Narcotica Podcast

When people say stigma kills, it’s not hyperbole. For some reason, it’s still totally socially acceptable in some circles to say that if someone gets an illness related to drug use, that they deserve it. Such sentiments aren’t just dangerous and untrue, they hold people back from getting what should be routine healthcare. Hepatitis C is a perfect example of this. There’s a cure for hepatitis C, but millions still can’t get it due to high costs, insurance strangleholds and a lack of widespread testing. That leaves people vulnerable to liver cancers, liver failure and death — all of which is totally preventable. Stigmatizing attitudes from medical staff and the Kafkaesque hoops people have to jump through to get treatment are just some of the many artificial barriers that make people who use drugs more vulnerable to bloodborne diseases. This is, of course, outrageous. On this episode of Narcotica, co-hosts Aaron Ferguson and Troy Farah speak with Nick Voyles of Bloomington, Indiana, where he is Program Manager at the Indiana Recovery Alliance. He also works nationally with Urban Survivors Union on viral hepatitis elimination and medication assisted treatment reform. He is a proud Patient Advocate for NVHR and believes in Harm Reduction. Nick is hepatitis C and interferon survivor, and his experience with intravenous drug use, incarceration, and homelessness fuel his advocacy. Radical Love and ‘Any Positive Change’ are the driving forces behind his work. Narcotica is still here! We lost our Facebook/Instagram account (banned for being too cool.) Follow Narcotica on Twitter, YouTube, BlueSky and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com and browse suggested books in Narcotica’s reading library. Help keep this podcast paywall and ad free! Your support is appreciated! If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 65: Restoring Trust in Doctors Amidst The Overdose Crisis with Dr. Ben Cocchiaro and Dr. Ashish Thakrar Episode 71: Aduhelm, Obscene Drug Prices and Big Pharma Tactics with Dr. John Abramson Episode 81: Harm Reduction Against the Prison-Industrial Complex Episode 82: Drug War Activism and the Future of Harm Reduction with Louise Vincent We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 / Algorithms by Chad Crouch Intro voice: Jenny Schaye Image: Wikipedia The post Episode 97: How Hepatitis Stigma Silently Kills with Nick Voyles appeared first on Narcotica.

Not everyone views addiction in chiefly negative terms, which isn’t all too surprising to anyone with a little world experience, but it sometimes still feels shocking because of how dominant the mainstream narrative that dependency (on certain drugs) is automatically a moral failing or represents a physical or mental shortcoming. It doesn’t have to be framed this way — and arguably, the overwhelming negative focus is part of the problem. But where do we start when we explore the division between addiction and vice? Narcotica co-hosts Aaron Ferguson and Troy Farah speak with Elizabeth Roberts, a professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, who since 2013, she has participated in collaborative environmental health research in Mexico City, which has been a catalyst for her questioning a lot of dogma about addiction in different societies. In many places, Roberts finds in her latest book, “In Praise of Addiction,” the real negative harms don’t come from drugs but isolation and harmful systems like mass incarceration that divide communities. By reframing the question, we can start building a society that doesn’t shame or stigmatize people for arbitrary behaviors. Roberts’ latest book “In Praise of Addiction: Or How We Can Learn To Love Dependency in a Damaged World,” is available from Princeton University Press. Narcotica is still here! More updates soon. We lost our Facebook/Instagram account (banned for being too cool.) Follow Narcotica on Twitter, YouTube, BlueSky and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com and browse suggested books in Narcotica’s reading library. Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 81: Harm Reduction Against the Prison-Industrial Complex Episode 66: Overlooking Alcohol and The Nature of Addiction with Dr. Stanton Peele Episode 83: The Parents Who Oppose The War on Drugs with Tamara Olt and Gretchen Bergman We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 / Algorithms by Chad Crouch Intro voice: Jenny Schaye Image: StockSnap / Pixabay The post Episode 96: The Schism of Addiction and Vice with Elizabeth Roberts appeared first on Narcotica.

As we’ve said hundreds of times on Narcotica, the drug war is a war on people used to advance some of the worst atrocities in history. Drugs are the perfectly legible boogeyman to the public, used as a justification used to advance racist, draconian policy. From CIA planes that deliver ecocide to rain forests in Colombia to the millions of incarcerated people caged in the United States to empowering violent gang wars to the systems that have led to 1 million preventable deaths and counting from drug overdoses over the last two decades. But something new is happening. The drug war is intensifying in unprecedented fashion, in a manner that makes the DEA kicking down doors and doing no-knock raids sound quaint. The United States military is on a spree of blowing up suspected narcoterrorists and their vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific near Venezuela and Colombia. These boats are allegedly filled with drugs headed to the shores of North America, despite zero evidence suggesting these are actually drug operations. If that’s not enough, grainy footage of boats being shredded is being posted online by the Pentagon. Brazenly bragging about war crimes and extrajudicial killings. Today we’re going to dive into what the heck is actually going on. Narcotica co-hosts Zachary Siegel, Aaron Ferguson and Troy Farah speak with Ioan Grillo a journalist from the UK who has been living in Mexico since 2000, he is author of three books, most recently “Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels.” Read Ioan Grillo’s reporting at his website crashoutmedia.com Clarification: Troy mentions a lack of public outcry from the international community, which has definitely become more prevalent after the interview was done. There are more details in his commentary for Salon: “Donald Trump doesn’t understand the drug war he’s fighting” **Pardon our dust on this episode, it was produced as quickly as possible and recorded on Oct. 28, 2025, so some info may be already outdated.  If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 85: “Narcoterrorism” is just another forever war lie with Oswaldo Zavala Episode 11: Beyond Borders — How the U.S. Exports Dangerous Drug Policy with Sanho Tree Episode 84: How Drug Seizures Damage Public Health with Drs. Bradley Ray, Jennifer J. Carroll and Brandon del Pozo Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com and browse suggested books in Narcotica’s reading library. Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 / Algorithms by Chad Crouch Intro voice: Jenny Schaye Image: Wikimedia Commons The post Episode 95: Behind the Speedboat Dope Bombings with Ioan Grillo appeared first on Narcotica.

The internet and drugs are deeply intertwined in a way that isn’t glib or always obvious. Being online is a deeply conscious experience that can change your perception and yeah, be pretty habit-forming. The slow dopamine drip of doom scrolling isn’t a 1-to-1 analog to doing a line of meth, of course. But it’s worth noting that both the internet and drugs are just technology. But now the modern internet is often a dark place controlled by billionaires intent on destroying free speech, ramping up mass surveillance and massacring the environment, all while selling us this idea that psychedelics are somehow the answer to all this. As technofascism embeds itself deeper into our world, both digital and physical, what the hell do we do about it? This episode of Narcotica is a little unusual in that it’s about tech and culture a bit more so than drugs, though there’s plenty of that. Troy Farah interviews Douglas Rushkoff, an author of some 20 books, a mass media theorist, and so much more. He also hosts a podcast called Team Human. His most recent book, “Survival of the Richest,” is about how billionaires are planning for societal collapse at the expense of regular people. Learn more about Douglas at his website and watch his SXSW presentation here—but after you listen to this one! :p Purchase “Survival of the Richest” and browse other books in Narcotica’s reading library. That Rolling Stone article Troy mentioned is here. If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 35: Holding Space — The Values of Trip Sitting with Michelle Janikian Episode 64: LSD And Psilocybin For Physical Pain? with Greg McKee and Dr. Johannes Ramaekers Episode 9: Speed Up, Slow Down Pt. 3 — The Cocaine Fentanyl Blues Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 / Organisms by Chad Crouch Intro voice: Jenny Schaye Image: ArtGrafx / Flickr The post Episode 94: The AI Dystopia Acid Test with Douglas Rushkoff appeared first on Narcotica.

Despite all the nationalism in our country, veterans are too often seen as expendable. Drug use in the military is as common as any other aspect of society, obviously, but increased stigma and consequences pushes most to the shadows. Harm reduction for veterans is especially vital and luckily, the Department of Veterans Affairs is starting to finally recognize this, but there’s a lot of work to be done. On this episode, Narcotica hosts Aaron Ferguson and Troy Farah speak with Beth Dinges, a clinical pharmacist who’s been caring for Veterans for over 20 years. She’s the Harm Reduction Coordinator at the VA and helped launch VA’s first syringe program in 2017. She works directly with Veterans, prescribing medications for SUD and to treat Hepatitis and prevent HIV. Resources: • Expanding Harm Reduction Services and Implementation of Syringe Services Programs within Veterans Health Administration • Harm Reduction Veteran Engagement Board If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 62: Policing Pleasure — The Intersection of Sex Work and Drug Use with Tamika Spellman and Caty Simon Episode 44: Reimagining Public Health and Racial Justice with Dr. Ricky Bluthenthal Episode 81: Harm Reduction Against the Prison-Industrial Complex Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Intro voice: Jenny Schaye The post Episode 93: Veterans’ Harm Reduction Battle with Beth Dinges appeared first on Narcotica.

Overdose deaths are the go-to metric for how well drug policy is performing, but those on the ground know that harms from the drug war can include much more than the worst outcomes. As harm reduction policies get swept up in escalating authoritarian attacks on democracy, it’s becoming even more vital for those who value bodily autonomy to stand up for justice, backed up by rigorous science and data. On this episode, Narcotica co-hosts Aaron Ferguson, Chris Moraff and Troy Farah speak with Sheila Vakharia, a harm reductionist, researcher, social worker and the Deputy Director of Research and Academic Engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance. She is author of “The Harm Reduction Gap,” which can be purchased here, along with other books in Narcotica’s reading library. Resources mentioned in the episode: Nonfatal overdose data – DOSE dashboard Matt Bonn’s webinar on brain injury after nonfatal overdose Measure 110 research and resources: The nonpartisan research institute RTI hosted a one-day symposium in January 2024. The panels summarized all of the research on Measure 110, including the voices of people who use drugs and service providers. Recordings and slide decks were included. A dashboard of the Behavioral Health Resource Networks across the state of Oregon, including information about the various services made available, which services were provided, and to whom. DPA made some fact sheets: Oregon’s Measure 110: What Really Happened The False Promises of Oregon’s Recriminalization If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 61: Undoing Drugs—Harm Reduction’s Early History with Maia Szalavitz Episode 51: The Joy of Drug Use with Dr. Carl Hart Episode 20: The Pitfalls of Mainstream Harm Reduction with Eliza Wheeler Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Intro voice: Jenny Schaye Image: via Pixabay The post Episode 92: The Drug War’s Invisible Casualties with Sheila Vakharia appeared first on Narcotica.

Opioids are some of the best drugs ever invented. News flash! But that’s not something you’ll hear from the mainstream media anymore. No, the official message is that opioids are only problematic and even in the instances where they are prescribed by doctors, there’s this baggage, this stigma and shame attached to it. And no, recognizing the value of these drugs doesn’t make you a big pharma shill, in spite of drug companies that have exploited and yes, in some cases overprescribed these substances — but that’s a critique of capitalism, not chemicals that happen to mercifully act on our opioid receptors. Of course, no one really outright says we need to ban all opioids. But in effect, that’s what we’re doing, banning them. Prescriptions of opioids have dropped significantly in the past decade, falling by 51.7% over 11 years, from 260.5 million in 2012 to 125.9 million in 2023. That hasn’t resulted in a significant drop in overdose deaths. Instead, the current climate, and attacks from the DEA has left many doctors now afraid to prescribe these drugs, even when necessary. And the rash of stigma against people who use opioids, licit or illicit, has not done anything to actually stop drug use. But these policies and attitudes do have an impact. Who has that harmed the most? Patients who need them. On this episode, Narcotica co-host Troy Farah speaks with Liz Chiarello, an Associate Professor of Sociology at Saint Louis University where she conducts research at the intersection of healthcare and law. Her research centers on how cultural forces such as law, politics, and organizational policy influence decision-making in healthcare and the criminal-legal system. She is author of the recent book “Policing Patients: Treatment and Surveillance on the Frontlines of the Opioid Crisis.” If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 84: How Drug Seizures Damage Public Health with Drs. Bradley Ray, Jennifer J. Carroll and Brandon del Pozo Episode 65: Restoring Trust in Doctors Amidst The Overdose Crisis with Dr. Ben Cocchiaro and Dr. Ashish Thakrar Episode 81: Harm Reduction Against the Prison-Industrial Complex Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Intro voice: Jenny Schaye Image: via Flickr The post Episode 91: Drug Surveillance Won’t Stop at Opioids with Liz Chiarello appeared first on Narcotica.

The endless whac-a-mole of the drug war, banning one chemical as soon as three more become popular, can never be won. That just isn’t how chemistry or human nature works. But that hasn’t stopped profiteers and special interest groups from pushing the same old strategies, none of which has resulted in significantly lowering overdose deaths or making communities healthier. It has, however, resulted in strange new drugs arriving on the street, which means harm reduction has had to evolve and respond every time something new comes along. How do we navigate all this change? By following the same principles harm reduction was founded on in the first place: meeting people where they are and reminding them their health matters. On this episode, Narcotica cohosts Aaron Ferguson and Troy Farah speak with Claire Zagorski, MSc, LP, a licensed paramedic, and a graduate research assistant and PhD student in translational science at The University of Texas at Austin. She studies illicit drug supply contamination and composition, and drug checking implementation. If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 74: Cannabis And Capitalism — Preventing Another Big Tobacco with Shaleen Title Episode 47: Can Harm Reduction and Cops Coexist? Episode 73: Oh No! Not Naltrexone! with Nancy Curran Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Intro voice: Jenny Schaye Image: via Flickr The post Episode 90: Navigating Shifting Chemical Landscapes with Claire Zagorski appeared first on Narcotica.

Last year was a crazy time for drug policy and 2025 is looking to up the ante on the chaos. Narcotica hosts Chris Moraff, Aaron Ferguson and Troy Farah reflect on what went wrong, what can be done and what to hope for, even in the midst of an escalating crisis. They discuss the recent counts in overdose deaths, how fentanyl is changing (and even disappearing in some cases) while xylazine, medetomidine and other drugs are making their way into dope bags. Of course, everyone is concerned with how the incoming administration will handle things, including their bloodthirst for war with Mexico and a crackdown on harm reduction. But there are also plenty of reasons to hope — and keep fighting. If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 50: Sicarios and Supply Side Economics with Stewart Scott Episode 34: “Inside the Bloody War on Drugs” with Antony Lowenstein Episode 75: Copaganda — The Favorite Tool of Drug Warriors with Alec Karakatsanis Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Intro voice: Jenny Schaye The post Episode 89: Can Good Drug Policy Survive 2025? appeared first on Narcotica.

Harm reduction means so many different things to so many different people, and some have even grown weary of the way the term has now been weaponized. How do we get back to the true core of helping people? Maybe by returning to the roots of the harm reduction movement to understand why these practices evolved in the first place. On this episode, Narcotica co-hosts Aaron Ferguson and Troy Farah speak with Joy Rucker, co-founder of the Black Harm Reduction Network (BHRN), and also a National Harm Reduction Consultant and Founder of the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance. Joy has served people with HIV, substance use, mental health and unhoused issues for over 30 years. Her story is one of strength and adaptability, responding with compassion in the face of discrimination, stigma and attacks on public health. If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy: Episode 70: How Testosterone Bans Criminalize the Body with Adryan Corcione Episode 58: How Racism Fuels The Drug War with Kassandra Frederique Episode 76: How To Change Your Mind About ALL Drugs with Veronica Wright Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. We just opened a shop where you can order Narcotica merch: narcocast.myshopify.com Help keep this podcast ad-free! Your support is appreciated! We’re on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and more. Tell your friends about us! Rate us! And thanks for your support! Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Zachary Siegel, Aaron Ferguson Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1 Intro voice: Jenny Schaye The post Episode 88: Helping Harm Reduction Flourish with Joy Rucker appeared first on Narcotica.