drug homicide laws

Episode 84: How Drug Seizures Damage Public Health with Drs. Bradley Ray, Jennifer J. Carroll and Brandon del Pozo

January 11, 2024 Narcotica Criminal Justice, Episodes, News, Overdose Crisis 1:09:30 0 Comments

Like some kind of perverse fishing expedition, we’re all familiar with the drug warriors’ favorite form of theater: the drug bust. Every police department seems to do this, posing their officers with huge (or even tiny, inconsequential) bags of drugs, stacks of cash and sometimes a cache of weapons, propping everything up as if it’s the prize that will finally win this futile, violent campaign.

It’s been clear for decades that drug busts don’t stop the flow of drugs (or even make a dent), but amongst certain people, it is also common knowledge that these busts actually worsen drug overdoses. In other words, taking drugs off the street can increase ER visits, cause more fatalities and just generally make underground drug markets less safe.

Now, thanks to research last year in the American Journal of Public Health, we have some pretty damning evidence of this relationship. Narcotica co-hosts Chris Moraff and Troy Farah spoke with the study authors, Drs. Bradley Ray, Jennifer J. Carroll and Brandon del Pozo about their research, its policy implications, but also how this study fits into the broader picture of safe supply, how most cops resent being part of the drug war and

You can read the paper titled “Spatiotemporal Analysis Exploring the Effect of Law Enforcement Drug Market Disruptions on Overdose, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2020–2021 ” here: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307291 Salon was one of many publications that covered this study if you’d like to read more.

(This episode was done over the summer, hence mention of DULF still being a thing… It’s taken us way too long to get new episodes out lately, but 2024 should be different.)

If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy:

Episode 75: Copaganda — The Favorite Tool of Drug Warriors with Alec Karakatsanis
Episode 44: Reimagining Public Health and Racial Justice with Dr. Ricky Bluthenthal
Episode 12: Beyond Borders — “El Chapo” and the Mexican Fentanyl Pipeline with Keegan Hamilton

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Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Zachary Siegel, Aaron Ferguson
Music: Glass Boy / Nomad1
Image: Image via Coast Guard News // edit: Troy Farah
Intro voice: Jenny Schaye

Episode 62: Policing Pleasure — The Intersection of Sex Work and Drug Use with Tamika Spellman and Caty Simon

September 14, 2021 Narcotica Episodes 01:25:07 1 Comment

Sex work is work, just like coal mining, professional sports and literally any job that involves physical labor. So why is a show about drugs interested in sex work? For starters, there’s a lot of overlap in terms of harm reduction services that help people who use drugs and sex workers. Unfortunately, these services can be criminalized and weaponized against both communities.

One analogy is condoms and syringes: Syringes can be, and sadly often are, considered paraphernalia and evidence of illegal drug use. Believe it or not, police can, and do, consider condoms as evidence of engaging in sex work. Policing actively counteracts harm reduction services. Thus, there’s real reasons for solidarity among sex workers and drug users. And, as this episode will spell out, there are amazing activists who have bridged these communities together.

Narcotica co-hosts Zachary Siegel, Troy Farah and Chris Moraff speak with Tamika Spellman and Caty Simon. Tamika is the Policy and Community Engagement Manager of HIPS, Honoring Individual Power and Strength, a Washington D.C. based organization advocating for the rights and health of people impacted by drug use and sex work since 1993.

Caty is a leadership team member and sex worker liaison for Urban Survivors Union, the American national drug users union, founding-co-organizer/executive director of Whose Corner Is It Anyway, a harm reduction, mutual aid, political education, and organizing group by and for low-income, street, and survival sex workers who use opioids and/or stimulants and/or experience housing insecurity.

Follow Caty on Instagram @marginalutilite and Tamika on Twitter @tamikahs66

Follow Narcotica on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and support us on Patreon. 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!

If you liked this episode, here are others you might enjoy:
Episode 26: Housing As Harm Reduction
Episode 42: Supervised Consumption is an Essential Service
Episode 20: The Pitfalls of Mainstream Harm Reduction with Eliza Wheeler

Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Zachary Siegel
Co-producer: Aaron Ferguson / Troy Farah
Music: Glass Boy / Aaron Ferguson
Intro voice: Jenny Schaye
Image: Juno Mac Flickr edit: Troy Farah