Episode 15: The Beauty of Harm Reduction

Reporter Drew Penner tracks down four very different but important perspectives on the evolving harm reduction movement. This episode will take you from east coast of the United States to London, Ontario, to Vancouver's downtown eastside. And we'll even wade into the thorny topic of an illegal, but promising therapy. Harm reduction isn't for the faint of heart, but the stories we bring you today are empowering tales.

Check out some of our Beyond Addiction clothing products here. Read Drew's blog post on our blog.

Producer and Host: Karla Stephens Tolstoy 

Co-producer, researcher, lead journalist, original sound design: Drew Penner

Music: soundcloud.com/frequencyhorizon (iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/frequency-horizon/id1127552995)

Song of the week: Jon Clever aka Be Clever Beats https://soundcloud.com/becleverbeats/harm-reduction

Cover image: Collage by Drew Penner of imagery from Kenneth Anderson, iamwilli.am, end_thewod, ann harkness (via Flickr).

In this episode you will hear from:

-Dr. Arnold Washton, a substance abuse consultant to professional sports teams, foreign governments, the American Food and Drug Administration, and even the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, discusses his “drink smartly” program for problem drinkers.

http://recoveryoptions.us/

-Randy Richmond, a London Free Press reporter covering that city’s efforts to bring forward a variety of harm-reduction measures to help sex workers, alcoholics and drug addicts.

www.lfpress.com/author/randy-richmond

-A woman working on the front lines of the opioid crisis in Vancouver’s downtown eastside.

-Tim, an ex-con and former substance abuser who has been taking plant-based hallucinogen ayahuasca as a way to improve his life.