All Episodes

December 5, 2019 53 mins

CONTENT WARNING - This episode includes discussion of mature themes, including illicit drug use, prescription drug abuse, and both legal and illicit drug addiction. Listener discretion is advised.

In the final installment of America's Drug War, Jaye discusses recent trends in the American drug landscape, including cannabis decriminalization and legalization in several US states, and the opioid epidemic sweeping suburbs and rural areas. How did the War on Drugs, particularly its focus on the "usual suspects," lead to the opioid crisis? Will cannabis be legalized on a federal level, and should harder drugs also be legalized?

Featured Podcast:
33 & 1/3 Under 45
http://frondsradio.com/33andathirdunder45/

Twitter: @potstirrercast
IG: @potstirrerpodcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/potstirrerpodcast/
Website: PotstirrerPodcast.com

Flying Machine Network: http://flyingmachine.network
Patreon: http://flyingmachine.network/support

Source Texts and Links:

Hari, Johann. 2016. Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs. New York: Bloomsbury.
Temple, John. 2015. American Pain: How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America’s Deadliest Drug Epidemic. Guilford, CT: Rowman & Littlefield.
https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/four-decades-counting-continued-failure-war-drugs
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/08/29/this-is-unprecedented-174-heroin-overdoses-in-6-days-in-cincinnati/
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/07/27/cincinnati-area-had-24-overdoses-24-hours/1846992001/
https://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/historical-timeline/#2016-present
https://www.newsweek.com/state-local-governments-trying-make-cannabis-industry-less-racist-1466077
https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2014/03/conflicting_statean/
https://www.dualdiagnosis.org/infographics/history-of-the-opioid-epidemic/
https://avalere.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Avalere-20181030-Opioid-Trends-Brief-FINAL.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5993682/
https://www.medpagetoday.com/painmanagement/painmanagement/80054
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6025116-Opioidsuit.html#document/p2/a502790
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02686-2
https://www.poison.org/articles/opioid-epidemic-history-and-prescribing-patterns-182
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/nyregion/brooklyn-opioid-investigation.html
https://www.nprillinois.org/post/why-opioid-epidemic-hitting-rural-america-especially-hard#stream/0
https://www.cnbc.com/id/18591525
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ending-addiction-good/201408/marijuana-the-gateway-drug-myth
https://today.law.harvard.edu/feature/war-drugs-succeeding/
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics

Music:

Potstirrer Podcast Theme composed by Jon Biegen from Stranger Still
http://strangerstillshow.com/

Brigade composed by TrackTribe

Spark composed by ALBIS

Destination Unknown composed by Ugonna Onyekwe

Sunny Over the Horizon composed by RAGE

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.