In podcast, comic English digs into history of ‘War on Drugs’
The phrase “war on drugs” was invented by Richard Nixon in 1971 and has retained its power for five decades. But if this is a war, is there an actual winner or just a whole lot of losers?
That’s the premise behind the podcast “The War on Drugs,” which features Atlanta comic and actor Clayton English and attorney Greg Glod.
Over 10 episodes, the podcast explores the fallacies and misconceptions stemming from a bruising battle that has often penalized victims as much if not more than the protagonists. The result: broken families and millions in prison.
Glod, a fellow at Americans for Prosperity Senior Criminal Justice and adviser to Stand Together on Criminal Justice and Drug Reform, first hooked up with podcast company Lava for Good to do this podcast. They needed a co-host and approached English, a “Last Comic Standing” winner who has addressed the war on drugs in his comedy.
“I’m a policy nerd,” said Glod, who is based in Washington, D.C. “We needed someone with a lived experience. Clayton’s act was hilarious and thought-provoking. He grew up in the inner city, and his interactions with the police were different from mine. My dad was a cop. I grew up in a white suburb. But we get along and understand the issues coming from different sides. We make each other laugh.”
In each episode, the pair interviews experts and historians. English is like a surrogate for the listener, asking questions from a layman’s viewpoint, while Glod provides an insider’s view on how criminal justice and drugs are intertwined.
“This isn’t a war on drugs,” English said. “This is a war on people ... I’ve been pulled over and harassed by the police. I smoke weed. I’m ducking and dodging every day. This podcast makes sense. I just love learning stuff. I would probably seek out this information anyway in a documentary or a podcast I wasn’t a part of.”
One episode has a specific Atlanta focus: a talk with comic Eric Andre, who was stopped in 2021 by Clayton County police before boarding an airplane at Hartsfieldjackson International Airport as they were seeking illegal contraband in what is dubbed “civil asset forfeiture,” which gives police wide berth to seize any property allegedly connected to a crime.
When English heard about Andre’s incident, he reached out to his friend to tell him of a similar experience he had a few months earlier.
The two last year sued Clayton County and its police department for this “jet bridge interdiction program,” claiming racial profiling, which Clayton
County has denied.
Glod said if the podcast does well, they have plenty of ideas for a second season. “We want to explore solutions and what’s happening now in places like Switzerland and in Oregon, where there is a drug decriminalization experiment going on,” he said.
Sadly, he said, there are few signs this “war on drugs” is ending any time soon.
“It’s too big to fail at this point,” Glod said. “There is too much money and manpower wrapped up in the drug war. There’s a bill in Arizona trying to give the death penalty for those who provide fentanyl to someone else. It’s the same (expletive) stuff that has not worked in the past.”
He noted that fentanyl is the hottest drug and illegal pills are flowing in from Mexico and China. At the same time, politicians still feel pressure to be “tough on crime,” even if it means punishing addicts.
“I want to get the dialogue going,” English said. “People need to call their congressmen, their governor, if things aren’t working. If enough people get upset, things can get done.”