PSYCHOACTIVE

Whom do you call when you’re having a “bad trip,” or just need to process a psychedelic experience that’s now behind you? The Fireside Project is a psychedelic peer support line, co-founded by Hanifa Nayo Washington and Joshua White, that has been well received in the rapidly growing psychedelic community. I was curious to learn how and why it emerged, how’s it going, why Hanifa thinks there are no “bad trips," and the role of psychedelics in the Black community. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost every Democratic member of Congress has voted to legalize marijuana but Republican support has remained scarce. Nancy Mace, a first term member of Congress from South Carolina, wants to change that. She recently introduced a legalization bill that has attracted strong support from the marijuana industry and begun to re-shape the debate within Congress over how best the federal government should deal with marijuana. I was curious why she did this, how both Democrats and her fellow Republicans have responded, whether she thinks Congress will pass any significant marijuana reform legislation this year – and what she thinks of psychedelics. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mycologists study mushrooms, and very few mycologists are household names, let alone have a Star Trek character named after them. But Paul Stamets is a truly exceptional character who has played an extraordinary role in researching, discovering and popularizing the potentially revolutionary contributions of mushrooms and other fungi to medicine, environmental repair and human consciousness. We talked about all of this as well as his unique career, his discoveries and patents, and the “stoned ape” hypothesis. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Among the eighteen states that have legalized marijuana to date, no state has faced greatest challenges in trying to suppress the illicit market and regulate the legal one than California – and nowhere within the state have the challenges been greater than Los Angeles. I met Cat Packer in 2016, when she moved from Ohio to California to work on the Drug Policy Alliance’s successful campaign to legalize marijuana statewide. One year later, at age 26, Cat was chosen as the founding director of Los Angeles’s new Department of Cannabis Regulation – a position she still holds. I had lots of questions for her – about making the transition from activist to government regulator as well as lessons learned, successes and failures, and the particular challenges of diversifying participation in the new legal industry. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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One of the outstanding figures in the current Psychedelic Renaissance is Matt Johnson, who recently became the first researcher to be appointed to an endowed chair in psychedelic studies. He is the Susan Hill Ward Professor in Psychedelics and Consciousness at Johns Hopkins University, a university which has played a pioneering role in renewing psychedelic research. Matt and I talked about the politics of psychedelic research, the relative merits of psilocybin versus other psychedelics, the significance of the mystical experience and what he calls the “dope slap effect,” why psychedelic therapy may represent a paradigm shift in psychiatric treatment, the in’s and out’s of conducting psychedelic experiments, and much more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George Soros' Open Society Foundations has been the outstanding funder of harm reduction initiatives around the world since the mid-1990s. The brilliant individual directing that work until just a few months ago is Daniel Wolfe. We discussed the challenges and frustrations of trying to advance harm reduction in often hostile environments from Central and East Asia to Mexico and Ohio and how a traditional public health approach can prove not just insufficient but even counter productive. Daniel also opened up about the fascinating personal journey that ultimately led him to this work. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hamilton Morris has been writing and making documentaries about drugs and the people who make them for over a decade, delving into the relationships between chemicals, people and society. We discussed his outstanding TV series - Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia - including his objectives and creative process, his efforts to challenge popular myths and misconceptions, and the chemists and filmmakers whom he most admires. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is growing rapidly in popularity in the United States and abroad, both because ketamine is the only psychedelic that can be legally prescribed and because its unique properties open up opportunities for profound insight and personal growth. Dr. Gita Vaid is among the outstanding practitioners and teachers in this area. She is a lead instructor at The Ketamine Training Center and recently co-founded the Center for Natural Intelligence, a multidisciplinary laboratory dedicated to psychedelic psychotherapy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kratom, an herbal extract from the leaves of a tree indigenous to Southeast Asia, is now used by millions to enhance mood, relieve pain and reduce the symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Dr. Kirsten Smith is a post-doc fellow at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH) who is playing a central role in researching this fascinating substance. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in start-ups and investors developing psychedelic medicines. Simeon Schanpper is a founder and managing partner of JLS Fund, a venture capital fund investing in plant based and psychedelic medicines that aim to heal illness and enhance wellness. We talked about the tensions between philanthropic and for-profit investment, the challenges and opportunities of this explosive new sector, and his own fascinating personal journey which included running a medical marijuana dispensary and psychedelic art gallery in Venice Beach, California. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For decades, sports have been regulating drug use among athletes, but of course, anytime you make a rule, people break it, and today we are going to talk to one of the NBA's best-known rule breakers. Stephen Jackson played fourteen years in the NBA, and he was described by Larry Bird as one of the toughest competitors he ever knew. Yet, throughout his whole career, he was a regular marijuana user. I'll talk to him today about why he found marijuana beneficial, how he managed to evade the system, and his unlikely and close relationship with George Floyd. Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt Culley was an early adopter of vaping and became a prominent vaping activist. He's also worked as a product designer, consultant, and is a board member of Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association. In this episode, he explains how and why e-cigarettes emerged, how the products and industry have evolved, and why he thinks vape shops should be thought of as for-profit harm reduction centers.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first sentence to Dimitri’s Wikipedia entry describes him as “a harm reductionist, activist, musician, poet, writer, anarchist, and psychedelic practitioner.” He spent years using large amounts of heroin and cocaine, then put that all behind him with the help of ibogaine, which prompted him to start helping others with underground ibogaine sessions, which got him arrested, which lead him to become a leader in providing innovative wellness services for people in harm reduction programs, which, which, which… And all that only skims the surface of describing Dimitri’s remarkable journey and ongoing evolution as a compassionate and innovative helper of those who struggle with drugs and life.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maia Szalavitz is among the most brilliant thinkers and writers about psychoactive drug use, addiction, treatment, altered states of consciousness and neuroscience. Her book, Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction, was widely acclaimed for its analysis of addiction as not a crime but a learning disorder. Her latest book, Undoing Drugs, gave us an opportunity to talk about the pioneers in the United States, England and elsewhere who challenged conventional thinking about drug users and addiction, started life-saving programs to prevent HIV transmission and overdose fatalities, and initiated a harm reduction movement that has shaped US and global drug policy.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a holiday bonus episode, here's an interview I did with the podcast Ephemeral. To listen to more Ephemeral go to https://www.ephemeral.show or subscribe to the Ephemeral podcast.Let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fifty million Americans suffer from chronic pain. Most of us know what happened when pharmaceutical opioids were over-marketed and overprescribed in the United States but few people appreciate how far the pendulum has now swung in the opposite direction, with many doctors now refusing to prescribe opioids even to patients who have clearly benefited from them. Kate Nicholson served as a civil rights attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice for 18 years, during which time she developed intractable pain that left her unable to sit or stand and barely able to walk for nearly two decades. She recently started an organization, the National Pain Advocacy Center (NPAC), to advance the health and human rights of people in pain. This is an issue I’m passionate about, which is why I recently joined NPAC’s advisory board.I'll talk to Kate today about her own experience with this topic, the various ways states and doctors have restricted the prescribing of opioids, and what makes this a particularly American problem.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Afghanistan has produced most of the world's opium and heroin since the 1990s. With the Taliban's recent return to power, I was eager to talk with the world's leading expert on this subject, David Mansfield. I wanted to know why Afghanistan has occupied this role for so long, and how the Taliban’s involvement in illicit production and trade has changed over the years. Why is it we never hear about the sorts of narco-lords who became infamous in Mexico, Colombia and Burma? Could a different US anti-drug policy have prevented the Taliban takeover? How do Pakistan, Iran, China and Russia deal with Afghanistan on this issue?David addressed these questions and many more, including what we can expect from the Taliban now that they're back in power.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few people can explain harm reduction therapy better than Patt Denning. She’s a clinical psychologist who has played a pioneering role in developing the field, teaching and training thousands of health professionals. I talked with Patt about her own evolution in embracing harm reduction and how she teaches those who had been committed to 12-step and abstinence-only approaches. I asked her how she deals with people who have lost control of their drug use – and why a therapeutic session sometimes works better if the client has taken drugs just before the session.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carl Hart is one of the bravest academics I know. His specialty is neuropsychopharmacology. He's the Ziff Professor of Psychology at Columbia University. He's published hundreds of scientific articles on psychoactive drugs, including many which challenge conventional thinking. And he wrote a book earlier this year in which he discussed his experience using heroin while serving as chairman of the Psychology Department. We talked about that, of course, but I also wanted his perspective on all sorts of other drugs, including MDMA, psychedelics and the growing variety of synthetic substances.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Elias Dakwar at Columbia University has conducted research studies – supported by federal funding -- into the use of ketamine combined with mindfulness meditation to help people struggling with addiction and depression. I wanted to understand everything about this: Why is he among the very few researchers to receive funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for this sort of work? How does ketamine compare to psilocybin and other psychedelics? What is the experience of subjects in his studies? How does his approach to administering ketamine compare to others? What’s the added benefit of including mindfulness mediation? And what does he think about the future of psychedelic studies and his role in this burgeoning field?Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I wanted to try something different with this episode: to team up with a brilliant friend and colleague to answer questions from PSYCHOACTIVE listeners. Dr. Julie Holland is a psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist who has written many outstanding books, including most recently Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection, from Soul to Psychedelics. Julie is a long-time believer in the potential of psychoactive experiences to open our worlds and heal our minds. And, as you'll hear in her answers, she also has first-hand experience with many drugs, both good and bad.Julie and I had such a great time that we plan to do more Q&A episodes in the future. We'll give you a heads up on when to expect the next one, but feel free to send us your questions in the meantime! Our number is 1-833-779-2460 for voicemails. Our email is [email protected], and we love getting voice notes recorded on your phone there. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The federal government claimed that Leonard Pickard was quite possibly the biggest producer of LSD in history. There’s no telling if that was true, but a judge sentenced him to two life sentences without parole in a high-security prison. Leonard thought he’d die there, but he was released late last year after serving twenty years.We talked about the Brotherhood of Underground Chemists who produced much of the world’s LSD in the late twentieth century – their motivations, beliefs and what distinguished them from major producers of other illicit drugs.Leonard talked about his many years behind bars, living with the belief that he’d never get out. And we talked about the recent explosion of interest in psychedelics research and medicine, as well as his growing involvement in this increasingly legal domain.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If someone had suggested just five years ago that the day would soon come when the majority leader of the U.S. Senate would co-sponsor a comprehensive bill to legalize marijuana federally, most people would have asked what that person was smoking. But that day has come, with New York’s Senator Chuck Schumer joining with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Oregon Senator Ron Wyden in circulating a draft Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act they say will soon be introduced.Senator Schumer took fifteen minutes this past Sunday morning to address my questions: Why is he so personally involved in this issue given everything else on his plate? What about first resolving the critical issue, on which most members of Congress already agree, of passing the Safe Banking Act to allow marijuana businesses to work with banks just like all other businesses do? How does he deal with the opposition from not just most Republicans but also a few of his Democratic colleagues as well as President Biden? Will the Senate take the next step on reforming drug sentencing laws? And, by the way, has the Senator ever smoked marijuana?Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patrick Radden Keefe is a brilliant journalist and staff writer for The New Yorker. His recent book, Empire of Pain, examines the ways in which the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma contributed to the opioid epidemic in the United States by aggressively marketing OxyContin to physicians and patients. His story is unique in its focus on the owners of that company – the Sacklers. Patrick's revelations about the ways in which Purdue and the Sacklers gained advantage and avoided responsibility through revolving door relationships with officials at the FDA, DEA and Justice Department are particularly compelling and infuriating. But I also pressed him to address the concerns of legitimate pain patients who use opioid medications responsibly but are now increasingly stigmatized and unable to obtain the medicines that enable them to manage their pain. I challenged Patrick on his view that the entire Sackler family merits collective responsibility for the actions of some. And we had a lively discussion about who should be held culpable for the epidemic of overdose fatalities when so many variables play a role.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I first crossed paths with Larry Krasner almost thirty years ago, when he was a young activist attorney representing a needle exchange program in Philadelphia. Today he is district attorney of Philadelphia and one of the highest-profile progressive prosecutors in the United States.We talked about what it’s like to switch sides after decades of criminal defense and to occupy the single most powerful law enforcement position in city government. I asked about his support for local harm reduction policies, as well as his efforts to take on the “evil twin” of mass incarceration: mass supervision. And I pressed Larry on a few questions he was more reluctant to answer, like the influence of his upbringing on who he is now, and whether he might best accomplish his reformist objectives by running for mayor of Philadelphia.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early 2000s, Clive Bates was one of Britain's foremost advocates against cigarette smoking and Big Tobacco. Today he is one of the world's foremost proponents of e-cigarettes as a way to help people quit smoking and reduce the harms caused by combustible cigarettes.There's no better teacher about tobacco harm reduction than Clive, which is why I pressed him on the toughest questions: Aren't the risks of e-cigarettes still unknown? Shouldn't we be concerned about people developing a lifelong addiction to vaping nicotine? Isn't Big Tobacco just trying to hook a new generation of nicotine users just as the demand for cigarettes is declining? Is Britain's successful experience with tobacco harm reduction really a model for other countries. And, of course: what about the kids?Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim Ferriss is an entrepreneur, investor, podcast host and productivity guru who first gained fame as author of the "4-Hour" self-help book series. During the past few years, he has focused much of his attention on psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted therapy both to deal with his own trauma and to help others. He has invested in the nascent psychedelics industry and contributed millions of dollars to support research as a philanthropist and fundraiser.I’d never met Tim before. We talked about how his own life journey had been influenced by his experiences with psychedelics. I liked the perspective he brings to blossoming debates about the powerful ways in which for-profit interests both expedite research and government approval of psychedelics but also pose risks by putting money first. And we discussed growing concerns regarding sustainability and environmental impact now that millions of people are seeking out plant-based psychedelic substances. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Nora Volkow has headed the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which funds a majority of the world’s research in the area, since the early years of George W. Bush’s administration. I was pleasantly surprised when she agreed to join me for an episode of PSYCHOACTIVE since I’ve been highly critical of the agency’s priorities and its failure to fund important domains of research for what appear to be political reasons.I pressed Dr. Volkow on a host of questions I’d long wanted to ask her: Why does NIDA devote relatively little funding to the sorts of ethnographic research that might provide important insights into the overdose epidemic? Or to researching the health effects and consequences of mass arrests and incarceration for drug law violations? Or to studying the medical benefits of marijuana and psychedelics? Or to better understanding “controlled drug use,” i.e., the ways in which people use all sorts of drugs without their drug use becoming problematic? Or to examining the potential of supervised injection facilities, heroin-assisted drug treatment and other innovative harm reduction interventions that have proven successful abroad?I also wanted to know how she’s managed the political challenges of working under four different administrations as well as those presented by members of Congress who favor highly punitive approaches to illicit drug use. We discussed her frustrations with current laws that constrain what NIDA can do and how she tries to maintain the integrity of an agency that claims the scientific high ground while operating in a highly politicized context.I’m fairly sure that Dr. Volkow had never before been pressed on these issues in a public interview. I found her responses frustrating but was grateful for her willingness to have this conversation.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Juan Manuel Santos was president of Colombia from 2010 to 2018, during which time he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to negotiate a peace treaty to resolve the multi-decade conflict with the FARC guerrilla group. He also emerged as the outstanding political leader in Latin America, indeed the world, advocating for far-reaching reform of global drug policy while still in office. We discussed his interactions with Presidents Obama and Trump, as well as other Latin American presidents, during a period when momentum for drug policy reform was greater than ever. I asked President Santos about the evolution in his own thinking about drug policy, and the challenges he confronted in advocating for reforms within his own country. We talked about the impact of marijuana legalization in the United States within Latin America, and the steps he took to advance drug policy reform discussions and policies at the Summit of the Americas and the United Nations. And we discussed current drug policy developments in Colombia, the United States and the broader region.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Pollan is an extraordinary journalist and thinker whose writing about food and drugs has educated and influenced tens of millions of readers. No book in recent history has done so much to enlighten people about the benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy as his 2018 best-selling How to Change Your Mind. His latest book, This is Your Mind on Plants, examines three psychoactive drugs: opium, caffeine, and mescaline. But I first met Michael in 1997, when he wrote a prescient article about the political and cultural impact of California’s pathbreaking medical marijuana initiative, Proposition 215.Here, we discuss why Michael's book on psychedelics has had such a transformative effect, and whether he still believes the new psychedelic revolution may be proceeding too quickly for its own good. He reflects on the challenges of writing about one's own psychedelic experiences -- and why caffeine is the one drug one studies not by using it but by abstaining from it. Few relationships are as complex and multi-dimensional as those between psychoactive plants and us humans, and few humans are as insightful on this relationship as Michael.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More people died last year from a drug overdose than from gun shootings, motor vehicle accidents, drownings and AIDS combined! Few people bring greater research and insight to this issue than Dan Ciccarone, a physician and professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), who has studied illicit drug markets, communities and consumers for two decades. We talked about the role of prescription opioids and street heroin, why the fentanyls are so deadly, and why COVID made the problem worse. I asked him why overdoses increasingly involve stimulant drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine, why fatal overdose rates vary so greatly around the country, and why so few other countries are suffering similar problems. And we talked about what needs to be done, including lessons from abroad, to dramatically cut the number of people dying this way.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When New York legalized marijuana in late March, it did so in a way that instantly became the new gold standard for how best to legally regulate marijuana. No one deserves more credit for this victory than Melissa Moore, director of New York State advocacy efforts at the Drug Policy Alliance, who spearheaded the campaign over the past two years. Melissa explains how the advocacy effort and ultimate legislation were profoundly shaped by prior struggles over gross racial disparities in marijuana arrests. It breaks new ground in automatically expunging past marijuana convictions. It prevents the biggest marijuana companies from dominating the industry. And, perhaps most significantly, it integrates economic, social, and racial equity objectives into both the regulatory framework and the allocation of marijuana tax revenues. With this law, New York is also the first state to allow adults to smoke marijuana in public anywhere one can smoke a cigarette. Melissa and I caught up on how all these provisions became part of the historic law.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Savage is the famed podcaster and columnist on sex and relationships. We talked all about drugs and sex – what works, what doesn’t, how our brains are wired for risk, and how there’s no clear line between use and abuse when it comes to sex or drugs. We got personal, with Dan describing how MDMA (“Ecstasy”) saved his marriage. And we compared perspectives on the struggles for gay rights and for drug policy reform. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yale Law Professor James Forman won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for his courageous and remarkably insightful book, Locking Up Our Own, in which he reflected on his experience as a public defender in Washington, DC in the 1990s. Many of James’ clients were young Black men getting arrested and often locked up for drug offenses and other drug-related crimes. He saw himself engaged in the unfinished work of the civil rights movement and needed to understand why so many Black citizens and even political leaders viewed the drug war as essential to the survival of their community. We talked in depth about the simultaneous over- and under-policing of crime, and the ways in which mass incarceration results from small, distinct steps taken mostly at the local level. It’s a testament to the nuance he brings to his book that it was cited by both Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor in a recent Supreme Court case.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pioneering physician explains why there are no good or bad drugs, just good or bad relationships with drugs. There’s no one who has shaped my own thinking about drugs so much as Andrew Weil. Andy is famous as the force behind integrative medicine – the synthesis of traditional and alternative medicine – but he first became known to me and many others for his writing on drugs and consciousness, with books like The Natural Mind, From Chocolate to Morphine and The Marriage of the Sun and the Moon.Our conversation covers an incredible diversity of drugs and topics: the wonders of the cannabis plant, the implications of psychedelics going mainstream, the potential of placebo medicine in better understanding chronic pain, the value of kava in treating anxiety, the psychoactive pleasures of eating a ripe mango, even the ways in which cannabis and dogs have evolved similarly in their relationships to human beings. There are, Andy explains, infinite ways of altering consciousness. Psychoactive drugs can show us possibilities, but how we foster those possibilities is up to us.Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rolling Stone called me “the Real Drug Czar.” I’m Ethan Nadelmann and this is Psychoactive, the show about all things drugs. We want to hear from you. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected] Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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