Aphrodisiacs are powerfully attractive for a reason. Sex is, after all, crucial to the survival of our species and it feels fucking amazing, so using chemicals that can make sex last longer, feel better or otherwise enhance the act is going to be like candy to a bunch of horny primates. But the term chemsex—using... The post Episode 33: Party and Play—An Intro to Chemsex with David Stuart appeared first on Narcotica ....
Nov 24, 2019•58 min
On today's show, co-host Zachary Siegel interviews Ben Westhoff about how he gained access to a clandestine lab in China, the prominent role that America's War on Drugs has played in producing deadlier, more potent drugs that no user actually really wants, and finally, that in order to save the lives of people using drugs, the US must adopt innovative harm reduction strategies that have been tested around the world, like supervised injection sites and drug checking. The post Episode 32: How Synt...
Oct 31, 2019•53 min
Safehouse is safe, for now. On Wednesday Oct. 2, a federal judge in Philadelphia ruled that a supervised injection site proposed by the nonprofit Safehouse would not violate a provision of the Controlled Substances Act, known as the “Crack House” statute, authored by none other than Democratic presidential frontrunner, Joe Biden. On today’s episode, hosts Troy,... The post Episode 31: Supervised Consumption: Narcotica Breaks Down Safehouse Ruling with Av Gutman appeared first on Narcotica ....
Oct 21, 2019
Doctors are often blamed for prescribing America into the opioid crisis. Their reckless actions, relying on opioids to relieve just about every morsel of pain, ignited the deadliest overdose crisis in history, so we’re told. Of course, the narrative around doctors is much more complex than that. But one truth is inescapable: Without doctors prescribing... The post Episode 30: Getting Wrecked with Dr. Kim Sue appeared first on Narcotica ....
Oct 04, 2019•58 min
By now you might be wondering whether your vape pen has acquired a taste for human blood. There have been several deaths and hundreds of cases of “mysterious lung illnesses” traced back to various “vaping products,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since that sentence is incredibly vague and next to useless,... The post Episode XXIX: Darth Vaper The Panic Strikes Back appeared first on Narcotica ....
Sep 18, 2019•57 min
Antibiotic resistance and doping at the Olympics are two pretty unrelated ideas, but they’re both covered in the new book ‘The Day It Finally Happens’ by author and journalist Mike Pearl, who sat down in Narcotica co-host Troy Farah’s kitchen. The post Episode 28: Antibiotic Resistance and Doping at the Olympics with Mike Pearl appeared first on Narcotica ....
Sep 17, 2019•1 hr 13 min
Narcotica co-host Zachary Siegel was in Los Angeles for a conference on depicting drug use in Hollywood films and TV shows, so co-host Troy Farah trudged down from the High Desert and they recorded an episode in a hotel room. Despite doing Narcotica for well over a year, the pair hadn’t met in person before.... The post Episode 27: What’s the Most Dangerous Drug? appeared first on Narcotica ....
Sep 06, 2019•1 hr 32 min
The Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia is often described as “ground zero” in the overdose crisis. The New York Times Magazine gave Kensington’s open air drug market the dubious title, “The Walmart of Heroin.” Of course, if you take a tour of Kensington without a DEA agent nearby, you might meet someone like Sarn, who after... The post Episode 26: Housing As Harm Reduction appeared first on Narcotica ....
Aug 12, 2019•49 min
Kratom, a strange plant from Southeast Asia has become one of the most controversial herbs in the United States. In this episode, Troy Farah breaks down the risks and potential benefits of this unique tree and why banning it would likely lead to a devastating increase in deaths in the opioid overdose crisis with Walter... The post Episode 25: Banning Kratom Will Escalate the Opioid Overdose Crisis with Walter Prozialeck appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jul 30, 2019•48 min
What does abortion access have to do with the war on drugs? EVERYTHING. On this episode, we talk about some of the most controversial drugs of them all, drugs that are often overlooked in the debate about reforming drug policy: abortifacients, drugs that induce miscarriage, ending pregnancies. Specifically, misoprostol and mifepristone. We speak with Lynn... The post Episode 24: How To Get Abortion Pills Feat. Lynn Paltrow and Francine Coeytaux appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jul 14, 2019•58 min
With perhaps the exception of fentanyl, no drug is seen as more dangerous or controversial than heroin. But when you look at decades of medical literature, it’s clear that heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine, is just another opioid, and it has a place in medicine. On this episode, Troy Farah and Zachary Siegel discuss the... The post Episode 23: Bring Back Prescription Heroin! with Travis Lupick appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jul 03, 2019•42 min
On this episode Narcotica highlights a new project from the Health in Justice Action Lab at Northeastern University called Changing The Narrative, which aims to correct flawed narratives about drugs, debunked myths, old tropes, and stigmatizing language in mainstream media. The post Episode 22: Changing the Narrative with Maia Szalavitz and Leo Beletsky appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jun 24, 2019•52 min
Sometimes, you’ll be reading a great piece on the drug overdose crisis that is just ruined by a crappy stock image of a gigantic syringe and a mountain of what is obviously flour or someone nodding out on the sidewalk. On this episode, Narcotica explores what accurate, tactful drug imagery should look like. The team... The post Episode 21: Ethically Documenting Drug Use Activism with Nigel Brunsdon appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jun 13, 2019•41 min
In this episode, Chris and Zach sit down with Eliza Wheeler of the Harm Reduction Coalition in San Francisco. Wheeler has been working in harm reduction, distributing syringes and naloxone directly to people who use drugs, for over two decades. She’s seen a lot of progress in her lifetime. But as harm reduction goes mainstream,... The post Episode 20: The Pitfalls of Mainstream Harm Reduction with Eliza Wheeler appeared first on Narcotica ....
May 31, 2019•55 min
If you ask many, many people whose lives have been upended by opioids, buprenorphine is a life saver. It can literally cut the risk of a fatal overdose by half or more in folks who have an opioid addiction. Also known as Subutex or Suboxone, buprenorphine is one of the three FDA approved medications to... The post Episode 19: Debunking Bupe Diversion Myths with Molly Doernberg appeared first on Narcotica ....
May 12, 2019•35 min
In this episode, Zach and Troy interview two veteran harm reduction activists: Jess Tilley and Albie Park. Jess and Albie have organized on behalf of drug users for decades, building community to ensure that no one has to die a preventable overdose death. You’ll learn about how they met, how they work, and what policies... The post Episode 18: Drug User Unions – The Rebirth of Harm Reduction with Jess Tilley and Albie Park appeared first on Narcotica ....
May 07, 2019•1 hr 4 min
Psychedelic drugs are weird, but DMT has to be one of the weirdest. Best known as the principle psychoactive ingredient in ayahuasca, this drug, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, occurs naturally in many plants and animals. Troy Farah interviews Andrew Gallimore, a computational neurobiologist, pharmacologist and DMT enthusiast, and author of the new book ‘Alien Information Theory.’ With a... The post Episode 17: Using DMT To Contact Aliens with Andrew Gallimore appeared first on Narcotica ....
Apr 27, 2019•53 min
Canada’s Downtown Eastside in Vancouver is known around the world as a city of pain and trauma. That’s not the whole story. Vancouver has produced trailblazing harm reduction activists and scholars who have changed the fabric of drug user health care. The Crackdown is a podcast that features some of the bravest activists who are... The post Episode 16: The Crew Interviews the Crackdown’s Garth Mullins appeared first on Narcotica ....
Apr 12, 2019•51 min
Mainstream media doesn’t really ‘get’ drugs, but there’s one place that has consistently gotten it right: Filter Magazine. Narcotica hosts Christopher Moraff, Zachary Siegel and Troy Farah talk with Filter’s co-founder and editor-in-chief Will Godfrey. This conversation covers a lot of ground on media literacy and compassionate reporting on drug use. Full disclosure: all three... The post Episode 15: Accurate, Compassionate Drug Journalism with Filter Magazine appeared first on Narcotica ....
Apr 03, 2019•54 min
Few would disagree with the notion that the United States government has dropped the ball on responding to the opioid crisis, particularly the threat posed by illicitly manufactured fentanyl in the heroin supply. That’s the basis of a new piece called “The Fentanyl Failure,” a Washington Post investigation into the Obama Administration. Only, there’s just... The post Episode 14: Harm Reduction Dies in Darkness—Jeff Deeney appeared first on Narcotica ....
Mar 18, 2019•31 min
For the last installation of Narcotica’s Beyond Border series, Zachary Siegel interviews Dawn Paley, journalist and author of “Drug War Capitalism.” Paley’s scholarship and research situates paramilitarized drug violence in countries from Colombia to Honduras in historical, political, and economic context. On the show she discusses how the War on Drugs benefits big businesses across... The post Episode 13: Beyond Borders – “Drug War Capitalism” appeared first on Narcotica ....
Mar 08, 2019•56 min
This week Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán was convicted by the U.S. government. Guzman rose to prominence in the Sinaloa Federation drug trafficking organization, where he allegedly became the most prolific and successful drug profiteer in history. From 2008 until his second capture in 2014, Guzman’s pharmaceutical manufacturing giant, if you will, was the primary supplier... The post Episode 12: Beyond Borders — “El Chapo” and the Mexican Fentanyl Pipeline with Keegan Hamilton appeared first on Narco...
Feb 13, 2019•34 min
America practically invented prohibition, or at least popularized it to the point where nearly every country models itself after U.S. drug policy. The results have been nothing short of disastrous. Troy Farah talks with foreign policy expert Sanho Tree about how the ‘Land of the Free’ have exported draconian drug laws, enslaving the rest of... The post Episode 11: Beyond Borders — How the U.S. Exports Dangerous Drug Policy with Sanho Tree appeared first on Narcotica ....
Feb 04, 2019•46 min
For the last several years there’s been a lot of controversy surrounding a drug called kratom, a plant from Southeast Asia that is used by millions of Americans to relieve pain and anxiety. The federal government has said this drug has high potential for abuse and has been quietly waging a war against kratom, leaving... The post Episode 10: Did The FDA Just Say Kratom Is Illegal? appeared first on Narcotica ....
Nov 28, 2018•24 min
For more than a century, Americans have had a love-hate relationship with cocaine. Once viewed as a cure-all tonic for everything from hemorrhoids to morphine addiction, the drug has inspired infamous rock songs and brought people to their knees. In the third and final segment of Narcotica’s ‘Speed Up, Slow Down’ series on stimulants, reporter... The post Episode 9: Speed Up, Slow Down Pt. 3 — The Cocaine Fentanyl Blues appeared first on Narcotica ....
Nov 20, 2018•30 min
With the midterms just days away, Zach, Chris and Troy explore America’s newest marginalized political constituency—millions of people with chronic pain or illness that have been ground under the wheel of American opioid policy. We speak with Lauren DeLuca, President of Chronic Illness Advocacy & Awareness Group about how we got here and how the... The post Episode 8: Collateral Damage—Patients Fight Back appeared first on Narcotica ....
Nov 02, 2018•41 min
Narcotica co-host Zachary Siegel moderated a panel at the 12th National Harm Reduction Conference in New Orleans. The panel was the brainchild of the Drug Policy Alliance’s Michael Collins, titled: Drug War Déjà Vu: How harm reductionists can push back against drug-induced homicide laws, harsh fentanyl penalties, and the further demonization of drug users.” Panelists... The post Episode 7: Drug War Déjà Vu appeared first on Narcotica ....
Oct 24, 2018•1 hr 30 min
In the ’80s, a rampant fear of “crack babies” permeated the mainstream media. But the claims of kids deformed due to crack cocaine turned out to be bullshit. Troy Farah reports on how this urban legend originated, and how it’s morphed into another false narrative: the addicted baby myth. Plus, we examine why pregnant drug... The post Episode 6: Speed Up, Slow Down Pt. 2 — Myth Evolution: From Crack Kids to Addicted Babies appeared first on Narcotica ....
Oct 18, 2018•15 min
With all the focus on opioids, Narcotica has decided to launch a series on stimulants called “Speed Up, Slow Down.” In the first installment, Zachary Siegel takes a critical look at how media depicts meth and cocaine use. He interviews two users about how stimulants actually help them function. Then, he talks to Sheila Vakharia... The post Episode 5: Speed Up, Slow Down Pt. 1 appeared first on Narcotica ....
Oct 11, 2018•25 min
In response to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s outrageous supervised consumption op-ed in the New York Times, the Narcotica team speaks with Laura Thomas, of the Drug Policy Alliance, who broke down the obstacles harm reduction workers face in opening a site in the United States. Thomas, who is deputy state director at DPA, has... The post Episode 4: Supervised Consumption Breaks Rod Rosenstein’s Brain appeared first on Narcotica ....
Sep 16, 2018•39 min
