We're going to lift the curtain and go behind the scenes of drug law reform. Let's have some honesty about what it's really like working on the front-lines of this global issue! Joining us to give their valuable and candid insight: Sanho Tree - Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, and Director of its Drug Policy Project since 1998, Sanho is former military and diplomatic historian and has been described as the 'end of level boss' of drug policy. Niamh Eastwood - Executive Director of...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The Fear of 13 is the self-told tale of Nick Yarris, a prisoner who spent 22 years on death row. Nick's incarceration - and time spent in solitary confinement - led him to request his own execution. Nick wrote the book The Fear of 13 which was subsequently made into a film - currently available on Netflix. We're joined by one of the producers of the film, BAFTA and Emmy nominated filmmaker, Christopher Riley. Christopher describes Nick as one of the most interesting people he's ever met,...

A very special episode recorded on the parliamentary estate at Portcullis House in Westminster. We're joined by a panel of parliamentarians and members from the incredible campaign group, Anyone's Child. We're talking about the journey of drug policy reform: Anyone's Child members are walking the Thames Pathway all the way to Westminster - a day of mass lobbying is to take place on June 25th. This podcast was made to give multiple perspectives as to why we need urgent drug law reform in...

We need to keep talking about the Philippines and their literal war on drugs, predicated by President Rodrigo Duterte. We're joined by a trio of journalists who have covered this subject, both on the ground and within the presidential palace, but also how this fits in relation to international drug policy. - Jonathan Miller is Channel 4 News' Asia Correspondent and author of the biography Duterte Harry (which you can hear in a previous episode). - Livvy Haycock is a friend of the podcast...

Marilou Gagnon is a nurse, a professor, and a tireless harm reduction worker who is part of an inspiring movement in Canada which literally saves lives. In this episode we talk about pop-up overdose prevention sites, a new way of preventing people dying in Canada and Marilou is at the forefront of this new frontier. We also chat about the growing conversation for safe supplies - can Canada initiate a policy whereby those who consume drugs are able to get safe and regulated sources? And if...

After coming back from their fact-finding trip to the US, the team behind Jonathan Pie join us to discuss their BBC film Jonathan Pie's American Pie. And oh wow, is this a conversation?! Our guests: Tom Walker, the person behind the Jonathan Pie. And we have an all-star list of previous guests in: Andrew Doyle, co-writer of Jonathan Pie. Olly Pollard, producer and co-director of Jonathan Pie's American Pie. And Jennifer Randall, lecturer at the Queen Mary University - where we were...

Southeast Asia's crime waves range from drugs to human trafficking and these trades are extremely lucrative, and yet the West doesn't seem to talk about it very much. Why? We have a much needed conversation with award winning journalist Patrick Winn. We chat about the writing of his book 'Hello, Shadowlands' and the unprecedented insights he got into the region's meth trade. We also take a look at what's going on in Myanmar. And we also talk about the the contraceptive pill...? Yes, this is...

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) is one of the most respected publications in the world, so much so that it doesn't really need an introduction, does it? We're joined by: - Ian Hamilton, mental health worker and academic who's written for the BMJ, Independent, and many other publications - Dr Fiona Godlee, the Editor in Chief for the BMJ - Richard Hurley, the Features and Debates editor for the BMJ In this episode we discuss if the medical profession holds the key to drug policy...

Channel 4 Hunted's Peter Bleksley and Danni Brooke, and documentary filmmaker Aaron Roach Bridgeman... do we have a chat or what?! This is a very powerful look into drugs, gangs, the mafia, undercover work, and the UK streets. Each guest can give an incredible insight from their rather unique perspective. All three of our guests are now media professionals, but each one of them is very familiar with street-level interaction and crime. We often have intriguing and powerful testimonies, but...

We're joined by Hunted's Chief, Peter Bleksley, Hunted's Danni Brooke, and documentary maker Aaron Roach Bridgeman. We're talking about television, crime, documentaries, and the realities. All three of our guests are now prominent media figures, but each one of them has a very interesting background: Peter Bleksley is now the Chief on Channel 4's hit programme Hunted, and Peter is also a regular pundit on crime on many channels, but he started life as a police officer and has a very...

Jim Connolly made a film for BBC Newsbeat where he investigated the dark web and the rather new trend of mail order drugs. How easy is it? What goes on? And what can we learn? We're talking about drugs in the post. As a journalist, Jim was eager to look the headlines and see for himself what's going on with regards to mail order drugs. Is it something that anyone can do, or do you need some degree of specialist knowledge? Let's find

Sir Simon Jenkins was one of the first journalists to cast a questioning eye over the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. We were very lucky to be invited into Sir Simon's house where we have a very interesting discussion on the historical aspects of our drug laws and how they work in today's society. Writing for The Guardian and author of many books on history, it's fair to say that Simon is one of the country's most respected writers. We're joined by Neil Woods, former undercover drugs detective,...

Fully legal weed: For about a month cannabis has been legal and on sale in Canada - so what's really going on? We're joined by Jon Hiltz, journalist and author of the new book The Wild West: Canada's Legalization of Marijuana. Did the country really run out of cannabis in the first days of general sale? How do the citizens feel about being the first G7 country to have a fully legal system for marijuana? Any teething trouble? And what more can we expect? We cover a lot of ground in this...

What are the real causes of depression in society and individuals? And what part do these factors play in addiction and mental health? We're joined by author Johann Hari as we discuss his latest book, Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions. You may have heard Johann on our Stop and Search podcast before, but now we delve further into the causes of society's mental health. With suicide rates increasing, how can we create more connections...

We're literally inviting you to join us at a real London cannabis members club, but not only that we're joined by: Arfon Jones - Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for North Wales Greg de Hoedt - Chair of the UK Cannabis Social Club movement, known as the UKCSC Dr. Melissa Bone - Lecturer at the University of Leicester, academic, and very knowledgeable on human rights Yes, we're actually at a fully functioning London cannabis social club! This is an exclusive episode and we're lucky to...