Episode description:

One Nation Under the Influence: America’s Drug Crisis and the Fight Against Big Cannabis – A Conversation with Dr Kevin Sabet | UHP S4E4

In this powerful episode of The Unnecessary Harm Podcast, Shane Varcoe sits down with Dr. Kevin Sabet to discuss his recently released book, One Nation Under the Influence: America’s Deadly Drug Habit and How We Can Overcome It. Dubbed “the quarterback of the new anti-drug movement” by Salon and having advised three US presidents on drug policy, Dr. Sabet has authored what colleagues call his “magnum opus”, a groundbreaking work that argues we know what works in prevention and recovery, we simply need the political will to implement it.

The book examines successful prevention models from Iceland, sets the record straight on Portugal’s drug policies, explores evidence-based treatment approaches including contingency management, and exposes how harm reduction has been hijacked by pro-drug activists pushing legalisation. Taking readers from San Francisco streets to the southern border, up to Canada and across to Europe, Kevin demonstrates why hope, not hopelessness, should drive our response to a crisis that has killed over one million Americans since 2000. Building on his bestsellers Reefer Sanity and Smokescreen, this work emphasises that addiction is a bio-behavioural disorder where education and building protective factors are the shortest route out of the crisis.

The conversation traces Kevin’s remarkable journey from a 16-year-old California activist fighting deceptive medical marijuana ballot initiatives to becoming a White House advisor and co-founding Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) with Congressman Patrick Kennedy. They discuss SAM’s recent major victory after seven years of advocacy: the Senate blocking dangerous synthetic marijuana products that were flooding convenience stores and accessible to 12-year-olds. Kevin also tackles the concerning push to reschedule marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3, warning this would send devastating public health signals despite mounting evidence of cannabis harms. This is Big Alcohol 2.0 using the same playbook to make addiction more profitable. As Kevin powerfully concludes, the shortest route out of the addiction crisis is through the classroom, building resilience, and realising our worth as individuals.