Dr Gillian Shorter is currently a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast, with 17 years’ research experience on substance use and allied works. Her main research focus is supporting people who use drugs or alcohol who are not seeking formal treatment. She led the evaluation of the UK’s first unsanctioned drug consumption site in Glasgow, Scotland run by Peter Krykant, and has an interest in developing models for overdose prevention centres including community engage...
Sep 28, 2022•39 min•Ep. 73
Libby and Ben are third-year students from Swansea University and the University of York, who are deeply interested in the use of psychedelics in medicine and drug policy. At their universities, they are presidents of their respective Psychedelics in Medicine societies which raise awareness on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs among fellow students. Tune in to the episode to find out about their journeys into the world of Drug Science and how to get involved yourself! Get in touch w...
Sep 14, 2022•37 min•Ep. 72
Mattha Busby is a freelance journalist for publications including the Guardian, Observer, London Times, Vice, Jacobin and Leafly. Based in Mexico, Mattha writes about health, drugs, nutrition, human rights, blockchain, the environment, and events in Latin America. 'Should All Drugs Be Legalized?’ reads the title of his first book, listen to this week’s episode to find out the answer! Should All Drugs Be Legalized Mexican drug war Medical cannabis Oaxaca Awakn Life Sciences Group Ibogaine Ayahuas...
Aug 31, 2022•40 min•Ep. 71
This week’s episode features Andrew Gold of the On the Edge with Andrew Gold podcast. Andrew Gold is a journalist and TV presenter who lived in 6 countries, producing documentaries on bizarre and controversial subcultures. His documentaries range from the award-winning Exorcism: The Battle for Young Minds to stories on hunted UFOs. ★ Support this podcast ★
Aug 17, 2022•50 min•Ep. 70
Professor Badiani received his doctoral degree in Medicine and Surgery from Sapienza University of Rome and carried out post-doctoral research in Italy (CNR), Canada (CSBN), and USA (University of Michigan) to then return to Sapienza University Medical School as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology, progressing to the rank of Full Professor in 2008. At Sapienza he also served as Associate Chief Physician in the Drug Addiction unit of the University Hospital. Additionally, he has...
Aug 03, 2022•46 min•Ep. 69
Professor Allan Young is a psychopharmacologist and the Director of the Centre for Affective Disorders in the Department of Psychological Medicine in the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London. Prof Young is the clinical academic lead in the Psychological Medicine and Integrated Care Clinical Academic Group in the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust where he is also a Consultant Psychiatrist and the head of the National Affective Disorders Tertiary Clinic. ...
Jul 20, 2022•48 min•Ep. 68
Listen in to hear Robin’s valuable perspective on matters such as assisted death, private education and the difference between a debate and a conversation. The Demon-Haunted World The Infinite Monkey Cage Assisted dying Section 28 Peter Singer if… Frankie Howerd Amusing Ourselves to Death ★ Support this podcast ★...
Jul 06, 2022•47 min•Ep. 67
Coming from Canada, home to one of the most progressive drug addiction services in the world, Manisha was reporting for VICE News in their new documentary 'Beyond Fentanyl' which looks at how drugs like “benzos,” "dope” and “tranq” are ravaging North American communities and how U.S. policy affected the latest flood of synthetic street drugs. Tune in to this week’s episode for a VICE journalist’s perspective on drug policies around the world. Oxycodone Heroin Fentanyl Benzodiazepines Downer and ...
Jun 22, 2022•31 min•Ep. 66
This week’s episode features Professor Bruce Alexander, a psychologist and professor emeritus from Vancouver, BC, Canada, author of two books about addiction: Peaceful Measures: Canada's Way Out of the War on Drugs and The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit. Professor Alexander conducted a series of experiments into drug addiction known as the Rat Park experiments. Which brought into light the true complexity of addiction and the influence of our environment on how we u...
Jun 08, 2022•43 min•Ep. 65
This week’s episode features English television and radio presenter, and model Melanie Sykes. Melanie is an advocate for medical cannabis use for childhood epilepsy and other chronic conditions. In 2021 she became an Ambassador in Medcan Support - a non-profit community interest company who provide free resources and educational material on medical cannabis, the endocannabinoid system and the positive outcomes cannabis treatment has had on so many people throughout the UK. With her support, she ...
May 25, 2022•44 min•Ep. 64
This week’s episode features yet another great speaker at the ESPD55 conference Mark Plotkin, an ethnobotanist, advocate for tropical forest conservation and the host of Plants of the Gods podcast. Following research at Harvard under Richard Evans Schultes and years of working in a close relationship with the native communities of Amazonia, Mark with his books, podcasts and talks educates the public about the wondrous world of plants, their history, medicinal and cultural significance. According...
May 11, 2022•46 min•Ep. 63
Wade Davis is a Canadian cultural anthropologist, ethnobotanist, author, and photographer. Davis came to prominence with his 1985 best-selling book The Serpent and the Rainbow about the ‘zombies of Haiti’. He is professor of anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. Davis has published articles in Journal of Ethnopharmacology , Outside , National Geographic , Fortune , and Condé Nast Traveler . He is an Explorer-in-Residenc...
Apr 27, 2022•44 min•Ep. 62
Dennis Jon McKenna is an American ethnopharmacologist, research pharmacognosist, lecturer and author. He received his doctorate in botanical sciences from the University of British Columbia and completed post-doctoral research fellowships in the National Institute of Mental Health and in the Department of Neurology at Stanford University School of Medicine. His research has included the pharmacology, botany, and chemistry of ayahuasca and oo-koo-hé, the subjects of his master's thesis. He has al...
Apr 13, 2022•42 min•Ep. 61
This week we’re talking about ketamine with Professor Celia Morgan, a Professor of Psychopharmacology at the University of Exeter and the academic lead for Exeter Translational Addiction Partnership (ETAP) and Ketamine for Reduction of Alcoholic Relapse (KARE). Professor Morgan is interested in the effects of drugs and alcohol on the brain and behaviour. Her research focuses on examining both the benefits and side effects of recreational drugs on cognition, mental health and neurobiology. Throug...
Mar 30, 2022•47 min•Ep. 60
Dr Watts is a clinical psychologist, a mother, and a nature lover. Her work as the Clinical Lead for Imperial College London’s psilocybin trial, and subsequent role as the Clinical Director at Synthesis Institute, have made her one of the most prominent voices and minds in the field of psychedelic research. Dr Watts builds tools and structures to foster connectedness after psychedelic experiences, finding inspiration for their design from nature. The most recent of which is the integration commu...
Mar 16, 2022•46 min•Ep. 59
Professor Dame Carol Black studied history at Bristol University, then worked as a schoolteacher, however, in 1965 Black enrolled as a mature student to study medicine which she graduated from at the age of 30. During her career, she’s been an advisor for the government on issues such as the relationship between work and health. She’d issue reports regarding sick leaves due to physical and mental health, including drug addictions. In 2019 Professor Dame Carol Black was appointed to lead a major ...
Mar 02, 2022•36 min•Ep. 58
Ethan Nadelmann studied at Harvard University and London School of Economics and was a lecturer at Princeton University. While at Princeton, Nadelmann’s work focused on drug policy, attracting considerable attention with his articles in Science , Foreign Affairs, National Review and many others. He also formed the Princeton Working Group on the Future of Drug Use and Alternatives to Drug Prohibition. In mid-90s Nadelmann founded the Lindesmith Center, a drug policy institute that six years later...
Feb 16, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 57
James Fadiman is a true man of many talents. Wikipedia calls him an ‘American writer’, but actually, he’s worked in multiple fields, from psychology, through to IT and, finally, to psychedelic research. He studied Psychology at Harvard University and obtained a PhD from Stanford University. As a graduate student at Stanford, Fadiman was Stewart Brand's LSD guide on Brand's first LSD trip, at Myron Stolaroff's International Foundation for Advanced Study in Menlo Park, California. He was also part...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 56
If you were told you had months, weeks or even days left to live...would you care what the law said about consuming psychoactive substances? This week’s episode features Spencer Hawkswell the CEO of TheraPsil - a non-profit coalition dedicated to helping Canadians in medical need access legal, psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat end-of-life distress. Spencer believes that responsible drug policy requires effective organization and leadership and is dedicated to bringing together the exper...
Jan 19, 2022•48 min•Ep. 55
This week’s episode features Paul Glue, professor of Psychiatry at the Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand. With a vast experience in both academia and pharmaceutical industry, Paul Glue's research focuses on clinical and basic science to investigate the pharmacology of drug treatments in psychiatry and the disease mechanisms of neurological and psychiatric disorders. He is also interested in psychopharmacology and the development of novel therapeutics for affective diso...
Jan 05, 2022•39 min•Ep. 54
Cory Doctorow is a Canadian-British citizen of Eastern European Jewish descent and, frankly, it is no less difficult to grasp his vast interests and points of expertise than his family roots. After attending four universities without obtaining a degree, Cory’s career started with co-founding free software P2P company called OpenCola and selling it to the Open Text Corporation after four years. Later Doctorow relocated to London and worked as European Affairs Coordinator for the Electronic Fronti...
Dec 22, 2021•54 min•Ep. 53
Niamh Eastwood is the executive director of Release, the national centre offering legal services for drug users. She started at Release as a legal advisor. Now, having worked in drug policy for the last fifteen years she’s co-authored many of Release’s advice booklets and drug policy related papers including ’The Colour of Injustice: 'Race', Drugs and Law Enforcement in England and Wales’. One of the aspects of drug laws she’s most passionate about is how disproportionately they affect the most ...
Dec 08, 2021•44 min•Ep. 52
In this week’s episode we'll meet Dr Mendel Kaelen, CEO of Wavepaths, a London-based company researching and developing methods for music-assisted psychotherapy. Prior to Wavepaths, Dr Kaelen worked as a PhD student and post-doctoral neuroscientist at Imperial College London with a special focus of the role of music in psychedelic therapy. Combining his passion to both music and neuroscience he advocates for the therapeutic use of music in talks and publications that has been featured in Nature ...
Nov 24, 2021•54 min•Ep. 51
Dan Carden is a British Labour Party politician serving as the MP for Liverpool Walton since 2017. A self-proclaimed “proud Scouser”, Carden highlights his close relationship with Liverpool’s working class and recalls his father being the shop steward during the Liverpool dockers’ dispute. From his early years he cared deeply for his community, standing on picket lines as a young boy and then going into politics. He studied International Relations at the London School of Economics where he also ...
Nov 10, 2021•47 min•Ep. 50
Professor Mike Barnes is a consultant neurologist and an expert cannabis physician. He dedicated his career to the development of neurological rehabilitation as well as medical cannabis awareness and education. After holding multiple senior NHS management positions, chairing Neurological Rehabilitation in the UK and years of clinical practice, professor Barnes brings his expertise to educate clinicians and patients about the benefits of medicinal cannabis and CBD wellness. He also is an advocate...
Nov 01, 2021•46 min•Ep. 49
Norman Baker, described by our host, professor Nutt, as “the first and last truly honest politician” is a Liberal Democrat and former MP for Lewes in East Sussex. Following three years as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Transport he was promoted to Minister of State at the Home Office in 2013. However, rejection of many of his progressive suggestions including ones on drug policy e.g. legal use of medical cannabis for pain relief in cancer and multiple sclerosis patie...
Oct 27, 2021•51 min•Ep. 48
Dr Margaret Ross is a Senior Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist from Melbourne, Australia and the Chief Principal Investigator for Australia’s first psilocybin assisted psychotherapy study. Throughout her career, her main focus has been youth mental health and more recently cancer and palliative care. Following working as a research psychologist and clinical trial coordinator for The University of Melbourne and Orygen Youth Health, Margaret decided to move into researching alternatives fo...
Oct 13, 2021•40 min•Ep. 47
Theresa Marteau is a British health psychologist, professor, and director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge. Her initial research concerned communicating risk information and found out that people usually don’t change their behaviours despite receiving any form of information about preventable diseases like type 2 diabetes or certain types of cancer. Hence, she decided to redirect her focus on the non-conscious rather than conscious processes that could imp...
Sep 29, 2021•59 min•Ep. 46
Today’s episode features Dr Peter Gasser, the president of the Swiss Medical Society for Psycholytic Therapy. Professor Nutt and Dr Gasser talk about the rather unusual and innovative attitude to psychedelic research in Switzerland. How can Britain learn from the Swiss? What are the drug policies in the Albert Hofmann’s - the discoverer of LSD - country? Dr Peter Gasser is a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist and the President of the Swiss Medical Society for Psycholytic Therapy since 1997. ...
Sep 15, 2021•47 min•Ep. 45
This week on the Drug Science podcast, Professor Deborah Mash tells us about Ibogaine. A hallucinogenic compound derived from the roots of a West African shrub, sometimes used as a treatment for heroin or cocaine addiction. Professor Mash found herself trying to reverse the damage that cocaine had caused on the streets of Miami, Florida. To explore new and novel therapies, she took a flight to Amsterdam to examine whether a West African shrub could be cure to cocaine and heroin dependency. Since...
Sep 01, 2021•52 min•Ep. 44
