In this episode, the podcast roles are reversed as show host Vanda Felbab-Brown is interviewed by Fred Dews, show producer and multimedia project manager at Brookings, about her research on the evolution of illicit networks and supply chains in China that fuel the U.S. fentanyl and opioid crises. They also discuss the evolution and complexities U.S.-China counter-narcotics cooperation and its prospects. Felbab-Brown also assesses some of the accomplishments of the restarted bilateral cooperation.

Show notes and transcript.

Brought to you by the Brookings Podcast Network.

Learn more at: Brookings.edu/KillingDrugs

In this episode, host Vanda Felbab-Brown speaks with Philomena Kebec, economic development coordinator for the Bad River tribe, about the particularly devastating impact of the fentanyl epidemic on American Indian and Alaska Native communities. In the United States, Native communities experience the highest drug overdose mortality rates among racial groups, with fatalities far surpassing national averages. But the sheer numbers do not capture the totality of the devastation, such as the cultural losses and community grief. Yet federal and state responses to the fentanyl crisis among Native communities have been profoundly inadequate. Kebec emphasizes the urgent need for greater resources, culturally tailored and evidence-based care, and greater decision-making authority for Native communities.

Show notes and transcript.

Brought to you by the Brookings Podcast Network.

Learn more at: Brookings.edu/KillingDrugs

Host Vanda Felbab-Brown interviews Stanford professor Keith Humphreys about drug decriminalization in San Francisco, Oregon, and British Columbia. They discuss the origins and motivations for the dramatic policy change in 2020; the design of the policies, including the similarities with and differences from the decriminalization policies in Portugal; and the outcomes in the Northwest, including in terms of drug use, dealing, arrests, and property crime. Humphreys also explains what caused backlash against such policies and, ultimately, policy reversals. Humphreys emphasizes balanced policies, strong community engagement, and evidence-based public health service provision as the way forward.

Keith Humphreys holds the Esther Ting Memorial Professorship at Stanford University, receives research funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Veterans Health Administration, and is a non-executive director of Indivior PLC. His views do not necessarily represent official policy positions of any of these organizations.

Show notes and transcript.

Brought to you by the Brookings Podcast Network.

Learn more at: Brookings.edu/KillingDrugs