Say Know Podcast

On this special bonus episode of the Say Know Podcast, Matt spoke with Jason Warick, a CBC investigative journalist and former reporter for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Jason explores the similarities between investigative reporting and police work, the recent Humboldt Broncos tragedy, and how journalists maintain their mental health in the face of death and heartbreak. They also delve into importance of anonymous sources in both journalism and criminal justice and how to approach each case responsibly and ethically. Lastly, Jason explains why he's hopeful for both the futures of drug policy and journalism.

HIGHLIGHTS:

-The emotional effect of reporting on tragic news and a reporter's responsibility to share painful yet important stories with the world.

-Weighing complete empathy vs. complete disconnect when dealing with a sad story and finding the ideal balance.

-Considering every side even in the most tragic of stories and doing right by treating all facets critically.

-How do you cover all perspectives in a story fairly when everyone involved isn't equally available?

-What responsibilities do both journalists and police have to their confidential informants?

-The lengths Jason went to in order to preserve the anonymity and safety of his informant during a trial.

-The essential role of anonymity in maintaining constructive relationships between people and their institutions.

-Walking the fine line of establishing trust with your sources while avoiding developing too personal a relationship with them.

-The shifting attitudes toward drug policing and crime Jason has noticed over the course of his career.

-Hope on the horizon: the growing trend toward analytic journalism that truly explores the larger issues that affect society.

-Jason's final pointers on writing humane, constructive and informative journalism and living healthy while you do so.

QUOTES:

"It's not only the facts of what might happened in that incident... but it's also to tell the world what Humboldt is like and what these people are like."

"If you have no emotion, that's gonna show. There's gonna be no emotion in your stories either."

"It's a real struggle and I find myself veering to one extreme or the other and then having to mentally bring myself back."

"Our job is not only to convey the emotion but convey the truth of things, right? So if it's untrue, then you're doing a disservice to the public."

"That relationship of confidentiality between a source and a journalist or a police officer... is fundamental to our democracy and fundamental to justice in this country."

"The meaningful change is gonna happen when everyone—social workers, police officers, journalists, everybody—really starts to look at the big picture."

"Sometimes you have to write about horrible things that happen to good people, and to me, part of the way I get around that or deal with that is to find something redeeming."

"Not everything in life is horrible just like that thing you've been talking about for eight hours."

LINKS:

"Saving Crystal Napope," article by Jason - http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/saving-crystal-napope

CBC story on Jason protecting sources - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/starphoenix-reporter-jason-warick-placed-in-custody-for-refusing-to-hand-over-notebooks-1.2984844

Jason's StarPhoenix stories - http://thestarphoenix.com/author/jason-warick-saskatoon-starphoenix

Jason's Twitter feed - @WarickCBC

Official Say Know homepage - http://www.sayknow.org/

Canadian Research Initiative of Substance Misuse (CRISM) Prairies website - https://crismprairies.ca/

SayKnow.org Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/sayknoworg

SayKnow.org Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/SayKnowOrg

Music provided by Redbull DJ Champ, Charly Hustle - http://www.charlyhustlemusic.com

Bill Bogart is University Professor and Professor of Law at the University of Windsor, as well as the author of Off the Street: Legalizing Drugs, which explores research-based drug policy. Bill is interested in the actual impact laws have on socioeconomic conditions. Over the last eight years, Bill has also written books on gambling and obesity and was struck how drugs have been not been subject to the same regulatory and educational approach as the other two. In this episode, he makes a case for the legalization of all recreational drugs while using medical supervision and education to reduce harm among users.

EDIT:

HIGHLIGHTS:

-Bill discusses how criminalization has not driven down drug use amongst the population.

-The effectiveness of regulation and education in combating smoking.

-Moving away from criminalization and toward harm reduction.

-Addressing safe injection sites and why they're an indication of changing attitudes.

-How legalizing and regulating drugs will not only reduce crime but contribute to the economy.

-Moving away from abstinence-only drug education and toward discussing moderation and risk-assessment; "Permit, but discourage."

-How do we approach the legalization of party drugs such as cocaine?

-Differentiating between use and harmful use, and the important of introducing a social support system alongside legalization.

-Why the United States' drug policies could negatively impact Canada's changing ones.

QUOTES:

"Shifting behavioural patterns... is a long, tough, complicated battle."

"Use and criminal sanctions are not very closely related."

"What is it in your life that you want to use heroin to try to blot it out?"

"The opioid crisis is forcing us in this emergency context to face drug usage."

"The silver lining of the very, very dark cloud of the opioid crisis is that we are actually moving to a context of legalization."

"If we legalize drugs, we confront the thugs!"

"I fear the notion that legalization will somehow become equated with approval."

"Anybody who thinks that capital punishment is going to solve this is from the dark side of the Moon."

LINKS:

Bill's homepage - http://www.wabogart.com/

Bill's Twitter hanlde - @wbogart2

Off the Street: Legalizing Drugs page at Dundurn - https://www.dundurn.com/books/Street

Official Say Know homepage - http://www.sayknow.org/

Canadian Research Initiative of Substance Misuse (CRISM) Prairies website - https://crismprairies.ca/

SayKnow.org Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/sayknoworg

SayKnow.org Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/SayKnowOrg

"Josh" is a friend of Matt and a former methamphetamine addict. A drug dealer since his teens, Josh was able to rise to the top of the Saskatoon drug trade until meth dependency derailed his life. In our conversation with Josh, he discusses the insidiously powerful pull of meth, the societal stigma towards its users.

HIGHTLIGHTS:

-How prescribed amphetamine for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder set the stage for Josh's later meth use.

-Josh's conscious concern of developing an addition while taking Adderall.

-The gradual yet cyclical early stages of his meth addiction.

-The surprising segment of white- and blue-collar users you normally wouldn't associate with meth.

-Why meth is a bigger draw to users compared to cocaine and other addictive drugs.

-Matt summarizes why the War on Drugs is ineffective and how education can circumvent its shortcomings.

-Josh's meteoric rise in his early years of drug dealing and why the business was inviting despite its risks.

-A description of an exciting yet very dangerous car chase got himself into.

-His downward slide from being a local drug kingpin to becoming a methamphetamine addict.

-How Josh's medical status as a "situational user" conflicted with his bail conditions.

-The mistaken belief that prescription drugs are "safe" by virtue of them being prescribed, and how most doctors aren't

accustomed to patients lying to them just to get a prescription.

-Debunking "the opiod crisis," and how racial bias plays a part.

-Considering collateral effects of the meth crisis, including theft and child neglect.

-Rethinking the police's relationship to drug policy enforcement.

QUOTES:

"No matter what I've done good in my life previously... anyone that knows I've touched meth, THAT is what always comes to

their mind first when they look at me. You never lose that stigma."

"It wasn't until I got involved with meth and started doing it regularly that being in jail and getting arrested was a

regular occurrence."

"When white kids die, it makes the news."

"They want that down, that opiate that takes them close to death. They want to gnaw it off!"

"I would say there is a meth crisis, definitely more than there is an opiate crisis."

"Anytime you make something illegal you create a demand for it."

"One of the things I realized about the people in jail is that most of them weren't even criminals."

"Addiction's a people's issue. You can't lump it into any category."

LINKS:

Official Say Know homepage - http://www.sayknow.org/

Canadian Research Initiative of Substance Misuse (CRISM) Prairies website - https://crismprairies.ca/

SayKnow.org Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/sayknoworg

SayKnow.org Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/SayKnowOrg

Music provided by Redbull DJ Champ, Charly Hustle -

The Say Know Podcast discusses all things drug-related, including policy, crime and research. We sit down with professionals and people who have lived experiences to discuss how we can make things just a little bit better. The Canadian Research Initiative of Substances Misuse (CRISM) has supplied funding to allow this podcast to happen, and this show is part of the CRISM Prairies Network.

In this introductory episode, Matt and Tina lay out their mission statement for the Say Know podcast.

HIGHLIGHTS:

-Matt describes how Say Know got started and Tina briefly relates how she became involved.

-Dealing with the cards you've been dealt and recognizing that you can make choices.

-Matt's background in law enforcement tackling the drug trade and why he reconsidered his role.

QUOTES:

"We need to start changing the way we look at people who are addicted, because those people... are hurting, and they're people who need help."

"We're about spreading knowledge and research so people can make healthy and informed decisions."

LINKS:

Official Say Know hopepage - http://www.sayknow.org/

Canadian Research Initiative of Substance Misuse (CRISM) Prairies website - https://crismprairies.ca/

SayKnow.org Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/sayknoworg

SayKnow.org Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/SayKnowOrg

Music provided by Redbull DJ Champ, Charly Hustle -