supervised consumption

Episode 37: Covering Culture and Drugs with Substance with Kate Knibbs

It’s difficult to write about drugs without being steeped and schooled in the discourse. Cultural tropes and conventional wisdom dominates the space. Drugs are anthropomorphized as the enemy. People who use drugs are described as manipulative and selfish, unless, of course, they’re “clean.” Often there is little empirical research cited and the same old voices are quoted saying the same old thing. Writers may think they’re being empathetic when really they’re reinforcing stigma, criminalization, and the very narratives that propel dangerous policy in the first place. 

At Narcotica, we look out for people who do things differently and like to hear them out. For this episode, co-host Zachary Siegel sits down with culture writer and journalist Kate Knibbs, whose writing about drugs and harm reduction stands out as uniquely humanizing. Approaching drugs and harm reduction from culture angles, Kate’s work tells us about the way live now. Their conversation focuses on two stories Kate wrote while working at The Ringer. First, the bizarre story of a music blogger at Vice who was caught smuggling a lot of cocaine. Then, they shift gears and discuss a piece about supervised consumption sites. Kate and Zach both get deep, and talk about the aftermath of friends and loved ones who overdose, and the impulse to search for accountability and punish people.
Follow Kate Knibbs on Twitter and look out for her work at WIRED, where she’s now a staff writer. 

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Producers: Christopher Moraff, Troy Farah, Zachary Siegel 
Co-producer: Garrett Farah
Music: Glass Boy / Garrett Farah
Photo: Nick YoungsonCC BY-SA 3.0Alpha Stock Images Edit Troy Farah

Episode 4: Supervised Consumption Breaks Rod Rosenstein’s Brain

In response to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s outrageous supervised consumption op-ed in the New York Times, the Narcotica team speaks with Laura Thomas, of the Drug Policy Alliance, who broke down the obstacles harm reduction workers face in opening a site in the United States. Thomas, who is deputy state director at DPA, has been championing supervised consumption sites for over a decade, because she knows what the data says: SCS save lives.

But how long until we see a facility in the U.S.? We discuss the status of many projects in Washington, New York, and California, and what kind of fight we can expect from the Department of Justice.

You can follow Laura on Twitter @LThomas and learn more about the Drug Policy Alliance at drugpolicy.org.

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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
Music: Glass Boy
Intro voice: Jenny Schaye
Image: Composite by Troy Farah