Narcotica Podcast

Opioids are some of the best drugs ever invented. News flash! But that’s not something you’ll hear from the mainstream media anymore. No, the official message is that opioids are only problematic and even in the instances where they are prescribed by doctors, there’s this baggage, this stigma and shame attached to it. And no, recognizing the value of these drugs doesn’t make you a big pharma shill, in spite of drug companies that have exploited and yes, in some cases overprescribed these substances — but that’s a critique of capitalism, not chemicals that happen to mercifully act on our opioid receptors. Of course, no one really outright says we need to ban all opioids. But in effect, that’s what we’re doing, banning them. Prescriptions of opioids have dropped significantly in the past decade, falling by 51.7% over 11 years, from 260.5 million in 2012 to 125.9 million in 2023. That hasn’t resulted in a significant drop in overdose deaths. Instead, the current climate, and attacks from the DEA has left many doctors now afraid to prescribe these drugs, even when necessary. And the rash of stigma against people who use opioids, licit or illicit, has not done anything to actually stop drug use. But these policies and attitudes do have an impact. Who has that harmed the most? Patients who need them. On this episode, Narcotica co-host Troy Farah speaks with Liz Chiarello, an Associate Professor of Sociology at Saint Louis University where she conducts research at the intersection of healthcare and law. Her research centers on how cultural forces such as law, politics, and organizational policy influence decision-making in healthcare and the criminal-legal system. She is author of the recent book “Policing Patients: Treatment and Surveillance on the Frontlines of the Opioid Crisis.” If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 84: How Drug Seizures Damage Public Health with Drs. Bradley Ray, Jennifer J. Carroll and Brandon del Pozo Episode 65: Restoring Trust in Doctors Amidst The Overdose Crisis with Dr. Ben Cocchiaro and Dr. Ashish Thakrar Episode 81: Harm Reduction Against the Prison-Industrial Complex Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Intro voice: Jenny Schaye Image: via Flickr The post Episode 91: Drug Surveillance Won’t Stop at Opioids with Liz Chiarello appeared first on Narcotica.

The endless whac-a-mole of the drug war, banning one chemical as soon as three more become popular, can never be won. That just isn’t how chemistry or human nature works. But that hasn’t stopped profiteers and special interest groups from pushing the same old strategies, none of which has resulted in significantly lowering overdose deaths or making communities healthier. It has, however, resulted in strange new drugs arriving on the street, which means harm reduction has had to evolve and respond every time something new comes along. How do we navigate all this change? By following the same principles harm reduction was founded on in the first place: meeting people where they are and reminding them their health matters. On this episode, Narcotica cohosts Aaron Ferguson and Troy Farah speak with Claire Zagorski, MSc, LP, a licensed paramedic, and a graduate research assistant and PhD student in translational science at The University of Texas at Austin. She studies illicit drug supply contamination and composition, and drug checking implementation. If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 74: Cannabis And Capitalism — Preventing Another Big Tobacco with Shaleen Title Episode 47: Can Harm Reduction and Cops Coexist? Episode 73: Oh No! Not Naltrexone! with Nancy Curran Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Intro voice: Jenny Schaye Image: via Flickr The post Episode 90: Navigating Shifting Chemical Landscapes with Claire Zagorski appeared first on Narcotica.

The discussion dives into the chaotic landscape of drug policy as we approach 2025. Hosts reflect on rising overdose rates and the alarming emergence of drugs like xylazine. They critique the lasting impact of political agendas on harm reduction efforts while celebrating recent advancements in methadone regulations driven by activism. The conversation also spotlights the stigma surrounding overdose prevention sites and acknowledges the unsung heroes advocating for change. Hope and resilience shine through as they emphasize the power of community-led initiatives.

Harm reduction means so many different things to so many different people, and some have even grown weary of the way the term has now been weaponized. How do we get back to the true core of helping people? Maybe by returning to the roots of the harm reduction movement to understand why these practices evolved in the first place. On this episode, Narcotica co-hosts Aaron Ferguson and Troy Farah speak with Joy Rucker, co-founder of the Black Harm Reduction Network (BHRN), and also a National Harm Reduction Consultant and Founder of the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance. Joy has served people with HIV, substance use, mental health and unhoused issues for over 30 years. Her story is one of strength and adaptability, responding with compassion in the face of discrimination, stigma and attacks on public health. If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 70: How Testosterone Bans Criminalize the Body with Adryan Corcione Episode 58: How Racism Fuels The Drug War with Kassandra Frederique Episode 76: How To Change Your Mind About ALL Drugs with Veronica Wright Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Zachary Siegel, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Intro voice: Jenny Schaye The post Episode 88: Helping Harm Reduction Flourish with Joy Rucker appeared first on Narcotica.

On today’s episode, we’re going to talk about drug testing but not the tedious ways in which you should (probably) do it. There are plenty of great guides out there which we’ll link to one or two in the show notes. Instead, we’re going to discuss how drug testing equals empowerment. It’s more than just knowing what you may or may not be taking. It’s about stepping in where the government has failed and finding autonomy. Narcotica co-hosts Aaron Ferguson and Troy Farah spoke with Charlton Roverson, the Eastern Regional Coordinator with the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition in Fayetteville and Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, a pharmaco-epidemiologist and scientist at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who helps run the UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab. More info at https://www.streetsafe.supply/ Here are some drug testing guides: Bunk Police: https://bunkpolice.com/ Reagent testing instructions from DanceSafe: https://dancesafe.org/testing-kit-instructions/ CDC guide to fentanyl test strips: https://www.cdc.gov/stop-overdose/safety/index.html If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 55: Street Sampling Synthetics, from Carfentanil to Xylazine with Alex Krotulski Episode 82: Drug War Activism and the Future of Harm Reduction with Louise Vincent Episode 84: How Drug Seizures Damage Public Health with Drs. Bradley Ray, Jennifer J. Carroll and Brandon del Pozo Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Zachary Siegel, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Image: Images via The Noun Project // edit: Troy Farah Intro voice: Jenny Schaye The post Episode 87: Drug Testing Equals Empowerment with Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta and Charlton Roverson appeared first on Narcotica.

Narcotica and Narcomedia are proud to share an exciting new sibling podcast, Naturally Noncompliant, which is about people who stand in line and fight for safe supply, especially methadone, the original safe supply. Methadone is the first frontier in this fight, and this show emphasizes the voices of patients and directly impacted people in that battle. The material for this show stems from the “Naturally Noncompliant” call that takes place every other Thursday and is organized by the National Survivors Union, the national voice of people who use drugs. During COVID-19 methadone clinics were allowed to relax the stringent rules that had been in place for many decades for the first time. Few of them did so, and our story and interview today center around the entrenched attitudes and ossification that has kept the very treatment systems tasked with helping from doing so. Imagine what everyone else is doing… This is the first of a two part interview with Irene Garnett and Caty Simon. Caty Simon has spent 20 years in the low-income rights, psychiatric survivors’ rights, sex workers’ rights, and drug users union movements. She is a leadership team member of and a sex worker liaison for National Survivors Union (NSU), the United States national drug users union. Follow Naturally Noncompliant on iTunes, iHeart Radio, Spotify and more. The post Bonus Episode: When Nothing Changes Nothing Changes from Naturally Noncompliant appeared first on Narcotica.

Naloxone is a miracle drug. Calling any drug a miracle can be problematic, but admittedly there are a few of them, in my opinion: penicillin, insulin, mifepristone and misoprostol, thorazine, viagra (cough, cough) and yes, naloxone. I think it qualifies as a miracle drug, something that works so well it is astonishing. So many people fought so hard and for so long to have access to naloxone. It wasn’t always so available like it is in some places today. But the way that we are treating opioid overdose antagonists is changing. Many companies have price-gouged their way into profiting and exploiting a vulnerable population. They are bringing in naloxone analogs that they claim are more effective, without much evidence, but they do have serious side effects. And because the drug supply is only getting more and more unpredictable, with many non opioids entering the mix like xylazine and benzo analogs, naloxone may not help with overdoses of this kind. How can we navigate this shifting landscape? Narcotica co-hosts Chris Moraff and Troy Farah speak with Nancy D. Campbell, author of the books Discovering Addiction and OD: Naloxone and the Politics of Overdose. She is a historian of science who studies addiction research and treatment at RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, including at the U.S Narcotic Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. Learn more about Nancy D. Campbell here. Read “OD: Naloxone and the Politics of Overdose” here: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/12054.001.0001 If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 36: Moral Hazards and Naloxone, A Toxicologist’s Perspective with Ryan Marino Episode 65: Restoring Trust in Doctors Amidst The Overdose Crisis with Dr. Ben Cocchiaro and Dr. Ashish Thakrar Episode 73: Oh No! Not Naltrexone! with Nancy Curran Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Zachary Siegel, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Image: Image via VCU Capital News Service / Flickr // edit: Troy Farah Intro voice: Jenny Schaye The post Episode 86: Why Naloxone Still Matters with Nancy D. Campbell appeared first on Narcotica.

Challenging misconceptions about drug cartels in Mexico, exploring US influence and militarization, analyzing the Merida Initiative's impact, discussing the war on drugs and geopolitical implications, Lopez Obrador's militarization dilemma, journalist challenges in Mexico, and promoting the guest's book and supporting the show.

Like some kind of perverse fishing expedition, we’re all familiar with the drug warriors’ favorite form of theater: the drug bust. Every police department seems to do this, posing their officers with huge (or even tiny, inconsequential) bags of drugs, stacks of cash and sometimes a cache of weapons, propping everything up as if it’s the prize that will finally win this futile, violent campaign. It’s been clear for decades that drug busts don’t stop the flow of drugs (or even make a dent), but amongst certain people, it is also common knowledge that these busts actually worsen drug overdoses. In other words, taking drugs off the street can increase ER visits, cause more fatalities and just generally make underground drug markets less safe. Now, thanks to research last year in the American Journal of Public Health, we have some pretty damning evidence of this relationship. Narcotica co-hosts Chris Moraff and Troy Farah spoke with the study authors, Drs. Bradley Ray, Jennifer J. Carroll and Brandon del Pozo about their research, its policy implications, but also how this study fits into the broader picture of safe supply, how most cops resent being part of the drug war and You can read the paper titled “Spatiotemporal Analysis Exploring the Effect of Law Enforcement Drug Market Disruptions on Overdose, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2020–2021 ” here: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307291 Salon was one of many publications that covered this study if you’d like to read more. (This episode was done over the summer, hence mention of DULF still being a thing… It’s taken us way too long to get new episodes out lately, but 2024 should be different.) If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 75: Copaganda — The Favorite Tool of Drug Warriors with Alec Karakatsanis Episode 44: Reimagining Public Health and Racial Justice with Dr. Ricky Bluthenthal Episode 12: Beyond Borders — “El Chapo” and the Mexican Fentanyl Pipeline with Keegan Hamilton Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Zachary Siegel, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Image: Image via Coast Guard News // edit: Troy Farah Intro voice: Jenny Schaye The post Episode 84: How Drug Seizures Damage Public Health with Drs. Bradley Ray, Jennifer J. Carroll and Brandon del Pozo appeared first on Narcotica.

The War on (People who Use) Drugs has claimed over a million victims in the last two decades, every fatal overdose representing deep policy failures that attempt in vain to control normal human behavior: self-medicating and inducing euphoria. None of this wonky policy bullshit matters much when you’re the parent of a child who dies from an overdose. Few things in life are as devastating as losing your kid. It stirs up some of the deepest, darkest emotions humans are capable of and when drugs are involved, that typically turns into a thirst for retribution. That can mean demanding stricter penalties for drug use, like so-called drug homicide laws, or calls for increased police surveillance. But we have over a century of data proving that prohibition doesn’t work. More cops, more draconian drug laws — it all just backfires. We have more police, more prisons and yet more drug overdose deaths than ever before. That’s why it’s such a breath of fresh air when parents whose children struggle with drug use or addiction advocate for harm reduction and sensible drug policy. Narcotica co-host Troy Farah spoke with Gretchen Burns Bergman, whose two grown sons who are in long-term recovery from heroin addiction, and Tamara Olt, M.D., who lost her 16-year-old son Joshua to an accidental heroin overdose in 2012. Both strongly advocate for a more rational approach to how we treat substance use in the U.S. They discuss everything from safe supply, to the myths of “tough love” and “enabling” to buprenorphine access to the ridiculous (but trending) idea that fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction. This interview, which was conducted last November, was also featured in Salon. Read Tamara’s essay in Elle here: https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a29036663/syringe-exchange-grief-recovery/ Lear more about GRASP (Grief Recovery After Substance Passing) here: https://grasphelp.org/ Learn more about A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing), a non-profit organization that works to reduce the stigma associated with substance use disorders through education and compassionate support at https://www.anewpath.org/ Learn more about Moms United at: https://www.momsunited.net/ Also, Narcomedia is excited to announce a new project, all from the perspective of people who use drugs: Naturally Noncompliant is a new podcast all about people who use methadone. Listen to the first episode here or on iTunes or Spotify: https://rephonic.com/podcasts/naturally-noncompliant If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 62: Policing Pleasure — The Intersection of Sex Work and Drug Use with Tamika Spellman and Caty Simon Episode 56: Drug Use During Disaster with Aaron Ferguson Episode 67: Methadone in the Time of Covid with Danielle Russell Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Zachary Siegel, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Image: Image via The Noun Project // edit: Troy Farah Intro voice: Jenny Schaye The post Episode 83: The Parents Who Oppose The War on Drugs with Tamara Olt and Gretchen Bergman appeared first on Narcotica.