34 episodes

Each week, On Drugs looks through the lenses of history, pop culture and personal experience to understand how drugs have shaped our world. Because even if it’s just caffeine or ibuprofen, there’s a good chance you’re on drugs right now.

On Drugs CBC Health & Sport

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.7 • 375 Ratings

Each week, On Drugs looks through the lenses of history, pop culture and personal experience to understand how drugs have shaped our world. Because even if it’s just caffeine or ibuprofen, there’s a good chance you’re on drugs right now.

    Introducing: The Flamethrowers

    Introducing: The Flamethrowers

    The Flamethrowers captures the punch-you-in-the-mouth energy and sound of right-wing talk radio. Host Justin Ling takes us from the fringe preachers and conspiracy peddlers of the 1920s to the political firestorm that rages today. With humour and candour, Ling examines the appeal of broadcasters like Rush Limbaugh, who found a sleeping audience, radicalized it, and became an accidental kingmaker — culminating in the election of Donald Trump. More episodes are available at smarturl.it/theflamethrowers

    • 4 min
    Introducing: Recall: How to Start a Revolution

    Introducing: Recall: How to Start a Revolution

    The 1950s & 60s saw a wave of radical movements. Che Guevara and the Cuban Revolution. The Black Panthers. Quebec and Canada had the FLQ — a showdown that dissolved into crisis. By October 1970, there were soldiers in the streets, communities on edge, kidnapping and terror in the headlines. But those frightening weeks were just the crescendo of a wave of terror and violence that was nearly a decade in the making. This series will reveal the stories of that time through immersive storytelling and the people who lived it: the bomb disposal expert on defusing live explosives, the survivors of terror, their families, and the radicals themselves. More episodes are available at http://hyperurl.co/recallcbc

    • 32 min
    S2 E11 The Spell of the Poppy

    S2 E11 The Spell of the Poppy

    Opioid drugs have claimed a shocking number of lives across North America in recent years, as people fall victim to overdose. While the intensity of crisis is new, our relationship with opiates — and opioids, as they're often referred to now — goes back millennia. This is an overdose crisis thousands of years in the making, and in this episode, Geoff Turner dives into that fascinating history to figure out how we got to this point.

    • 1 hr 1 min
    Replay: Miltown: A forgotten pharma game changer

    Replay: Miltown: A forgotten pharma game changer

    It's just one more week until the season two finale of On Drugs, but in the meantime, enjoy this favourite from last season. It's all about Miltown, a drug that is mostly forgotten today, but helped create modern psychopharmacology. We're proud to announce that this episode is nominated for Best Podcast at the 2018 Radio Television Digital News Association awards.

    • 35 min
    S2 E10 Prison, On Drugs

    S2 E10 Prison, On Drugs

    This episode goes behind bars to learn how Canadian prisons form a nexus of drug crime, trade and addiction. We'll meet people in prison because of crimes committed in the throes of addiction and learn about how prisoners cope with addiction in custody.

    • 43 min
    EXTRA: Bill Blair on implementing cannabis legalization

    EXTRA: Bill Blair on implementing cannabis legalization

    A feature interview with Bill Blair, the former Toronto Police Chief now in charge of implementing the federal government's cannabis legalization law. He reflects on the transition from drug law enforcement to legalization and regulation.

    • 34 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
375 Ratings

375 Ratings

mjw52* ,

Absorbing and thorough

I was completely drawn in by each episode. Learned a great deal about the history and use/abuse of drugs across the societal and political spectrum. It’s a shame there are not more episodes, I am sure there is more to tell.
Highly recommend.

Jolie-Louve ,

Refreshing

Thank you some much for doing something informative and broad about drugs.

We really need that as a society.

Sarahhow16 ,

Would love more episodes

great podcast and sad there aren’t more episodes now!! One of my favs

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