Century of Lies

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.

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.

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.”

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.