PSYCHOACTIVE

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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