for health insurance). It’s because of our paid subscribers that we can (and often do) put up free posts that anyone can read. We like the idea of a subscriber model where those who can afford to pay to do so for those who cannot, and that way everyone can access the work. If you’re the former, then please do subscribe at whatever level you can muster.

Think of it as an investment in your own sanity. For just $5 per month or one $50 payment for the year, you get one step closer to a world where you don’t have to hear, “I’m all for criminal justice reform, but” …or “Look, drug users should have access to treatment, but” …or for that matter, “Drug dealers are giving away rainbow fentanyl to children this Halloween!!!!!!!”

We are extraordinarily grateful to our paying subscribers. We couldn’t keep this up without your support. Thank you.

Lastly, we have a lot of great stuff in the works, from investigative features to video chats and interviews with your favorite people in the world of drug policy and criminal justice reform. We’ll also keep experimenting with new ideas, new formats, and new ways of thinking and writing about the issues we all care about. And we’ll keep writing about drugs and crime with rigor and style you won’t find anywhere else.

Sincerely,

Tana & Zach

p.s. if there’s any issues, topics, or ideas you want to see us cover, we’re very open to hearing from you and we’re easy to contact. Our DMs are open :)