High Society (2016)

British people statistically take more MDMA in one session than any other country on the planet. And not just a little bit more: on average, Brits take 420 milligrams per session. To put that in perspective, Germans, the same people who invented minimal techno and nightclubs that stay open for 60 hours – take only 200 milligrams. It’s still one of the safest drugs to take, but last year, ecstasy-related deaths reached their highest level in a decade, and now it’s back in the headlines. Some people say it’s drug dealers’ responsibility for selling pills that are dangerously strong and cut with adulterants. Other people point to the government, who have failed to reduce the supply of ecstasy and are refusing to embrace harm reduction strategies that have worked in Europe. Of course it’s also possible that the issue lies with British drug users themselves, who sometimes need reminding that the barometer of a good night out isn’t how much of your tongue is left at the end of it. In this episode of High Society, we find out what’s making ecstasy so dangerous again, and how that danger can be reduced.

Cannabis is the UK's favorite illegal drug. An estimated half a million people use it for medicinal purposes, and many more use it just to get high. In the past decade, many countries have moved to decriminalize or even fully legalize smoking and growing weed, yet the UK government refuses to budge. When over 200,000 people signed a petition last year calling on the city of Westminster to make the production, sale, and use of weed legal, the government responded with a flat-out "no." Yet in some ways, decriminalization is happening through the back door, with many British police forces no longer making cannabis crackdowns a top priority. In this episode of High Society​, we explore how that approach to the issue shapes the country's weed culture and meet growers, medical marijuana users, politicians, and a couple of thieves who have come up with a novel way to make money off the UK cannabis trade.