Thank you so much for this episode! I have had a lot of questions about Kratom because I have a friend who uses it. One side effect I didn’t hear mentioned that my friend experiences, is that it makes him really sick IF he drinks alcohol. And as an alcoholic, it’s the first time he has ever not wanted to drink. He has never been able to stop drinking for any length of time before this. He was a bit worried if the Kratom was bad for him, but his doctor has not been able to find any evidence of real damage to his health. With the choice of the two substances, it seems like he is avoiding the damage of alcoholism with it.
Fascinating episode! As a public health researcher who studies substance use, I absolutely support a pharmacist dispensation model. While I understand people's concerns, especially when it comes to new(er) substances, ever-increasing criminalization of drugs and the people who use them has only escalated harms - think about the transition from opium derived from poppy seeds to fentanyl, from coca leaf to crack cocaine, from beer and wine to moonshine, and even from the less potent forms of cannabis to the more potent forms we see today (see: the Iron Law of Prohibition). Unfortunately, the cat is out of the bag at this point when it comes to these substances, and cracking down harder will simply cause people to turn to unregulated sources. What we need is safe supply; Vancouver, for instance, has experimented with programs that allow people diagnosed with substance use disorders to access drugs that are lab-tested for purity. If we remember that 1) people have used intoxicating substances for recreational and medicinal purposes since the dawn of civilization, and 2) it is the government's duty to ensure the health and safety of the population, these types of models start making a lot of sense.
I don't know, I'm familiar with the system in two EU countries, Denmark & Hungary (but only as a user), and to me it seems that most pharmacists are overqualified shop clerks, who do two things: 1) give you the medicine prescribed to you by your MD (in rare cases using their expertise to swap one brand with another with the same active ingredient). 2) driven by their massive conflict of interest, they sell you crap like vitamins, supplements, and other snake oils that experiments show to be completely ineffective.
That said, the episode was great as always. I think it's about time you come out and change the slogan from "a show about the internet" to "a show about exciting issues in public regulation". The resulting storm of policy nerds would solve all your financial insecurities! :D
Thanks for covering this. I’m in the non-alc space (I host alcohol-free social events) and I found that kratom “elixirs” are heavily marketed to people who are in recovery from alcohol… but hey, it’s all natural and plant-based! I had some people in my community reach out to me with concerns, and it’s really heartbreaking to see how these companies seem to prey on an already vulnerable population.
Great episode. I notice that y'all usually use Spotify for your audio embeds on Substack. Is that the main place people tend to listen to the episodes, or is that just the easiest audio source to use when embedding on Substack? I'm asking as someone who likes to share these episodes with my friends, but I don't think any of us use spotify.
It's an arbitrary choice. Spotify has the edge in terms of majority of our listeners (a growing edge), and I slightly prefer the aesthetics of the Spotify miniplayer in a newsletter versus the Apple one, since it's slimmer.
I used to switch them up and would even include links to other players, but I got either lazier or more efficient. Maybe I'll start posting the two big ones, Apple + Spotify, in each email?
I'm curious how similar the European pharmacy description is across European countries. I was in the UK 5 years ago and saw several things besides what was mentioned: some prescription drugs in the US for sale over the counter, and very dubious supplements sitting directly next to actual OTC meds which was shocking to me, even by our very liberal supplement displays in the US. But maybe that's changed?
I very much agree on the pharmacist's more active role, they are a wealth of knowledge and I think are pinned into submission by our healthcare system to turning around medication ASAP. A slower mode where they can use their training to better peoples' health is probably best for everyone in the picture.
Another great episode. Thank you for doing this show. Been a big fan as far back as the early Reply All days in 2017. I always enjoyed the yes yes no segments.
Similar to this episode, if you're looking for another story on the topic of Vape Shops (also sort of similar to the illegal weed stores), a high school student died in our town (Ashland, Ohio) last year after a vape shop here sold him a weed pen from the back laced with fentanyl. I'm indifferent about marijuana. But vape shops keep popping up everywhere. So how big of an issue of weed pens with enough fentanyl to be lethal are there these days? Heres more info on the death in our town https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jeremyrharrison_on-october-3-2023-my-son-a-high-school-activity-7168205643894452226-wlC3?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Loved the episode. Most drugs should absolutely be locked up. The public cannot be trusted to self medicate with all the misinformation and disinformation that we’re subject to every day. Not everyone can parse the scientific literature necessary to make informed decisions on what drugs to take, nor should we trust those who claim to be able to on TikTok, Reddit, and the like.
PJ, any chance there’s a stream up, or place Podimo has posted your live appearance? I would love to hear the Berghain episode breakdown, and get the little peek behind the curtain.
Thank you so much for this episode! I have had a lot of questions about Kratom because I have a friend who uses it. One side effect I didn’t hear mentioned that my friend experiences, is that it makes him really sick IF he drinks alcohol. And as an alcoholic, it’s the first time he has ever not wanted to drink. He has never been able to stop drinking for any length of time before this. He was a bit worried if the Kratom was bad for him, but his doctor has not been able to find any evidence of real damage to his health. With the choice of the two substances, it seems like he is avoiding the damage of alcoholism with it.
Dear PJ, great episode! And the next time you have questions about recreational drugs of any kind, your go-to should be erowid.org
I love the show!
Fascinating episode! As a public health researcher who studies substance use, I absolutely support a pharmacist dispensation model. While I understand people's concerns, especially when it comes to new(er) substances, ever-increasing criminalization of drugs and the people who use them has only escalated harms - think about the transition from opium derived from poppy seeds to fentanyl, from coca leaf to crack cocaine, from beer and wine to moonshine, and even from the less potent forms of cannabis to the more potent forms we see today (see: the Iron Law of Prohibition). Unfortunately, the cat is out of the bag at this point when it comes to these substances, and cracking down harder will simply cause people to turn to unregulated sources. What we need is safe supply; Vancouver, for instance, has experimented with programs that allow people diagnosed with substance use disorders to access drugs that are lab-tested for purity. If we remember that 1) people have used intoxicating substances for recreational and medicinal purposes since the dawn of civilization, and 2) it is the government's duty to ensure the health and safety of the population, these types of models start making a lot of sense.
I don't know, I'm familiar with the system in two EU countries, Denmark & Hungary (but only as a user), and to me it seems that most pharmacists are overqualified shop clerks, who do two things: 1) give you the medicine prescribed to you by your MD (in rare cases using their expertise to swap one brand with another with the same active ingredient). 2) driven by their massive conflict of interest, they sell you crap like vitamins, supplements, and other snake oils that experiments show to be completely ineffective.
That said, the episode was great as always. I think it's about time you come out and change the slogan from "a show about the internet" to "a show about exciting issues in public regulation". The resulting storm of policy nerds would solve all your financial insecurities! :D
Thanks for covering this. I’m in the non-alc space (I host alcohol-free social events) and I found that kratom “elixirs” are heavily marketed to people who are in recovery from alcohol… but hey, it’s all natural and plant-based! I had some people in my community reach out to me with concerns, and it’s really heartbreaking to see how these companies seem to prey on an already vulnerable population.
Great episode. I notice that y'all usually use Spotify for your audio embeds on Substack. Is that the main place people tend to listen to the episodes, or is that just the easiest audio source to use when embedding on Substack? I'm asking as someone who likes to share these episodes with my friends, but I don't think any of us use spotify.
It's an arbitrary choice. Spotify has the edge in terms of majority of our listeners (a growing edge), and I slightly prefer the aesthetics of the Spotify miniplayer in a newsletter versus the Apple one, since it's slimmer.
I used to switch them up and would even include links to other players, but I got either lazier or more efficient. Maybe I'll start posting the two big ones, Apple + Spotify, in each email?
I'm curious how similar the European pharmacy description is across European countries. I was in the UK 5 years ago and saw several things besides what was mentioned: some prescription drugs in the US for sale over the counter, and very dubious supplements sitting directly next to actual OTC meds which was shocking to me, even by our very liberal supplement displays in the US. But maybe that's changed?
I very much agree on the pharmacist's more active role, they are a wealth of knowledge and I think are pinned into submission by our healthcare system to turning around medication ASAP. A slower mode where they can use their training to better peoples' health is probably best for everyone in the picture.
Another great episode. Thank you for doing this show. Been a big fan as far back as the early Reply All days in 2017. I always enjoyed the yes yes no segments.
Similar to this episode, if you're looking for another story on the topic of Vape Shops (also sort of similar to the illegal weed stores), a high school student died in our town (Ashland, Ohio) last year after a vape shop here sold him a weed pen from the back laced with fentanyl. I'm indifferent about marijuana. But vape shops keep popping up everywhere. So how big of an issue of weed pens with enough fentanyl to be lethal are there these days? Heres more info on the death in our town https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jeremyrharrison_on-october-3-2023-my-son-a-high-school-activity-7168205643894452226-wlC3?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Loved the episode. Most drugs should absolutely be locked up. The public cannot be trusted to self medicate with all the misinformation and disinformation that we’re subject to every day. Not everyone can parse the scientific literature necessary to make informed decisions on what drugs to take, nor should we trust those who claim to be able to on TikTok, Reddit, and the like.
PJ, any chance there’s a stream up, or place Podimo has posted your live appearance? I would love to hear the Berghain episode breakdown, and get the little peek behind the curtain.