Grammy-winning musician John Osborne never imagined he’d turn to psychedelics. But when he went through a mental health breakdown, they saved his life. A skeptic turned advocate, John shares how psilocybin therapy helped him recover from deep depression, persistent anxiety, and more. With research continuing to demonstrate that psychedelics may offer a powerful treatment option for many, why are they still illegal? And how many lives could be saved if we let science and new research shape our drug policies? 

A new episode of The War on Drugs will be available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts.

The War on Drugs is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts and Stand Together Music in association with Signal Co. No1.

Additional notes:
To find more information about psychedelics  and the evidence-based approaches used to treat various mental health conditions, visit the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) website. LINK

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Lead MC of the legendary Cypress Hill, B-Real grew up in LA at the height of the drug war, initially on the street hustling side of things. Music took him out of that life, but when California began to legalize in 2016 B-Real got back into the game on the legitimate side.  He found however what many early-adopting entrepreneurs are finding - the Federal ban means you can’t use the banking system, and when you try and expand state to state you’re faced with a byzantine maze of conflicting regulations.  What all this means is that the people that were formerly operating outside the system - are finding that operating inside the system is something of a dead end.  B-Real’s companies employ hundreds of people in California, and could do so for thousands nationwide. But small operations like his can’t afford the regulatory navigation, so are increasingly losing market share to bigger institutional players, or worse, being driven right back into the black market.

A new episode of The War on Drugs will be available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts.
The War on Drugs is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts and Stand Together Music in association with Signal Co. No1.

Additional Notes:
Because of federal restrictions, most banks won’t work with cannabis businesses, forcing them to operate almost entirely in cash. This makes them easy targets for crime and creates huge financial challenges. Reforms are needed so legal businesses can use banks like any other industry— reducing crime, improving oversight, and keeping the public safer. To learn more, click here.

High taxes, complex regulations, and expensive licensing don’t just hurt legal cannabis businesses—they push consumers back into the black market. When legal products are too expensive or difficult to access, unregulated sales grow, putting people at greater risk from unsafe products and criminal activity. To learn more, click here.

The podcast, its co-hosts, and its sponsors do not endorse or promote any specific products or companies discussed during the episode.

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Marcus King grew up in Greenville, SC, watching people around him get written off—criminalized instead of helped, cast aside instead of supported. His own story could have gone the same way. Instead, music, finding sobriety, and building supportive community saved him. In this episode, Marcus talks about his journey to sobriety, the shifting cultural conversation around addiction, and why meeting people where they are—without stigma or judgment—is the key to real change.  

A new episode of The War on Drugs will be available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts.

The War on Drugs is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts and Stand Together Music in association with Signal Co. No1.

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The champion MMA fighter and Marine Corps veteran is no stranger to pain - both dishing it out and taking it.  Hear her take on the ongoing War on Drugs, and what the lack of coherent federal policy means for our community of Veterans, athletes and others dealing with high-level pain management - how she has found positive results managing her own pain with CBD, to the point where her brain scans show a marked drop-off in inflammation since her use of cannabinoids, and even recovered from surgery without any use of traditional pharmaceutical painkillers.  Meanwhile the VA, taking its cues from the Federal policy, is not even allowed to discuss these alternate treatments with its patients, often forcing Veterans down the path of pharmaceuticals with the risk of addiction and other consequences.

A new episode of The War on Drugs will be available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts.

Veteran suicide remains a serious issue. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated 17.6 veterans die by suicide each day. Source: VA News

CBD exists in a legal gray area. The FDA has not approved CBD for general medical use and many states heavily restrict or even ban CBD products - including those that can't get you high. Source: PBS News 

Studies show that veterans are at higher risk of opioid overdose compared to the general population. This underscores the urgent need for safer pain management alternatives. Relevant studies: Saving Lives: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Rapid Naloxone Initiative; Changing Trends in Opioid Overdose Deaths and Prescription Opioid Receipt Among Veterans; VA Fact Sheet (CSPEAR) on Opioid Use Disorder

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), prescription medications including painkillers, are provided to eligible veterans at low or no costs. Meanwhile, CBD products are not covered by VA healthcare and must be paid for out-of-pocket. Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; VA Copay Rates 

The War on Drugs is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts and Stand Together Music in association with Signal Co. No1.

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For years, the headline was: “Heisman Trophy winner and NFL All-Pro running back Ricky Williams quit the NFL to smoke weed.” The real story? Much deeper. Cannabis helped Ricky manage pain, both physical and mental, in ways the media and the sports world didn't understand in 2004. Now that the NFL has progressed significantly on cannabis policy, Ricky reflects on the cost of systems that punish people for making their own health choices. What happens when we stop treating all substances like one-size-fits-all dangers? And how much potential—on the field, in the workplace, in life—is held back when those closest to a problem aren't in control of the solution?

A new episode of The War on Drugs will be available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts.

The War on Drugs is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts and Stand Together Music in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greg and Clayton welcome you back to The War on Drugs Podcast with “Stories Matter.”  This Season, you will hear notable voices from across the cultural spectrum on their personal, lived experience, and how the failures of the War on Drugs policy continue to affect people’s lives, even as progress is made at the local level.  

A new episode of The War on Drugs will be available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts.

The War on Drugs is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts and Stand Together Music in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to season two of The War on Drugs podcast, co-hosted by comedian Clayton English and Greg Glod, advisor to Stand Together on Criminal Justice and Drug Reform. This season, we’re bringing you real stories from real people—artists, athletes, and influencers like B-Real, Marcus King, Ricky Williams, John Osborne, and many others who lived the impacts of the War on Drugs firsthand. We’ll explore how drug policy isn’t just a political issue—it’s personal. We’ll talk about pain management, mental health, overcoming addiction, entrepreneurship, and the fight for personal freedom. The War on Drugs isn’t over. And the stories we share this season prove it.

The War on Drugs will be available every Tuesday beginning March 18 wherever you get your podcasts.

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Pulitzer Prize winner and iHeartPodcast 2024 Social Impact Award Honoree Maggie Freleng brings compelling stories of redemption and justice with new episodes of Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng starting September 9, 2024.

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Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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Lava for Good’s critically acclaimed Wrongful Conviction podcast, co-hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, and Pulitzer prize-winning podcast host and producer Maggie Freleng, returns with gripping new episodes that delve into harrowing stories highlighting pervasive issues in the criminal justice system. Flom and Freleng speak with individuals who were wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish in prison. Their cases underscore shocking systemic failures and outright biases within the legal system. Episodes will alternate between the two hosts every Monday and Thursday beginning January 8, 2024.

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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Twenty-two-year-old Elma Sands is found murdered in a Manhattan well on January 2nd, 1800. Her lover, wealthy and well-connected Levi Weeks, is accused of the barbaric offense. Weeks brings in the nation’s best legal defense team – none other than Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr – to clear his name while a pandemic-stricken New York City buzzes with scandal. This six-episode true story unfolds over the unbelievable two-day trial that laid the sexist roots of today’s justice system. Through flashbacks & testimony recreated in modernized language and narrated by Allison Flom, Erased: The Murder of Elma Sands investigates history’s chronic erasure of women and highlights the toils of Catherine Ring, a 27-year-old Quaker woman who took on the nation’s best legal team to preserve her cousin Elma’s name. Starring & Executive Produced by Allison Williams ("Get Out", "Girls") as Catherine Ring, Tony Goldwyn ("Scandal," "Ghost") as Alexander Hamilton, Barry Scheck (Innocence Project Founder) as Aaron Burr, and Jason Flom (Wrongful Conviction) as Judge John Lansing.

https://link.chtbl.com/ScLF1iuL

Erased: The Murder of Elma Sands is released weekly, starting next Wednesday, October 18th, wherever you get your podcasts. Or, to hear all six episodes right now, ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Erased: The Murder of Elma Sands is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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