Stop and Search

Author and journalist Antony Loewenstein spent nearly five years writing his incredible book, Pills, Powder, and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs.

This is a truly enlightening conversation about the writing of his book, and how Antony put his own safety on the line for his travels and research. The 'war on drugs' is wide-ranging, and Antony does a fantastic job in painting the bigger picture. From producer countries, transit countries, and consumer countries, we all play a part in the way drugs are produced, ferried, and consumed.

We take a look at how countries such as Honduras and Guinea-Bissau are destabilised due to them now being the preferred transit route of drug cartels. We also address just how much of a part the DEA and the US play in global politics and policing. And we also have to address the domestic picture when it comes to drugs in the UK and Australia.

This podcast was recorded in front of an audience at the Queen Mary University, London.

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Comedian Tez Ilyas joins us to talk about a whole load of things! Firstly, we chat about chicken boxes... which is a first for us on this podcast, but all will be explained #KnifeCrime

Tez has received a lot of critical acclaim for his stand-up comedy as well as his primetime TV show, The Tez O'Clock Show, so we also ask him about the importance of comedy and satire, especially how it relates to serious topics. We also chat about Tez's time in the civil service, how he negotiated with the army, and also the relationships between the police and people of BAME heritage. So yes, we cover a lot of ground in this!

Stop and Search is produced by:

Jason Reed, Nicky Elson, Tristan Bruce and John Cross.

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Murder Mountain is a documentary series on Netflix which is directed by Joshua Zeman - it takes a look at the legendary emerald triangle in California. This region is also infamous for another reason, hence why it gets the name Murder Mountain...

It's estimated that 80% of the blackmarket cannabis in the US historically comes from the emerald triangle, so how did it start? Who lives and grows there? Why do so many people fear the region? And why has it become known as the new Wild West?

With marijuana now legal in California, we also have to ask how has this process impacted the traditional 'mom & pop' growers of the region? And also, how has the law enforcement handled this whole story, both past and present? There's a lot to talk about in this episode, and Josh gives us a great deal of perspective.

This episode of Stop and Search is in association with LEAP - Law Enforcement Action Partnership. Follow them on twitter: @PoliceForReform

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Having worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry from an early age, Secret Drug Addict dabbled in a few substances during his time on the scene and now he speaks eloquently about his journey with drugs, addiction, and recovery. Having been at the epicentre on Brit Pop and the infamous bands of that era, as you may imagine, he's got some stories to tell!

Secret Drug Addict is a Twitter sensation, his account @ScrtDrugAddict has been used to raise awareness around drug addiction, but also many other causes as well. In this very candid episode we talk about his work in the charitable sector and his 'twitter takeovers' which cause a sensation.

This is a beautifully open and honest conversation, we cover a lot of ground, and we truly thank Secret Drug Addict for giving us his time. He's becoming increasingly in demand so we're thrilled to have had the chance to talk about his life and career.

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We're discussing the global drugs chain. From consumer countries, producer countries, and transit countries, the global chain for drugs is wide-ranging, but sometimes the links in the chain are not immediately obvious. We're joined by a great panel to discuss the many overlaps in the global drugs economy and to explain why none of us are free from the impacts and consequences:

Tom Wainwright is a journalist and the Britain editor at The Economist, he's also the author of Narconomics, and book which looks at the Latin American drug trade.

Juan Fernandez Ochoa is Campaigns and Communications Officer at IDPC - the International Drug Policy Consortium. Juan also leads on the development of the global Support. Don't Punish campaign.

Neil Woods is a former undercover drugs detective and is co-author of Good Cop, Bad War and most recently Drug Wars. Neil is a prominent member of LEAP and LEAP UK.

And of course your host is Jason Reed. This episode was recorded live at Tottenham Court Road Waterstones in front of an audience.

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On The President's Orders is a film directed by James Jones and Olivier Sarbil. In this startling documentary we get to see the Philippines' drug war from an up-close perspective. We're joined by James Jones to discuss the making of this eye-opening movie.

Shot like a Hollywood blockbuster, the beautiful cinematography is in stark contrast to the ultra-realism of subject matter. With a focus on key personnel in the police, in the communities, and in the prisons, this documentary has a raw power that manages to get across just what's happening under President Duterte's presidency. With thousands of people dead or missing, what's really happening in the Philippines - and what level of popularity does the president currently have for his zero tolerance on drugs and the policy of extrajudicial killings?

James Jones chats to us about what he saw as he co-directed this film, but we also discuss other film projects too, such as Unarmed Black Male, and an upcoming project.

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Iain Lee is a well known UK TV and radio presenter, with his show on Talkradio being renowned for its open dialogue on a range of issues, some of which can prove difficult topics. Iain also came third on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here, but he's also been very open about his own battles with mental health - we could not be more privileged in being able to have an extremely open and honest conversation with Iain about his journey with drugs, addiction, and recovery.

Iain takes nothing off the table in this chat, he's so beautifully candid about the routes into his own addiction, but also he speaks of how he relapsed after a period of recovery. What happened in his early career and the use of substances; when did he spot there was a problem? What's happened since? You really don't want to miss this conversation!

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This is a Transform Drug Policy Foundation takeover of the podcast! Join Transform's CEO, James Nicholls, as he hosts three key players from the North and South American drug policy reform scene:

Kathryn Ledubur - Director of Andean Information Network

Sanho Tree - Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies

Shaleen Title - A Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commissioner

How do we make sure that the communities who've been impacted by decades of punitive drug laws have a way of being involved in the emerging legal industries - such as cannabis and coca? How can we restore some justice to this picture? And let's learn about the communities that have already forged ahead!

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Michael Fuller was the UK's first black Chief Constable and his journey to this position is quite the story. Kill The Black One First is the title of Michael's memoir and it goes into his amazing career, his unique upbringing, and also many stories from his decades within the police force: "Kill the black one first!" was shouted at Michael as he stood shield-to-shield with his fellow officers on the frontlines of the Brixton riots in 1981... but we'll let Michael tell you that story himself!

We address a lot in this episode, such as racism in the police, as well as the contentious issue of stop and search powers - the success of this police tactic, but also its divisive nature in recent times. This is a truly fascination conversation with someone who's earned their place in the UK history books.

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Nish Kumar, he doesn't really need an introduction does he?! Nish recently had an appearance on BBC 1 Question Time where he had a debate with Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips over Stop and Search powers and race disparity, so we invited Nish to follow up on this discussion!

We talk about Stop and Search, race relations, the media, the power of satire, and how he would be grateful if he could stop being pulled out of airport security lines under suspicion of being a terrorist simply due to his ethnicity. With Nish being a comedian, we manage to have this conversation with a fair few chuckles too. We're biased, but we think this is a particularly a great episode.

Referenced throughout this podcast are two important organisation: Release and StopWatch UK. Please do find and support their work.

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