Sex work is work, just like coal mining, professional sports and literally any job that involves physical labor. So why is a show about drugs interested in sex work? For starters, there’s a lot of overlap in terms of harm reduction services that help people who use drugs and sex workers. Unfortunately, these services can be... The post Episode 62: Policing Pleasure — The Intersection of Sex Work and Drug Use with Tamika Spellman and Caty Simon appeared first on Narcotica ....
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 25 min
We’re truly living through a disaster. Drug overdose deaths rose nearly 30 percent in 2020 to a record high 93,000. This is no longer an “opioid” crisis. What I mean is, 2020 overdose deaths linked to stimulants, especially methamphetamine, also broke records. The other key development here is the further entrenchment of illicit fentanyl in... The post Episode 61: Undoing Drugs—Harm Reduction’s Early History with Maia Szalavitz appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jul 27, 2021•1 hr 6 min
One area where drug stigma especially persists, even among harm reduction advocates, is the prejudice against mothers and pregnant people who use drugs. Even some people in syringe exchange or who work in drug policy are against the idea of people with the capacity for pregnancy, (i.e. anyone with a uterus), using pretty much any... The post Episode 60: Perinatal Panic—Drugs, Pregnancy and Stigma with Ria Tsinas, Joelle Puccio and Erika Goyer appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jul 16, 2021•1 hr 40 min
Psychedelic drugs are well beyond the quote ‘renaissance’ stage and relatively recently entered a ‘gold rush’ as dozens of companies maneuver themselves to make this nascent industry as profitable as possible for themselves. At least that’s part of their motivation. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword for folks that want to see an end... The post Episode 59: Psychedelic Extinction—How Poaching Endangers Some Psychoactive Plants with Dr. Anya Ermakova appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jul 01, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Few social justice groups have put in as much work to end the war on (people who use) drugs like the Drug Policy Alliance. Since 2000, DPA has been behind some landmark drug reforms, such as leading a campaign to enact major reforms of New York’s notorious Rockefeller drug laws, assisting in a public education... The post Episode 58: How Racism Fuels The Drug War with Kassandra Frederique appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jun 12, 2021•56 min
For many people, psychedelic drugs like LSD or psilocybin are their first major introduction to a profoundly altered state of consciousness. Mental conditions like autism or ADHD are other forms of consciousness, although they don’t wear off after 12 hours and so-called ‘neurotypical’ people often have misconceptions about these mental arrangements. Many folks with autism... The post Episode 57: Autism, Acid and the Altered Brain with Aaron Orsini and Justine Lee appeared first on Narcotica ....
May 23, 2021•57 min
Our planet is in crisis, plagued by an increase in wildfires, floods, hurricanes, freak storms and outbreaks of disease. As a result, we’re seeing more and more people isolated, left to fend for themselves, as the cracks in public infrastructure only seem to widen. To use one prominent example, the state of Texas has been... The post Episode 56: Drug Use During Disaster with Aaron Ferguson appeared first on Narcotica ....
May 01, 2021•56 min
Amid a wave of synthetic drugs in recent years, Kensington, Pennsylvania has emerged as the locus for a different kind of experimentation, through a new generation of freelance entrepreneurs. Their bathtub chemistry is often guided by trial and error—leaving doctors, public health officials and harm reductionists struggling to understand the latest side effects. Last year,... The post Episode 55: Street Sampling Synthetics, from Carfentanil to Xylazine with Alex Krotulski appeared first on Narco...
Apr 24, 2021•45 min
There’s a “twindemic” raging across the state of West Virginia: Covid-19 has collided with an outbreak of HIV and hepatitis C. If that’s not bad enough, West Virginia has the highest overdose death rate in the nation. The CDC recently called the HIV outbreak in Kanawha County, West Virginia the “most concerning” in the country.... The post Episode 54: West Virginia, America’s Worst Overdose and HIV Hotspot with Lauren Peace appeared first on Narcotica ....
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr 4 min
It’s kinda weird hearing people say “weed is mainstream” now, when merely possessing the plant stuff can still earn you serious consequences in many parts of the world. But the growing popularity of cannabis is unmistakable. Marijuana is now a global, multi-billion dollar industry—well, to be fair, it always was, only now it’s all legitimate... The post Episode 53: A Life of Getting Lit with Tommy Chong appeared first on Narcotica ....
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Maybe it seems like an obvious question, but why is certain drug use illegal in the first place? Don’t you, as a human being, have some bodily autonomy and doesn’t that extend to alterations in the mind as well? What about the fundamental right to change your mind? On this episode of Narcotica, co-hosts Troy... The post Episode 52: The Fundamental Human Right to Get High with Casey William Hardison appeared first on Narcotica ....
Feb 23, 2021•58 min
Dr. Carl Hart has long been known as America’s preeminent drug scientist. If you listen to our show regularly, you’ve probably heard of him. He appeared briefly way back on Episode 6, talking about crack-cocaine. For the uninitiated, Dr. Hart is a neuroscientist at Columbia University, and he’s published well over 100 peer-reviewed, scientific papers,... The post Episode 51: The Joy of Drug Use with Dr. Carl Hart appeared first on Narcotica ....
Feb 21, 2021•1 hr 9 min
On this episode, we discuss how Mexico became a flashpoint of the war on drugs, broader trends in American foreign policy and drug policy, as well as the evolution of synthetic drugs as the main category of illicit narcotics. Our guest is Scott Stewart, a security analyst who for years penned one of the best... The post Episode 50: Sicarios and Supply Side Economics with Scott Stewart appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jan 26, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Most people know salvia as the weird psychedelic drug at head shops that you try once, have a bizarre, uncomfortable experience and never touch it again. But there’s so much more to salvia divinorum, psychedelics and plant medicine in general. Narcotica co-host Troy Farah speaks with Dr. Ivan Casselman, from Vancouver, B.C., Canada, who has... The post Episode 49: Salvia: Psychedelic Oddity with Ivan Casselman (Plus, Canada’s Emerging Psilocybin Scene) appeared first on Narcotica ....
Dec 22, 2020•49 min
Is there any class of people who receive more stigma, who get more shit and abuse for using drugs, than mothers? Probably not! For whatever reason, society really looks down upon mothers who use drugs. And too often, Child Protective Services use evidence of drug use, even prescribed drugs like methadone or buprenorphine, as a... The post Episode 48: Moms And Methadone with Elizabeth Brico appeared first on Narcotica ....
Oct 01, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Something that never gets said enough is that the drug war is racist. This is not an opinion any more than it is an opinion that the American Civil War was fought over slavery. Both were crafted by racists to serve racist agendas of controlling people based on their skin color. It is why it... The post Episode 47: Can Harm Reduction and Cops Coexist? appeared first on Narcotica ....
Sep 03, 2020•56 min
You ever wonder what the hell pharmacists even do? To laypeople, pharmacists are the gatekeepers standing between us and our drugs. But they can be, and arguably, should be, much more than that. Even though just about everyone has experience with pharmacists, some good, some really bad, the profession is still a bit of a... The post Episode 46: Behind The Pharmacists’ Counter with Jessica Moreno appeared first on Narcotica ....
Aug 17, 2020•47 min
When Morgan Godvin was 24, she sold her best friend Justin a gram of heroin. This wasn’t out of the ordinary. Both of them often used together and hooking each other up was essentially seen as a favor, to keep one another from experiencing withdrawal sickness. But this one time proved to be fatal. Justin... The post Episode 45: Overdose Is Tragic, Not Murder with Morgan Godvin appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jul 08, 2020•1 hr 4 min
There are several health crises occurring around the U.S. and the world right now: overdose deaths, a pandemic, police brutality and violence… While these crises may all feel distinct one from one another, they are actually deeply entwined and can be understood through a lens of racial justice. Overdose deaths disparately impact people of color,... The post Episode 44: Reimagining Public Health and Racial Justice with Dr. Ricky Bluthenthal appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jun 26, 2020•56 min
The last place you’d want to be dependent on drugs, besides the Philippines, North Korea or the United States, is probably Russia. To give just one example, the Motherland has long banned the use of medication-assisted treatment, such as buprenorphine or methadone, which has made recovery next to impossible for many users. Narcotica co-host Christopher... The post Episode 43: Russian Roulette—Life, Death and Getting High in Putin’s Backyard appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jun 09, 2020•37 min
Pretty much everyone on the planet is being impacted by Covid-19 right now. Harm reduction services like syringe access programs or supervised consumption sites are no exception. But for some people, these services are not just their lifeline, they’re the only healthcare they receive, period. And when hospitals and doctor’s offices are already stretched thin,... The post Hot Spots 1 – 3 Arizona, Iowa and Nova Scotia appeared first on Narcotica ....
May 29, 2020•55 min
The covid-19 crisis has exposed many weak spots in our culture and the need for radical change. It has revealed which workers are really essential—hint: it’s not executives keeping this late-stage capitalist economy afloat—and that we need to pay these workers a living wage. It has revealed that yes, healthcare is a human right and... The post Episode 42: Supervised Consumption is an Essential Service appeared first on Narcotica ....
May 04, 2020•44 min
Ketamine is one of the most versatile drugs on Earth, an amazing anesthetic that can relieve pain without the same risk of respiratory failure as opioids (nothing against them, of course.) Overwhelming evidence also suggests ketamine can rapidly reverse suicidal thoughts, making it a potent treatment for PTSD and treatment-resistant depression. Last year, a specialized... The post Episode 41: What Does It All Ketamine? with Dr. Erica Zelfand appeared first on Narcotica ....
Apr 06, 2020•51 min
In these uncertain times, Narcotica aims to not only give our listeners vital public health information, but also offer a sense of reassurance and community. If you’re following the social distancing guidelines, or working from home, life may feel a little extra lonely right now, and we aim to provide interviews and conversations to keep... The post Episode 40: Harm Reduction Amidst Pandemic with Daniel Raymond appeared first on Narcotica ....
Mar 17, 2020•44 min
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laid out guidelines for primary care doctors prescribing opioids to treat chronic pain. Essentially, these guidelines stated that opioids should not be the first line treatment for pain, and that other methods should be tried first. Which is perfectly sensible. But when it came to dosing... The post Episode 39: Pain Patients Are Still Fighting For Their Lives with Kate Nicholson appeared first on Narcotica ....
Mar 14, 2020•49 min
Public officials have been yelling from the rooftops that there’s an opioid epidemic. Yes, an obscene number of people are dying from overdoses, many of which involve opioids. But they’re not quite right. Researchers who really get what’s going on describe what’s happening to the U.S. drug supply over the last few years as a... The post Episode 38: Dead People Don’t Recover — The Importance of Safe Supply with Mark Tyndall appeared first on Narcotica ....
Feb 28, 2020•49 min
It’s difficult to write about drugs without being steeped and schooled in the discourse. Cultural tropes and conventional wisdom dominates the space. Drugs are anthropomorphized as the enemy. People who use drugs are described as manipulative and selfish, unless, of course, they’re “clean.” Often there is little empirical research cited and the same old voices... The post Episode 37: Covering Culture and Drugs with Substance with Kate Knibbs appeared first on Narcotica ....
Feb 20, 2020•1 hr 8 min
An opioid overdose can be a terrifying experience. When too much of a drug like heroin or fentanyl floods the brain, it can cause your breathing to stop. Sometimes you wake up, sometimes you don’t. But there’s a miraculous drug called naloxone or brand name Narcan that can reverse an opioid overdose and save your... The post Episode 36: Moral Hazards and Naloxone, A Toxicologist’s Perspective with Ryan Marino appeared first on Narcotica ....
Feb 13, 2020•50 min
Magic mushrooms are having a bit of a moment. Some scientists are bending over backgrounds investing in psilocybin research, which is getting huge accolades from the FDA, while a decriminalization movement is slowly sweeping the nation. At least two towns have made psilocybin arrests the cops’ lowest priority. But how do you prevent a mushroom... The post Episode 35: Holding Space — The Values of Trip Sitting with Michelle Janikian appeared first on Narcotica ....
Jan 20, 2020•1 hr
President Richard Nixon ignited the War on Drugs in 1971 by declaring drugs “public enemy No. 1.” Over the ensuing decades, the U.S. has turned the Drug War into a vital feature of its vast empire, exporting a drug policy of militant enforcement and harsh criminalization in Mexico, Latin America, South America, and beyond. Exactly... The post Episode 34: “Inside the Bloody War on Drugs” with Antony Lowenstein appeared first on Narcotica ....
Dec 16, 2019•1 hr 10 min
