This is our preview episode where we introduce ourselves and describe what the podcast is all about. We're building a movement of drug users and their families to end the drug war and establish drug policies based on science and public health.

The Drug User Manifesto

In our first episode we speak with Amy Povah, founder of the nonprofit CANDO (Clemency for All Non-violent Drug Offenders). Amy was sentenced to 24 years in prison under the conspiracy law for refusing to cooperate with federal prosecutors when her former husband was charged with MDMA manufacturing and distribution. After a long campaign to free her, and after serving nine of those years, she was finally granted Clemency by Bill Clinton in 2003. Since then she has devoted her life to helping free other victims of the drug war. We remember the campaign to free Amy back in 1999, and we helped out by distributing her postcards (seen at left). She is a personal hero of mine and a fitting interview subject for our first episode. Not only do we learn the full story of her arrest, incarceration, and release, but through her subsequent work fighting on behalf of other wrongfully imprisoned drug offenders, we get an inside look into the workings of the DOJ's Office of Pardon Attorneys, as well as presidential politics that is sure to enlighten—and enrage—many listeners. "I knew I was in the presence of evil," says Amy describing the federal agents who raided her home and interrogated her when she was first arrested, "and I was never going to cooperate with them." Even when facing life in prison and everyone around her telling her to cut a deal, including her parents as well as her own lawyer, Amy stuck to her principles, refusing to wear a wire or testify against others. "My soul is more important to me than physical comfort," she says. Last month Amy and CANDO were instrumental in getting President Trump to release grandmother and nonviolent drug offender, Alice Johnson. Although Kim Kardashian gets all the media attention, Alice Johnson had been on the top of CANDO's clemency list since 2014. We hear the full story of how and why Kim Kardashian got involved, and how partisan politics almost derailed her release. Amy Povah is a truly inspiring woman. This interview should motivate all people of conscience to get involved to end the tragedy and injustice of the drug war. &nbsp;

Love vs the DEA

Every week, millions of people around the world re-create themselves with MDMA. They might take the drug and go out dancing, or they might stay at home and have intimate conversations with their spouse, or with a small group of friends. But either way, everyone who uses MDMA makes a determination that the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks. Are they right? In this episode we spend an hour discussing the benefits of MDMA with Dr. Ben Sessa, child and adolescent psychiatrist with the Imperial College of London. Dr. Sessa is currently leading a study using MDMA to treat alcoholism. This is the first study of it’s kind, and we’ll hear some of the preliminary results. We discuss not only the science of MDMA, but also new research in to psychedelics in general, that appear to show that they increase structural and functional neuroplasticity in the brain by actually growing new dendrites and creating new connections between neurons. We talk about microdosing LSD, whether children can benefit from MDMA therapy, the importance of post-psychedelic integration and how that may be missing if you do underground psychedelic therapy today. We also talk drug war politics and whether MDMA therapy for veterans is simply patching them up so they can go back and fight more wars. We talk about psychonaut culture, it’s pros and cons, and the very real problem of sexual harassment within the psychedelic community. The interview was filmed in our Oakland studio and is also available as a video on our YouTube channel, minus the introduction

Drug Positive