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Paths / Path 20

Drugs, Honestly

What each drug does, what it costs, and what the evidence says, without panic or glamour.

For: anyone who will be offered something someday, and every parent of a teenager.

18readings
1.5 hoursof reading
3stages
4 quick reads · 14 reads
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Stage 1

Start

4 readings · 21 min
  1. 01Quick readInteractiveQuiz4 min

    The Real Harm Ladder

    Ranked by real harm, not by law.
  2. 02ReadQuiz6 min

    Alcohol: The Drug We Don't Call a Drug

    Alcohol, the drug we don't call a drug.
  3. 03ReadQuiz5 min

    Nicotine & Tobacco: The Deadliest Drug in This Entire Category

    Nicotine: the deadliest drug in this whole category.
  4. 04ReadQuiz6 min

    Cannabis: From "Reefer Madness" to Regulated Dispensaries

    Cannabis: from "reefer madness" to dispensaries.
Stage 2

Understand

7 readings · 33 min
  1. 05Quick readQuiz4 min

    Opium: The Plant Behind Nearly Every Opioid Story

    Opium, behind nearly every opioid story.
  2. 06ReadQuiz5 min

    Heroin: Marketed as the Cure, Became the Crisis

    Heroin: marketed as a cure.
  3. 07ReadQuiz5 min

    Fentanyl: A Legitimate Medicine That Became the Deadliest Drug in the Supply

    Fentanyl: the deadliest street drug, and why.
  4. 08Quick readQuiz4 min

    Benzodiazepines: The Pills That Are Dangerous Mainly in Combination

    Benzodiazepines: dangerous mainly in combination.
  5. 09ReadQuiz5 min

    Cocaine: From Sacred Leaf to Cartel Wars

    Cocaine: sacred leaf to cartel wars.
  6. 10ReadQuiz5 min

    Methamphetamine: The Wartime Stimulant That Never Really Left

    Methamphetamine.
  7. 11ReadQuiz5 min

    MDMA: The Drug That Was a Therapy Tool Before It Was a Party Drug

    MDMA: therapy tool before party drug.
Stage 3

Go deep

7 readings · 35 min
  1. 12ReadQuiz6 min

    LSD: The Accident That Became a Movement, a Menace, and (Maybe) a Medicine

    LSD.
  2. 13ReadQuiz5 min

    Psilocybin: The Mushroom That's Closest to Becoming Medicine

    Psilocybin, the closest to becoming medicine.
  3. 14ReadQuiz5 min

    Ketamine: A Battlefield Anesthetic That Became a Psychiatric Breakthrough

    Ketamine.
  4. 15ReadQuiz5 min

    Ayahuasca: The Brew That Turned Chemistry Into Ceremony

    Ayahuasca.
  5. 16ReadQuiz5 min

    DMT: The Shortest, Most Intense Trip There Is

    DMT.
  6. 17Quick readQuiz4 min

    5-MeO-DMT: The Toad, the Molecule, and a Real Safety Warning

    5-MeO-DMT, and a real safety warning.
  7. 18ReadQuiz5 min

    Dopamine Is Not the Pleasure Chemical

    Dopamine: why wanting isn't liking.
When you finish

if you or someone you love is struggling, the Sources in each piece list where to get help; talk to a doctor.

Next path →

Maths You Can Feel

The big ideas of mathematics, each one with something to play with.