Since his election to Congress in 2012, Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) has been one of the federal legislature’s most outspoken critics of the failed drug war. Rep. O’Rourke is in the news again this week following his announcement that he plans to run against sitting Senator Ted Cruz in 2018.


In November of 2011, O’Rourke spoke at Cato’s “Ending the Global War on Drugs” conference regarding his experiences as an El Paso native and the costs of drug prohibition on both sides of the border.

Rep. O’Rourke also spoke with Cato regarding his support for immigration reform in March of last year.