On Something

Aug 17 2021 393
On Something Podcast artwork

Even if you don’t use, marijuana is changing the world around you in surprising ways. On Something is a podcast from Colorado Public Radio and PRX about how life has changed in the aftermath of marijuana legalization efforts across the United States. Join journalist Ann Marie Awad as she explores the personal stories behind the political, legal and cultural effects of legalization.

RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


By Any Other Name

Aug 17 2021 23 mins  
If you Google the question "Is marijuana racist?" there’s no shortage of articles available to try and answer the question definitively. But the racial baggage behind the word is much more complicated than a simple yes or no answer. Cannabis journalist Abdullah Saeed and cannabis historian Isaac Campos join us to unpack it all, and to figure out how this history fits into today's

Harm, Healing and Hope

Aug 03 2021 25 mins  
Ann first met Logan Kinamore in 2014, when she was a young journalist covering her first story about drug policy. Kinamore is a harm reduction activist based in Louisiana, who has his own history of substance abuse. That's actually how he learned about the harm reduction movement -- which advocates for more compassion and less criminalization of drug users. Now, that movement has t

Psychedelics & Safe Spaces

Jul 20 2021 27 mins  
Psychedelics are more than just cutting edge -- they're trendy. Whether it's tech workers micro dosing LSD in Silicon Valley, or Gwyneth Paltrow discussing ayahuasca on her Netflix show, there is a cultural fixation on psychedelics beyond the breakthroughs being made in the lab. But Charlotte James and Dre Wright are working to remind people that these are not just medicines, but s

Left Behind

Jul 06 2021 38 mins  
In 2012, Fred Harris watched legalization pass him by from a prison cell in Colorado. Despite being the first state to legalize recreational cannabis, the law didn't account for people like Fred, who were still serving cannabis-related sentences. That meant getting out of prison would be no easy feat -- even after his son, Arzelle Lewis, called in celebrities and NBA stars to help

Not Quite Legal

Jun 22 2021 35 mins  
Ronnie Bell is a pot farmer in California's Inland Empire. Despite living in a state where weed is legal, Ronnie's farm is not. Since the state passed recreational legalization in 2016, counties like his have ramped up law enforcement to try and stamp out underground pot growers and dealers. But Ronnie and his neighbors say that selling legal weed has become too big of a business f

Funny Business, Shenanigans and Chicanery

Jun 08 2021 30 mins  
Mildred Barnes Griggs wanted to get into the cannabis business to revitalize the economy of her small hometown of Marianna, Arkansas. But when she and her expert team applied for a license to grow, all they got was disappointment. Their application was supposed to be judged on merit, but, in this case, the meaning of merit isn’t all that clear. This story is Part 3 of 8 in a seri

"Black-owned"

May 25 2021 28 mins  
Massachusetts won national praise for being the first state to legalize recreational weed with an eye to equity. Voters in 2016 said they wanted a cannabis industry that somehow included people who were impacted by the War on Drugs. But since then, those very people have been squeezed out of the industry -- people like Chauncy Spencer. He grew up in Boston, sold weed when he was yo

A Laboratory For Fairness

May 11 2021 23 mins  
Welcome to Season 3 of On Something, and Part 1 of a series we’re calling Fair Shake. This season, On Something explores the pursuit of social equity in the cannabis industry, and what it can teach us creating a fairer society. But first of all, what does social equity even mean? University of Toronto Professor Awkwasi Owusu-Bempah is here to get us all on the same page, and remi

Trailer: Get Ready for Season 3!

Apr 20 2021 3 mins  
On Something is back soon, with more stories about life after legalization! We’re calling this season Fair Shake. You’ll hear eight episodes about the the pitfalls along the path to social equity. Maybe you think ‘life after legalization’ means we’re all living in and benefitting from the green rush. Except not everyone is enjoying the fruits of legal weed. Black and brow

LIVE: My Family, On Something

Jan 06 2021 22 mins  
Your favorite podcast about life after legalization recently hosted a virtual live event about awkward and unexpected tales of sentiment and substance. Six seriously talented storytellers shared anecdotes about those times when family and drugs collide. We called it “Your Family, On Something.” This episode features three of the funniest, most surprising and most moving moments