New episode of Dealing With Drugs: What the hell is going on in the Americas? - out now

The brand new episode of Dealing With Drugs: A Hot Press Podcast is out now, asking the question: What the hell is going on in the Americas with cocaine and opioids? We get answers from Marcela Tovar Thomas, until recently the Director of Drug Policy in Colombia, and Richard J. Baum who served at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under six presidents.

Firstly, co-hosts Stuart Clark and Tony Duffin welcome Richard J. Baum, with whom they discuss open drug use in New York City, his early days working in the White House under Bill Clinton and his drug czar Barry McCaffrey, and Barack Obama's lack of interest in drug policy.

Additionally, Baum discusses the North American opioid crisis and its horrific scale, the government-level mistakes that were made which led to this situation, and the responsibility of the "marketing tornado" from pharmaceutical companies that unleashed the epidemic.

Finally, Clark and Duffin ask about international drug policy across the American continent, supply-side and border policies, and harm reduction efforts from various US governments.

Clark and Duffin are also joined by Marcela Tovar Thomas, ex-Director of Drug Policy in Colombia, for a discussion about her work under President Gustavo Petro, growing up in Bogotá in the 80s, the cocaine trade in Columbia and the flawed ways the international community measures it.

Tovar Thomas also explores the role of criminal gangs in the drug trade, the links between the USA and the current president Abelardo Gabriel de la Espriella Otero and the relationship between Columbia and Donald Trump.

The podcast wraps up with a discussion on military intervention in South America, including in Venezuela, the effect of the war on drugs on Venezuela, and her most recent work as Ambassador for Columbia in Vienna.

Find out about his and more in the new episode of Dealing With Drugs, out now.

This episode was produced by Stuart Clark and Tony Duffin, edited by Flo Laurent.

Check it out below or on Apple Podcasts: