Drug Talk: Recent Episodes
Toby Seddon
Drug Talk is a podcast about drugs, drug policy and drug law reform. Hosted by Toby Seddon, Professor of Social Science at UCL. More info on www.tobyseddon.com. Music courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com. Artwork by Poppy Seddon.
This special episode marks the publication of my new book, Rethinking Drug Laws: Theory, History, Politics, published by Oxford University Press. It draws on over a decade of theoretical, conceptual, historical and empirical work in area of drug law reform, to set out a new paradigm for thinking about the past, present and future of global drug control.
To mark ‘Bicycle Day’, April 19th, a special episode on LSD and psychedelic history. The focus is on a new book of essays by Alan Piper which deconstructs some of the myths around the discovery of LSD, as well as taking a new look at some other aspects of the history of psychedelics. In a wide-ranging conversation, Alan guides us through some of the arguments in the book (which is available here).
A conversation with Dr Ben Boyce, ranging widely over some of the fundamental issues of the field, from how societies decide what to label as a ‘drug’ (and what this means), to prohibition itself and how this happens, through to … Continue reading →
The second of a two-part conversation with Mark Gilman. In this part, we pick up the story in 1999, when Mark moved from Lifeline to the Home Office. The conversation ranges widely, covering treatment, recovery, social justice and crime, reflecting … Continue reading →
The first of a two-part conversation with Mark Gilman. Mark has been a major figure in the field over four decades and directly involved in many of the most significant developments we have seen. In this part, we talk about … Continue reading →
This episode takes a long view of global drug policy, arguing that shifts in global power have always had a significant impact on drug control throughout the last 200 years. What then might be the implications for drug law reform … Continue reading →
This episode explores the issue of prescribing heroin to people with heroin problems, a practice with a long history and usually today termed Heroin Assisted Treatment or HAT. The episode draws on a recent research project exploring the controversial work … Continue reading →
This episode explores a core question of this field: what is a drug? It draws on an archival research project. For further details, read this paper or this short summary.
This episode looks at the cannabis law reform movement in the 1960s, drawing on an archival research project. Please see published paper here.