*Trigger Warning*: Please take care in exploring these resources, many of them contain upsetting images and information
DOCUMENTARIES
Public Enemy Number One (2019) - the war on drugs
The House I Live In (2012) - the war on drugs, front line stories
13th (2016) - Race & the criminal justice system
Breaking the Taboo: The Truth About the War on Drugs (2015)
American Drug War: The Last White Hope (2007)
Peyote to LSD: A Psychedelic Odyssey (2008) - native hallucinogenic ceremonies and origins of the psychedelic sixties
Prohibition (2011) - The rise and fall of prohibition
America’s Longest War (2013) - Costs of the war on drugs
Planet Rock: The Story of Hip-Hop and the Crack Generation (2011)
Cocaine Unwrapped (2011) - Global perspective, war on cocaine
Ausangate (2006) - Lives of the Quechua people, coca rituals
Heroin(e) (2017) - Three women battle WV’s opioid epidemic
Cocaine Cowboys (2006) - Miami drug wars 1970s and 1980s
Psychedelic Soldiers (2016) - MDMA and PTSD
Reefer Madness (1936) - Not a documentary, anti-cannabis propaganda film
DOCUSERIES
The Business of Drugs (2020)
How to Fix a Drug Scandal (2020) - crime drug lab, corruption & a broken system
The Pharmacist (2020) - Grieving father’s fight against the opioid epidemic
America’s War on Drugs (2017) - The CIA, foreign policy & unintended consequences
Dope (series 2017 - ) - war on drugs from perspective of dealers, users & police
Have A Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics (2020) - Thorough investigation of psychedelics
Narcoworld: Dope Stories (series 2019 - ) - global drug trade
Wormwood (2017)
BOOKS
Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
From Chocolate to Morphine: Everything You Need to Know About Mind-Altering Drugs by Andrew Weil & Winfred Rosen
Trust, Surrender, Receive: How MDMA Can Release Us From Trauma and PTSD by Anne Other
The Insecure American: How We Got Here & What We Should Do About It - collection of essays edited by Hugh Gusterson & Catherine Besteman, foreward by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Pastoral Clinic: Addiction and Dispossession Along the Rio Grande by Angela Garcia
Psychedelic Medicine: The Healing Powers of LSD, MDMA, Psilocybin, and Ayahuasca by Richard Louis Miller
Drugs and the American Dream: An Anthology edited by Patricia A. Adler, Peter Adler & Patrick K. O’Brien
PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story; TiHKAL: The Continuation by Alexander Shulgin & Anna Shulgin
Higher Wisdom: Eminent Elders Explore the Continuing Impact of Psychedelics edited by Robert Walsh & Charles S. Grob
A Secret History of Coffee, Coca & Cola by Ricardo Cortés
LSD My Problem Child: Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism and Science by Albert Hoffman
Flesh of the Gods: The Ritual Use of Hallucinogens by Peter T. Furst
The New Prohibition: Voices of Dissent Challenge the Drug War - collection of essays edited by Bill Masters, foreward by Jesse Ventura
One River: Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazonian Forest by Wade Davis
The Hurt Artist: My Journey From Suicidal Junkie to Ironman by Shane Niemeyer & Gary Brozek
Dignity and Defiance: Stories from Bolivia’s Challenge to Globalization edited by Jim Shultz & Melissa Crane Draper
Chapter 6: Coca: The Leaf at the Center of the War on Drugs
The Big White Lie: The Deep Cover Operation that Exposed the CIA Sabotage of the Drug War by Michael Levine & Laura Kavanau-Levine
Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion by Gary Webb
War and Drugs: The Role of Military Conflict in the Development of Substance Abuse by Dessa K. Bergen-Cico
Drugs and Democracy in Latin America: The Impact of US Policy edited by Coletta A. Youngers & Eileen Rosin; Executive summary available here
High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-Discovery that Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society by Carl Hart
Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear by Carl Hart
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley
Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana- Medical, Recreational and Scientific by Martin A. Lee
Drug War Capitalism by Dawn Paley
Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town by Nick Reding
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy
ARTICLES
Madden, A., Lancaster, K., Ritter, A., & Treloar, C. (2021). Making Legitimacy: Drug User Representation in United Nation Drug Policy Settings. International Journal of Drug Policy, Vol. 87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.103014
Drugs and Democracy: Toward a Paradigm Shift; Statement by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy (2009)
Blog: Sobre Ebriedad
Thematic Briefings on Human Rights and Drug Policy, Harm Reduction International
Some Thoughts on Mercy by Ross Gay, The Sun Magazine
The Heretic by Tim Doody
Why America Can’t Quit the Drug War by Tim Dickinson
LINKS
Psychedelic Shine informational series, medicinal mindfulness
Peter Christ - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition; Oct 2012 Interview
Erowid: Documenting the Complex Relationship Between Humans & Psychoactives
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)
UMD College Park Chapter
NEW USG Chapter!!! Started by Emma Earnest, fellow social work student. Join the Facebook page
ORGANIZATIONS
PEOPLE TO KNOW
Michelle Alexander (Author of The New Jim Crow)
Ethan Nadelmanm (Founder of the Drug Policy Alliance)
Rick Doblin (Founder of MAPS)
Marcella Ot’alora (Psychotherapist & researcher in MDMA-assisted therapy & art therapy for trauma)
Ann Shulgin (author of PiHKAL)
Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin (author of PiHKAL)
Albert Hoffman (Chemist, first to synthesize LSD)
Timothy Leary (scientist to counterculture celebrity; Timothy Leary papers archived at the New York Public Library)
Terrence McKenna (author, lecturer, ethnobotanist, mystic)
Dennis McKenna (ethnopharmacologist, research pharmacologist, author, lecturer)
Lady Amanda Feilding (Founder of The Beckley Foundation)
Stanislov Grof, M.D., Ph.D.
SUBSTANCE USE / ADDICTION HOTLINES
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): 410-663-1922
Al-Anon (Family and Friends): 410-832-7094
Hotline providing support for family and friends of someone with drinking problems
Alateen (Preteens and Teenagers): 410-832-7094
Hotline providing support for preteens and teenagers coping with the drinking problems of someone within their lives
Nar-Anon (Family and Friends of Addicts): 1-800-477-6291
Narcotics Anonymous (NA): 1-800-317-3222
REACH - Baltimore County: 410-887-3224
Resource, education, and advocacy helpline
SAMHSA Treatment Referral Hotline: 1-800-622-HELP (4357)
Tobacco QuitLine (24/7): 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669)
Available in English, Spanish, or other languages
SUBSTANCE USE RESOURCES
Baltimore Needle Exchange Program 410-396-3731
Offers intravenous drug users risk reduction education and clean syringes to reduce spread of HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases
Concerted Care Group 883-224-5483
Individual/group/family therapy, primary healthcare, Methadone/Bup Maintenance, prescription painkiller addiction management, Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) & Outpatient Program (OP), conflict resolution training, acupuncture, chronic pain management, health and wellness classes, DWI/DUI Education and Treatment programs; accepts Medicaid
Penn North Recovery Center 410-728-2080
Services offered on a sliding scale fee and include community-based addiction treatment and wellness program, behavioral health treatment, acupuncture, outpatient counseling, and employment assistance
Baltimore Area Community Health Services 410-241-6317
Accepts Medicare/Medicaid. Substance abuse services at intensive and outpatient levels; individual/group counseling
Provides primary care doctor, counselor, and pharmacists to ensure comprehensive health care regardless of ability to pay; Services include private, group, and family counseling, personalized healthcare, medication assisted treatment (such as buprenorphine (Suboxone®) & nalaxone, diabetes, asthma treatment, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder treatment, etc.
Change Health Systems 410-233-1088
Utilizes cognitive-behavioral therapy, individual/family/group therapy and other treatments to address mental health and substance use addictions. Accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and self-pay; sliding-scale fee structure for uninsured or underinsured
Glenwood Life Counseling Center 410-323-9811
Services include methadone maintenance treatment, individual/group/family counseling, case management and outpatient programs
Harbel Community Organization 410-444-2100
Accepts Medicaid/Medicare. Offers outpatient services such as specialized substance use treatment, DUI/DWI education group, individual/group counseling, anger management, victim outreach, screenings, and more.
REACH Health Services 410-752-6616
For Medicaid/Medicare recipients. Services include standard outpatient treatment, medication assisted treatment, intensive outpatient treatment, and health home
Tuerk House 410-233-0684
Services include respite care for those under the influence, inpatient detoxification, residential & outpatient treatment, partial hospitalization, medication-assisted treatment, and peer support
Turning Point Clinic 410-675-2113
Offers heroin treatment, methadone treatment, mental health care services, spiritual life therapy, urgent care, and food pantry; anyone is welcome and walk-ins accepted
Free daily recovery support group meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. All meetings are non-denominational, agnostic to any specific recovery pathway, and are open to anyone
University Psychological Center 410-366-1717
For Medicaid/Medicare recipients. Onsite mental health and substance abuse services such as psychiatric evaluation and testing, therapy for individuals, couples, groups, and families, addiction services, stress management, etc.