Thailand has made a dramatic shift in its cannabis policy, moving from strict prohibition to partial decriminalization—igniting a billion-dollar industry. The legal ambiguity has sparked celebration among cannabis enthusiasts. Cannabis has long played a role in traditional Thai medicine, but in the 1970s, Thailand aligned with the U.S.-led 'war on drugs,' classifying cannabis as a narcotic and imposing harsh penalties. That changed in June 2022, when the government removed cannabis from the narcotics list, effectively decriminalizing its sale and personal use. As Australia revisits its own cannabis laws, Southeast Asia correspondent Mazoe Ford travels across Thailand to meet a new wave of ‘ganja-preneurs’ seizing the opportunities of this booming green economy.
Thailand has had some of the strictest drug laws in the world, but they began changing this approach in 2022 by legalizing cannabis in an attempt to lessen the prison population and bring tourists back. SBS Dateline investigates Thailand's war on drugs by speaking with various frontline workers, from an elite task force that fights drug trafficking to social workers and people with lived experience. They discuss the legalization / decriminalization of cannabis, the widespread use of yaba, a type of methamphetamine, and how their harsh drug policy overwhelmed the prison system.
This 2012 special report from Global News investigates "Canada's biggest pharmaceutical coverup" - the overprescribing of medications containing Oxycodone (e.g., Percocet, Oxycontin, Hydromorphone). Trusting their doctors, many Canadians were given these drugs as an alternative to morphine to help with pain management and were told that it is "far less addictive". However, addiction soon set in and their tolerance began to increase, leading them to need more to have the same effect.
Robert Munsch is a Canadian bestselling children's author who published nearly 50 books, including the well-known story The Paper Bag Princess and Love You Forever. He's a well-known name in Canadian households, selling more than 40 million copies of his books. In this 2010 interview with Global News, Robert Munsch opens up about his struggles with addiction and mental health, discussing how his problems began in childhood, his past studying as a priest, his marriage and children, as well as how several life experiences led him to develop a problem with alcohol and cocaine. He also speaks about the personal background behind several of his books.
VICE travels to Bogota, Colombia to find out more about a very strange and powerful drug called Burundanga, also referred to as "The Devil's Breath." They speak with a few people that have firsthand experience with the drug and, according to VICE, "the story took a far darker turn" than they imagined.
This 1999 documentary presented by The National Film Board of Canada follows a group of police officers who work in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and their unique relationship with the drug addicts living on the streets. The officers themselves document the lives of several addicts who have agreed to participate in this initiative to show the realities of drug use to youth.
This documentary primarily follows a young woman named Rachel, who struggles with the concept of alcoholism, believing that, although she engages in binge drinking, she is not an alcoholic. According to her, "They always say, it's not alcoholism until after College. College is like the excuse to binge drink." There are a few other people who share their stories as well, but they are already past the point of recognizing their problems and have sought help.
This 2019 investigation from The Feed traces the production and consumption of MDMA - from the cook to the consumer. Australians love party drugs, especially MDMA, and they are the biggest consumer of ecstasy in the world. Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about festival deaths, pill testing, and the government’s tough stance on drugs. But what doesn’t get mentioned as much is where all this MDMA is actually coming from - and who’s behind it. That’s what The Feed is setting out to discover as they travel from Australia to the Netherlands.
Listen to the stories of people who have struggled with addiction, and discover the ongoing efforts across the state of Arkansas to address the challenges of opioid misuse and addiction. Their stories are raw, real, and deeply human—marked by loss,…
NBC 7 undertook an in-depth investigation to move beyond the headlines and statistics, aiming to uncover how the fentanyl crisis emerged in San Diego County, the impact it continues to have on local communities, and the critical work still needed to address what has been labeled an epidemic.
