Anybody who was involved in drug policy knows that Afghanistan wasn’t America’s longest-running war. The war on drugs has held that title for nearly a century. This was even before Richard Nixon, President of the United States, declared, in 1971, that he was launching “an all out offensive” to combat the “drug misuse” which he called America “America’s number one public enemy.”
It is evident that the drug war has been ending. Medical marijuana became legal in several states during the 1990s. There are 16 US states nowReciprocal marijuana has been legalized in several states, and more are on the horizon. Last fall, Nine out of nineDrug legalization and/or decriminalization policies passed at ballot box. MDMA treatment for PTSD is still in its final clinical trials. A visible shift is taking place in the cultureThis is a place that welcomes psychedelics as well as other mind-expanding drugs. LSD will be making its way to Broadway with the help of Broadway’s musical, “The Musical.” Flying Over Sunset, a fictional account of a meeting between novelist Aldous Huxley, playwright/ambassador Clare Boothe Luce, and movie star Cary Grant, all of whom experimented with psychedelics in the late 1950s and early ’60s.
Nick Gillespie’s guest will be the only person who can explain and interpret America’s changing attitudes towards drug prohibition and use. Ethan Nadelmann (64-year-old founder, former chief of The Drug Policy AllianceOne of the most powerful and oldest organizations fighting for pharmacological liberty. Nadelmann, a former professor of political science at college, combines academic rigor with activist energy. (Read a 1994 ReasonJacob Sullum interviewed him.
Nadelmann has worked with many politicians over the years to improve drug policy. He also spoke up for responsible drug use. His weekly podcast will allow you to listen to Nadelmann. PsychoactiveThere are many guests at the Psychedelic Fanatic and Best-Selling Author Tim Ferriss. Julie Holland is a leading psychotherapist, psychopharmacologist, and integrative medicine expert Andrew Weil. Dan SavageAccording to “sex, drug, freedom”
This is a great and rollicking conversation about the past 40 years of drug laws and drug culture—and what comes next as America oh-so-slowly starts pulling out of its longest war.
Photo: Gage Skidmore.