Monthly Archives: June 2022

In the crime-infested tri-border region where Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira disappeared, rumours abound over what happened at Puerto Amelia in January this year.

Were Brazilian drug traffickers responsible for burning the Peruvian police outpost on the River Yavar to the ground?

Was it Colombian guerrillas who stormed the camp, shooting at the border guards and making off with their high-powered weapons?

Or were the culprits rogue Peruvian police officers, perhaps working for organized crime?

The answer depends on who you talk to but the consequences were the same.

Five months after the audacious raid, the camp lies in ruins. Charred logs are the only remnant of a turquoise lodging the Peruvian troops had called home.

Filing cabinets and metal bunk beds are scattered in the undergrowth while the ground is littered with empty cans of tuna fish and spam. Tiger orange butterflies dance around an abandoned border marker, bringing colour to an otherwise desolate scene.

They took guns, rifles, bullets, the lot, said one local, who gave the Guardian a tour of the strategically positioned base, located opposite the entrance to the River Itaqua, where Phillips and Pereira are feared to have been murdered.

The local said the security situation had been deteriorating since 2020 as Latin American drug cartels and factions fought for control of this increasingly lucrative smuggling route.

This is what the region is like now, they sighed as they surveyed the deserted police position past which boats packed with drugs can now travel undisturbed. It didnt use to be like this.

But this is not the first such attack on the feeble law enforcement in the Amazon region where Peru meets Colombia and Brazil.

The narcos are bolder, more aggressive; they have attacked three police posts in the last five years, a Peruvian anti-narcotics officer said.

The small [police] bases are too remote, too isolated, too exposed. You need bases with 200 to 300 men, not 10 or 20, he said. He estimated that 120 tonnes of cocaine base paste were being smuggled across the porous frontier between Peru and Brazil every year.

This is an area being controlled by organised crime, not by the Peruvian state, he said. Despite occasional police and military raids, the crime wave has overwhelmed state authorities in all three countries.

The Amazon is a cancer patient and were just giving it a pill for the pain, he added grimly.

The surge of criminal activity is partly driven by the rapid expansion of plantations of coca the raw material of cocaine on the Peruvian side of the triple frontier. Cultivation of the plant in the area known as Bajo Amazonas nearly doubled between 2019 and 2020 from 2,531 to 4,247 hectares, according to the Peruvian Drugs Observatory.

Across Peru, coca cultiviation grew by 41% between 2016 and 2020, according to official Peruvian figures an increase from 439 sq km to 617 sq km. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) says coca field cultivation is higher, reaching 882 sq km (or 88,200 hectares) in 2020, equivalent to 810 tonnes of potential cocaine.

Peru is the worlds second-biggest producer of cocaine after Colombia, according to the UN, producing around 26% of global cocaine output. The last two years have been bumper harvests.

But the country has also been buffeted by other forces: Peru suffered the worlds worst recorded per capita death toll in the Covid pandemic and its devastating impact hit law enforcement and drove rocketing unemployment. The result is a bonanza for organised crime in the Amazon region which stretches across more than half the country.

For Indigenous communities, that has led to a rise in intimidation, violence and murder as drug gangs target their land to plant new coca crops. Covid restrictions made the remote region even more vulnerable by slowing state efforts to protect land and eradicate illegal coca cultivation.

We are facing a well-structured organisation that protects drug trafficking and other illegal activities in the Amazon, said Robert Guimaraes, 49, a longtime Indigenous leader in Ucayali, in Perus central Amazon.

Unfortunately, the state does not have the capacity to intervene sufficiently, and above all to support the Indigenous peoples of Ucayali who are on the border [with Brazil], he said in Flor de Ucayali, the Shipibo-Konibo Indigenous community where he was born.

There are no police here to give security to the people, he said, joining a clamour of Indigenous Amazonian leaders who say police and prosecutors are failing to follow up their warnings, and are allowing killers to operate with impunity.

Ricardo Sobern, executive director of Perus anti-drug agency Devida, told the Guardian that international drug trafficking has been directed totally towards the Amazon as a result of the pandemic.

It is no coincidence that in 2020, Perus environment ministry reported record Amazon deforestation. A staggering 2,032 sq km(785 sq miles), a figure almost four times the 548 sq km it lost in 2019.

Across the triple frontier border, Brazils Amazonas state has become the battleground for a bitter struggle between rival drug militias, the So Paulo-based First Capital Command and Rio de Janeiro-based Red Command. In the past two years the balance has tipped in favour of the Red Command, according to security experts.

Gen Mauro Esposito, former coordinator of special border operations for Brazils federal police, said both Brazilian gangs now have cells operating in the cocaine-producing regions of Peru along the length of the two countries Amazon border, where small planes carrying drugs cargoes make daily flights.

Barbara Arisi, a Brazilian anthropologist of Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and specialist in the Indigenous peoples of the Javari Valley (as the Yavar is known in Brazil), said illegal fishing and hunting were the principal criminal activities in the area where Phillips and Pereira disappeared.

But she worried that drug traffickers using the rivers, or even transporting shipments on foot through the remote region, could put isolated communities at risk, particularly from illnesses to which they have no immunity.

They could cause whole populations to die and we wouldnt know anything about it, she said. First contact with the Matis people in the 1970s decimated two-thirds of their population, she noted.

The Indigenous [in the Javari Valley] people have a tragic past, she told the Guardian.

Now they are fighting because their friends have been killed. They are showing their faces, they are brave enough to protest in the face of organised crime, she added.

Read this article:

Police losing narco war in deadly Amazon region where duo disappeared - The Guardian

A proposed ballot measure, the Emerald New Deal, promises to repair the negative impacts that the war on drugs has had on Oaklands Black and brown communities. The organizers behind the measure have secured some influential endorsements from local community organizations and several city councilmembers. But the last hurdle before the measure ends up on the ballot for voters to decide is getting approval from the entire City Council.

Since last month, the council has deliberated over the plan a handful of times. Its not clear the measure will be advanced though. While virtually everyone agrees on the premise of addressing the harms done to communities of color through the strict enforcement of drug laws, some are skeptical of the Emerald New Deal is the right way of doing this.

The City Council continued this debate at last Thursdays rules and legislation meeting. The Emerald New Deal would redirect the entirety of Oaklands cannabis business tax revenue, or about $7 million annually, out of Oaklands general fund and place it in a new restricted fund called the END HARM Fund to pay for services targeting communities harmed by the war on drugs. These services would include mental health, reentry services, housing assistance, and economic development. It would also increase financial support for equity cannabis businesses, which are those owned by Oakland residents who can demonstrate theyre from a community that was harmed by the war on drugs.

A new oversight commission would be created to manage these funds and make sure they arent misspent.

Charles Reed and Gamila Abdehalim, two organizers with the Emerald New Deal campaign, have pressed the City Council in recent months to advance the measure for voter approval. The Emerald New Deal was born from the hearts and minds of the people who were affected by the War on Drugs the most, Reed said during last weeks council committee meeting.

In-Advance initative, an Oakland-based non-profit that also manages the Sugar Freedom Project, is responsible for the campaigns inception.

The war on drugs describes the U.Ss decades-long attempt to stop the use and sale of illegal drugs by imposing harsh prison sentences on both drug dealers and users. These policies disproportionately affected Black and Brown communities in cities like Oakland where many thousands of people were arrested and incarcerated over the span of several decades.

The Emerald New Deal has received the endorsement of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, the city board charged with making recommendations to the council on matters of the cannabis industry. District 6 Councilmember Loren Taylor introduced the ballot measure and is one of its key backers. Councilmembers Treva Reid and Noel Gallo, also from East Oakland, are listed as co-sponsors of the measure.

I think weve reached out to every single cannabis business, community organization, labor unions, and asked them to contribute their opinion, Abdehalim said.

Some councilmembers are concerned that the proposed measure might negatively affect the citys general fund, the largest pot of money in Oaklands budget that the council has the flexibility to spend how it sees. Other funds in the city budget are restricted, limiting the ability of the council to make adjustments when recessions happen. The city also already funds some of the services and programs the Emerald New Deal would be dedicated to.

Councilmember Dan Kalb asked at last weeks rules committee meeting whether the city knows how much it currently spends on the same services and programs the Emerald New Deal would pay for.

Councilmember Carroll Fife inquired about which organizations will be tasked with using cannabis tax funding to implement these services, how these groups would be chosen, and what specific ways they will serve the needs of communities affected by the war on drugs. Fife also requested a race and equity analysis report on the impact of this legislation.

Dozens of Oakland residents called in to voice their concerns and support for the initiative.

Gene Hazzard, a city hall observer and frequent commenter at council meetings, urged council members to not put the Emerald New Deal on the November ballot. Its a sham, do not support that, Hazard said during the public comment portion of the meeting. Its a slush fund that will put money into the hands of select organizations.

Dr. Cesar Cruz, co-founder of Homies Empowerment, a group that provides assistance to the community, said that East Oakland could benefit greatly from this initiative. This tax that comes from marijuana sales is so needed in our community like mental health and job training, and I invite you to come to the area to see whats happening on the ground and youll understand why we need that in our community.

The committee voted to continue the discussion of the Green New Deal proposal at the June 23 rules and legislation meeting, citing a need to have more of their questions answered.

The policy has to be right because if it is not we will be letting down the people who are looking to us for answers, Fife said.

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Will the 'Emerald New Deal' make it onto Oakland's November ballot? - The Oaklandside

When synthetic stimulants are sold on the streets, the likelihood of drug cutting is almost a guarantee.

It wasnt too long ago that you could walk into your local drugstore to buy cocaine for personal use. This drug, now identified as a Schedule II controlled substance with a high potential for abuse, used to be available at virtually any saloon, mail order vendor, or even grocery store. Back in the late 1800s, cocaine was much more diverse than buying a bag of white powder. In fact, at the time, you could find cocaine in upwards of 15 different forms, including cigarettes, inhalants, and cordials. One could even find it mixed with wine.

Many of us already know about the infamous Coca-Cola, which did, in fact, contain cocaine in soda form. After the dawn of the 20th century, the stimulant drug was outlawed, and the rest is history. Well, not so fast. It turns out that once cocaine prohibition took effect, the problem didnt go away. In fact, it led to a wave of synthetic stimulant drugs that have affected the U.S. up to the present day. Heres how.

Plant-Based vs. Lab-Based

Unlike its modern-day predecessors, cocaine is technically a plant-based drug, or at least it starts as one. Its derived from the coca plant, a plant native to South America. Medical professionals use it today, although its use is very rare. Unlike marijuana, which can be grown and smoked, the coca plant must be synthesized in labs where the raw plant undergoes a series of chemical transformations. By the time cocaine is made into a form for consumption (smoking, snorting, injecting, etc.), it has become a lab-based drug.

Synthetic stimulants are different in that they are entirely lab-based. Popular versions of synthetic stimulants include methamphetamines, MDMA (ecstasy), and prescription amphetamines, such as Adderall and Ritalin. Unlike cocaine, these stimulants are wholly made in labs, using base ingredients such as over-the-counter pseudoephedrine for meth, bath salts for ecstasy, and a combination of amphetamine salts and sulfates for Adderall. Of these synthetic stimulants, amphetamines, such as Adderall, are the only ones still in widespread medical use today. But how did these drugs come about, and why are they notoriously linked to so much of the stimulant drug abuse going on in America today?

Risks and Rewards

Before its prohibition, cocaine was medically approved for various ailments, including sinusitis, hay fever, and chronic fatigue. However, once the potential for abuse was realized, public opinion became unanimous that the risks of cocaine far outweighed its rewards. By 1914, the Harrison Act regulated cocaine, unintentionally giving rise to a new market of stimulants. A decade later, amphetamines were discovered. By the 1940s, they gained medical status in diet and antidepressant treatments. Like cocaine, these drugs were widely used and abused up until the 1970s, when they were placed under stricter controls.

Before ecstasy gained an illicit market in raves and music festivals, mental health practitioners used it for therapeutic purposes. The DEA sought to prohibit the drug, and by the 1980s, it was successful despite the mental health communitys disagreement. While the legal status of MDMA continues to be contentious, it seems that for now, the DEA still views the drug in the same boat as cocainea risk that is not worth the rewards.

Unlike cocaine and MDMA, amphetamines like Adderall seem to still have a level of legality that overlooks the risks for the rewards. Even though Adderall and other stimulant drugs used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and insomnia are highly addictive, the drug has not yet faced the same level of prohibition that other stimulant drugs have so far. While the FDA limits the proper use and dispensing of Adderall for legitimate cases, the drug plays a major role in the meth epidemic today. Adderall is often repurposed for illicit meth and/or crystal meth production.

Synthetic Risks

Perhaps the most important risk that has developed with synthetic stimulants is not the legal status of these drugs but rather how many of these drugs are subject to deadly risks. These risks not only include how they are repurposed in meth production but how they are marketed on the streets by name only. In fact, as fentanyl lacing grows, illicit drugs create a much more dangerous situation for the people who use them.

When synthetic stimulants are sold on the streets, the likelihood of drug cutting is almost a guarantee. Buying cocaine, MDMA, or even Adderall from the street is no longer a given. Rather, drugs sold under these names could contain a number of cutting and filler agents, many of which have a high potential for health concerns and even fatal overdoses.

While the history of synthetic stimulants has progressed in response to cocaine prohibition, these latter drugs have fallen prey to the same outcome as cocaine. Despite being prohibited and regulated at the legal level, they still find their way onto the streets where there are no regulations whatsoever. Because of this risk that becomes more explosive over time, it is imperative to avoid the risk of synthetic stimulants at all costs. While controlled environments of stimulant drugs carry a risk for abuse, illicit stimulant drugs carry a risk of immediate death.

Unfortunately, this is the new territory of street drugs, and the prospects of changing this can only be positive when people determine the risks far outweigh the rewards.

Sources:

NIH. (n.d.). Comparison Between Procaine and Isocarboxazid Metabolism in Vitro by a Liver Microsomal Amidase-Esterase. Retrieved https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8/

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Guide to Cocaine Addiction and Treatment. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/stimulants/cocaine/

DEA. (2020, April). Cocaine Drug Fact Sheet. Retrieved https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/Cocaine-2020_1.pdf

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Stimulant Addiction. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/stimulants/

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Meth Addiction Signs and Treatment. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/stimulants/methamphetamine/

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Comparing Meth and Adderall: Are They the Same Drug? Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/stimulants/methamphetamine/and-adderall/

NIH. (2019, Oct). How is Methamphetamine Manufactured? Retrieved https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/methamphetamine/how-methamphetamine-manufactured

Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. (2017, Nov.). Ecstasy or Molly (MDMA). Retrieved https://www.ccsa.ca/sites/default/files/2019-04/CCSA-Canadian-Drug-Summary-MDMA-2017-en.pdf

Science Direct. (2021). Adderall. Retrieved https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/adderall#:~:text=Adderall%20is%20a%20combination%20of,%2Disomer%20to%20L%2Disomer.

ACLU. (n.d.) Against Drug Prohibition. Retrieved https://www.aclu.org/other/against-drug-prohibition

History. (2017, May 31). War on Drugs. Retrieved https://www.history.com/topics/crime/the-war-on-drugs

NIH. (2015, Feb 1). Amphetamine- Type Stimulants: The Early History of Their Medical and Non-Medical Uses. Retrieved https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26070751/

Drug Policy. (2012, Feb 7). Can MDMA be Used as Medicine or Therapy? Retrieved https://drugpolicy.org/drug-facts/can-mdma-be-used-medicine-or-therapy

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Study Durgs: A Gateway to Hard Drugs? Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/blog/study-drugs/

FDA. (2015, July 8). Adderall and Adderall XR (Amphetamines) Information. Retrieved https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/adderall-and-adderall-xr-amphetamines-information

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Fentanyl Addiction: What Side Effects Should You Know About? Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/opioids/fentanyl/

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Cold Turkey Detox from Adderall: Dangers and What to Expect. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/cold-turkey-detox/adderall/

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How Cocaine Prohibition Led to a Wave of Synthetic Stimulant Drugs - Legal Reader

Wednesday, June 15, 2022 by Willow Higgins

The Texas Harm Reduction Alliance addressed the Public Health Committee last week about the overdose crisis in Travis County. More than 300 people in the area died of a preventable overdose last year, and more than 100 of those deaths were from a fentanyl overdose a 237 percent increase from the year before.

The Public Health Committee is aware of the severity of the crisis and met to discuss how it can improve local policy to better target the problem. Representatives from THRA said that incarcerating people for drug use instead of regulating drug use to make it as safe as possible i.e., the policies of the war on drugs is at the root of the problems were facing today. Harm reduction, which has proved to be a much more effective public health approach, aims to reduce the risk of drugs, keep drug users alive and provide them help getting clean when theyre ready.

Some harm reduction strategies that are being or could be employed in the area include things like making clean syringes available, providing access to medication-assisted treatment like buprenorphine and methadone, distributing naloxone or other drugs that reverse opioid overdoses, treating wounds caused by injections, and providing access to drug testing and drug use education, THRA Director Cate Graziani explained.

When we think about prevention, drug education is really important, Graziani said. Similar to sex education, we understand that kind of abstinence-only models are not working. We have to arm people with good information about drugs and how to use them more safely so that they stay alive. Which drugs dont you mix? How do you use with a buddy so that youre not alone if you do overdose?

Death from drug use is the No. 1 cause of accidental death in Travis County, ahead of even car crashes. This glaring fact is directly linked to Austins homelessness crisis, THRAs Paulette Soltani told the Public Health Committee. While overdoses are rising, our homelessness crisis has continued to rage on and people continue to be swept deeper and deeper into places where theyre not connected to their networks and places that are harder for us to make sure that we are able to serve them, Soltani said.

A previous resolution passed by City Council in 2018 failed to prevent the opioid crisis from getting to this point.In advance of Councils next policy effort to address the issue, Graziani asked, What lessons can we learn from what yall put in place then? How can we do things differently this time around? We dont want to pass another resolution that doesnt make a difference in saving peoples lives.

The representatives from the alliance offered a handful of immediate and long-term strategies that would help address the crisis. First of all,Austin needs to build a robust infrastructure to provide harm reduction many other service providers are capable of partnering with THRA to expand these services; they just need the funding. Access to overdose-reversing drugs like naloxone needs to be drastically expanded. Police sweeps of homeless communities need to be stopped and access to housing expanded and equipped with harm reduction strategies. And the criminalization of unwitting possession or sale of fentanyl should be stopped, they said.

In the long term, THRA staff explained, Texas should have an authorized program to provide access to safe syringes, housing options for current or former drug users should be expanded, all service providers should be trained in harm reduction strategies, overdose prevention centers should be expanded, and policies should work to make sure drug supplies are safer.

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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City explores harm reduction strategies to address the overdose crisis - Austin Monitor

This article was originally published on Psychedelic Spotlight and appears here with permission.

Today, MDMA is one of the worlds most-well known drugs. Famous as a party drug prevalent among concertgoers, the compound is also growing in popularity as a therapy-enhancing medicine.

Despite being known the world over, if not as MDMA then by its many street names molly, M, ecstasy, and X most people are unfamiliar with how society was first introduced tothe love drug.

Like other synthetic drugs, MDMA is not found in the wild. Rather, in 1912, it was first synthesized accidentally by German chemists working for the pharmaceutical company Merck. The scientists were researching drugs that could help stop bleeding, and they stumbled upon MDMA. Originally called Methylsafrylaminc, the scientists were unable to find a practical use for it. Nevertheless, in 1914, they patented the substance as something that could one day have therapeutic value, and then shelved it, leaving MDMA to be forgotten for decades.

Through the tumultuous 1920s-40s a period of wars, economic devastation and revolution MDMA mostly remained on its shelf, waiting for someone to rediscover it. There were checkered attempts at studying it, but what, if anything, was learned in that time is lost to history.

MDMA was not seriously studied again until the 50s and 60s. This time, it was tested by the United States as a potentialmind-control drug or truth serum. The most famous project through which this was tested is of course the CIAs Project MK-Ultra. Though most documents from that time period were destroyed following a death in the program, some survive today. According to these official documents, MDMA was never tested in humans, only animals though a compound called MDE, which is almost identical to MDMA, wastested in humansat the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Eventually, thespooksin charge of MK-Ultra turned their attention to LSD, which they believed had more potential as a psychological weapon than MDMA. So once again,the happy pillfell back into obscurity.

This began to change in the 1960s, as university and industry chemists began researching the drug for potential therapeutic effects. Thebig breakthroughcame in 1965, when chemist Alexander Shulgin created a cheap and easy way to synthesize the forgotten Merck compound. After consuming it himself in 1967, Shulgin immediately saw its potential.

By 1976, Shulgin had given MDMA now known by its current chemical name,3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine to hundreds of psychologists across the USA. Seeing MDMAs potential to enhance empathy, the termempathogenwas coined to describe the medicine.

In thisperiod of early excitement, MDMA was being usedlegallyin psychological clinics across the USA. Thousands of patients were treated, and it was being studied in clinical settings for everything from addiction, to relationship therapy, to anxiety.

It was also around this time, however, that MDMA which was easy to synthesize escaped the clinic and made its way into the underground scene. Immediately, it became popular as a so-called rave drug, being consumed around the USA and Europe at large music parties.

Though it was not then illegal, the USA was in the grips of the War on Drugs. It soon became obvious that ecstasy, the name it was known by in underground communities, would not escape this. Indeed, in 1985, the DEA invoked emergency powers and scheduled MDMA as a Schedule I drug, the most illegal. This meant that the drug had no medical value, and was extremely dangerous.

Despite stopping most legal study into MDMA, illegal recreational use ofScooby Snacksskyrocketed. Unfortunately, often this illegal supply was cut with other, more harmful, substances as well, such asmeth.

Between the 1980s and early 2000s, research into MDMA did not stop; it only became more difficult. Following its banning, a man namedRick Doblinfounded the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, better known by its acronym MAPS.

By 1996, MAPS hadsuccessfully completedthe first Phase 1 safety trial for MDMA-assisted therapy, which opened the doors to further study. Fast forward to 2021, and MAPS had completed several MDMA-therapy clinical trials, attempting to treat PTSD. The most significant was aPhase 3 trial, which saw 88% of people with severe PTSD have a clinical reduction in their symptoms, and 67% improve so much theyno longer qualified for a PTSD diagnosis.

Though there has beensignificant controversysurrounding this clinical trial, MAPS is currently completing its second Phase 3 trial into whether MDMA-therapy can effectively treat PTSD. According to Rick Doblin, if this trial is equally as effective, we could see the treatment belegalizedin the USA as early as 2023.

If that happens, and if MDMA is found to be as effective in the real world as it is in clinical studies, it has the potential to revolutionize mental healthcare.

PTSD is just the beginning. Within 5 years, we may see MDMA being used in couples therapy, depression treatments, and eveneating disorders.

The history of MDMA is fascinating, and it is still being written.

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A Brief History Of MDMA: From The CIA To Raves To Psychedelic Therapy - Benzinga - Benzinga

Al Harrington. Photo illustration by Estefania Mitre/NPR hide caption

Al Harrington.

One of Al Harrington's biggest takeaways from his 16-year run in the NBA? Never let a rookie take your spot. The former power forward constantly found ways to evolve the game to outsmart new competitors and, in his words, "provide a new offering."

In his post-game career, he's used that mindset to build the cannabis company Viola, which sells high-quality forms of marijuana. But Viola's mission isn't solely to sell product. Instead, Al wants to ensure that Viola gives entrepreneurs of color significant opportunity in the legal, multibillion-dollar cannabis industry.

Al recognizes how decades of the American War on Drugs have ravaged Black and brown communities with disproportionate mass incarceration rates for marijuana-related offenses. He wants to offset that lasting harm by finding seats for entrepreneurs of color at the table.

Al sat down with Jay to discuss the stigmas he has overcome as a Black former NBA player building a cannabis company, the challenges he's facing bringing up Black entrepreneurs in the space, and why Viola is the LVMH of weed. Plus, he talks about his preferred strain of cannabis, and what to ask for in a dispensary.

Al has had the benefit of working as a professional since he was young, going straight to the league after high school. Translating the knowledge from his NBA career into the business world, Al says to never get comfortable, no matter how good you are, because new competitors will always be waiting for your spot.

Every year, I feel like I added to my game, and I take that into the business world in cannabis. I been in this 11 years, and I feel like if I continue to stay the same, then eventually people gonna pass me by. Just like if the game didn't evolve, you know the guys that play like this . . . we'd all be still playing like that . . . So that's how I look at my business every year. We gotta get better; we gotta come up with a new offering; we gotta outwork the next person. No matter how much of a lead we think we got, no matter how much we think we're this pedestal, we gotta keep raising the bar.

He also teaches us the importance of keeping business about your people and your community, not purely the money.

I know people that came into the industry with $50 million, $100 million, $200 million and literally out of business in 24 months. I think that because we can stay true to that to make sure that we have quality product and we stay true to our purpose which is about uplifting, educating and empowering people of color, I feel like our community and other communities have definitely supported what we're doing.

Jay and Al talk through the stigmas about marijuana that have been present since the beginning of the American War on Drugs, including its use in the NBA. Al also talks about educating individuals about the benefits of marijuana and the growing interest of entrepreneurs in this multibillion-dollar industry.

We'd be in a real estate meeting or technology meeting and everybody's like, well what's everybody's working on? I'm like, well, you know, I'm actually at a small cannabis company and I'm doing this, and the whole meeting would shift to me and what I'm doing in this space, you know what I'm saying. So it made me become more and more comfortable to start talking about it because so many people was interested in what was actually going on in the industry. And, you know, we're talking about 11 years ago when people were still afraid about going to jail. Now you look at the industry, it's wide open, it's being openly sold damn near everywhere and now it's a way easier transition for people to consider.

EXPLICIT CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussion of drug use and is only appropriate for adult audiences.

The Limits with Jay Williams drops episodes every Tuesday. On Thursdays, we drop bonus content only available to subscribers of The Limits Plus. Subscribe today and access sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content and more. Follow Jay on Instagram and Twitter. Email us at thelimits@npr.org.

The Limits is produced by Mano Sundaresan, Leena Sanzgiri and Barton Girdwood. Our intern is Danielle Soto. Our Executive Producers are Karen Kinney and Yolanda Sangweni. Our Senior Vice-President of Programming and Audience Development is Anya Grundmann. Music by Ramtin Arablouei. Special thanks to Christina Hardy, Rhudy Correa and Charla Riggi.

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Former NBA player Al Harrington on overcoming stigma and building a cannabis company : The Limits with Jay Williams - NPR