What if the story we’ve been told about addiction in America is only half the truth?
In Episode 85, host Stephen Kimball sits down with David Herzberg, historian, professor at SUNY Buffalo, and author of “White Market Drugs: Big Pharma and the Hidden History of Addiction in America.” What unfolds is a sharp, unsettling, and deeply human conversation about how addiction has been shaped not just by substances, but by power, policy, and privilege.
Herzberg traces the roots of the so-called war on drugs back to the late 19th century, long before modern headlines and political slogans. He reveals how society’s response to addiction has shifted depending on who is using drugs, and which drugs are involved. When addiction affects privileged communities, the response leans toward public health. When it doesn’t, punishment often follows.
The conversation also digs into today’s realities: why fentanyl represents a fundamentally different risk than earlier prescription opioids, how “friction” in drug access can save lives, and why harm reduction isn’t about condoning drug use but about keeping people alive long enough to have a future.
Perhaps most powerfully, Herzberg challenges parents, policymakers, and communities to talk more honestly about drugs. Silence, he argues, doesn’t protect people. Education, transparency, and community-level interventions do.
This episode is essential listening for anyone curious about addiction, recovery, drug policy, or the uncomfortable truth that the rules have never applied equally.
???? Listen to Episode 85: David Herzberg – White Market Drugs: Big Pharma and the Hidden History of Addiction in America
Because understanding where we’ve been is the only way to change where we’re going.
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