Century of Lies


04/21/21 Ganja in the Caribbean


This week on Century of Lies: A discussion about the future of ganja in the Caribbean with Faith Graham, CEO of the Jamaican government’s Cannabis Licensing Authority; Vicki Hanson with the International Center for Cannabis Research, she’s also a PhD candidate in public policy at the University of the West Indies and a member of the board of directors of the International Drug Policy Consortium; and Pien Metaal, Senior Project Officer with the Transnational Institute.

Guest(s): Faith Graham
Organization(s): Drug War Facts
Link(s): Drug War Facts

04/14/21 Grant Smith

This week on Century: Fentanyl, mandatory minimums, and racism. We hear from Grant Smith, Deputy Director of Drug Policy Alliance Office of National Affairs; Nkechi Taifa, author of a new memoir entitled Black Power, Black Lawyer: My Audacious Quest for Justice, CEO of The Taifa Group, and Convener of the Justice Roundtable; and Hilary Shelton, NAACP senior vice president for advocacy and policy and director of NAACP’s Washington Bureau. Plus the US “Drug Czar,” Regina Labelle, addresses the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Guest(s): Grant Smith
Organization(s): Drug Policy Alliance
Link(s): Drug Policy Alliance

04/07/21 Penny McCanny

Anyone’s Child and the Transform Drug Policy Foundation hosted a webinar recently entitled Take Drugs Seriously: Voices on the ground. On this week’s show we hear from some of the speakers, including Penny McCanny, the mother of Aidan and a campaigner with Anyone’s Child; Peter Krykant, a harm reduction activist from Scotland and the founder of Glasgow’s Safe Injecting Van; and Chris Rintoul, a social worker who works as a drugs and alcohol consultant with Extern, a social justice charity in Ireland. Plus, Vinay Krishnan, national field organizer with the Center for Popular Democracy, on harm reduction, stigma, faith, and public policy.

Guest(s): Penny McCanny
Organization(s): Drug War Facts
Link(s): Drug War Facts

03/31/21 Kenyatta Thompson

Katal Center Turns Five
The Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice turns five this year. To celebrate, they’ve begun hosting a series of public dialogues about the broad themes that drive their work: equity, health, and justice. The first of those dialogues was held March 29. On this edition of Century of Lies we hear from Kenyatta Thompson, Katal Center Director of Organizing; Lorenzo Jones, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Katal Center; and Kassandra Frederique, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance.

Guest(s): Kenyatta Thompson
Organization(s): Drug Policy Alliance
Link(s): Drug Policy Alliance

03/24/21 Constable Justin Bibby

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the UK House of Commons recently held a hearing on The Future of UK Music Festivals. One panel looked at ways to reduce possible drug-related harms, including the possibility of drug safety testing at festivals and other events. This week on Century of Lies we hear from some of the witnesses including Assistant Chief Constable Justin Bibby with the Staffordshire Police, Deputy Chief Constable Jason Harwin with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and Professor Fiona Measham, PhD, Chair in Criminology at the University of Liverpool and director and co-founder of The Loop.

Guest(s): Constable Justin Bibby
Organization(s): Health Systems Facts
Link(s): Health Systems Facts

03/17/21 Senator Scott Weiner

Supervised consumption sites could soon be opening in California. We hear from the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 57, State Senator Scott Weiner along with Senator Susan Eggman and Senator Lena Gonzalez.

Guest(s): Senator Scott Weiner
Organization(s): Drug War Facts
Link(s): Drug War Facts

03/10/21 Joy Olson


The state of New Mexico is considering how to authorize and open supervised consumption facilities in that state, we hear from the chief sponsor of House Bill 123, NM State Representative Deborah Armstrong, and Emily Kaltenbach with the Drug Policy Alliance. Plus we hear from Joy Olson, former director of the Washington Office on Latin America, on “Challenges in US/Mexico/Central America Policy at the Beginning of the Biden Administration.”

Guest(s): Joy Olson
Organization(s): Drug Policy Alliance
Link(s): Drug Policy Alliance

03/03/21 Zaki Smith

The Clean Slate NY campaign launched at the end of February. We hear from several members of the coalition including Quintin Cross from the Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition, Zaki Smith from the organization Next 100, the Reverend Kevin Van Hook from Riverside Church in New York City, NY State Senator Jamaal Bailey, Chair of the New York State Senate Codes Committee, and NY State Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, lead sponsor in the Assembly of a bill that would seal and automatically expunge the criminal records of qualifying New Yorkers.

Guest(s): Zaki Smith
Organization(s): Clean Slate NY
Link(s): Drug War Facts

02/24/21 Neil Woods

The Association of British Muslims recently held a discussion on drugs policy. On this edition of Century we hear from two of the featured speakers: Neil Woods, formerly an undercover police officer in the UK who is now a leading reform activist and member of the organization Law Enforcement Action Partnership, and Khalid Massud, formerly a police inspector general in Pakistan. Plus, UN Secretary General António Guterres on human rights.

Guest(s): Neil Woods
Organization(s): LEAP
Link(s): LEAP

02/17/21 Roger Goodman


The Washington Legislature is considering House Bill 1499 - Providing behavioral health system responses to individuals with substance use disorder. Their House Public Safety Committee held a hearing on the bill on Feb. 12. On this edition of Century we hear from some of the witnesses who testified, including: Meg Martin, executive director of Interfaith Works in Olympia, Washington; Meta Hogan, program administrator at Gather Church in Centralia, Washington; Adam Cornell, the elected Prosecuting Attorney for Snohomish County, Washington; Dan Satterberg, the elected Prosecuting Attorney for King County, Washington; Ruth Driefuss, former president of Switzerland; Doctor João Goulão, Portuguese Drugs and Alcohol National Coordinator and Director General of the Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies General Directorate (SICAD); and Doctor Caitlin Hughes, associate professor of criminology and drug policy at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.

Guest(s): Roger Goodman
Organization(s): Washington State Representative
Link(s): Drug War Facts
