This week’s episode features Carl Hart, professor of neuroscience and psychology at Columbia University in New York.

Professor Nutt and Professor Hart discuss drug addiction and its political context in the US. Are drug policies racist? Were they made to help or to harm? What does the declaration of independence has to do with drug criminalization? 

Coming from an impoverished area in Miami, Florida professor Hart used to believe drugs are the reason for problems he observed in his neighbourhood and hence gained specific interest for addictions in his scientific career. Now, however he is debunking drug addiction himself and acknowledging structural injustices both in drug policies as well as the jurisdictional system in the US as a whole. Besides being featured in the movie “The House I Live In” on the War on Drugs campaign, he’s given talks for TEDMED, Talks@Google, The Reason Foundation, The Nobel Conference and many others.

Professor Hart has also authored books in which he criticizes the criminalization of drugs and advocates the positive effect of recreational drug use. In this week’s episode we’re going to find out about his most recent one - “Drug use for grownups - chasing liberty in the land of fear.”

Shownotes:

Cocaine self-administration study in rats

Nicotine self-administration in rats study 

The dopamine theory of addiction review 

Dopamine

Serotonin

Norepinephrine 

Julis Axelrod  

Nicotine

Extinction burst

High Price - book by professor Carl Hart

House I live in 

Crack cocaine

Ecstasy

Drug use for grown-ups: chasing liberty in the land of fear - book by professor Carl Hart

Oregon drug decriminalization 

Peyote

Opioids

Psychedelics

Marihuana/ Cannabis

Map of US states which legalised the use of marihuana