Robert Munsch reflects on the private struggles that existed alongside his celebrated career as one of Canada's best-known children's authors. In this revealing interview, he discusses childhood depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcohol and cocaine addiction, family tragedy, and his experiences with recovery. He also explores the relationship between his mental health, addiction, and writing, sharing how personal experiences and the children he encountered inspired many of his stories and shaped the public storyteller generations of readers came to know.
Young people's changing attitudes toward cannabis are creating new challenges for prevention and public health in Singapore. This investigation examines cannabis use, addiction risk, social media, drug trafficking, and the influence of changing policies in nearby Thailand. Through healthcare professionals, researchers, law enforcement, counsellors, community organizations, and people with lived experience, the episode explores Singapore's strict approach to drugs alongside prevention, recovery, and youth outreach efforts. It also examines concerns surrounding cannabis commercialization and how shifting perceptions of the drug may influence younger generations.
After years of gambling addiction and repeated relapses, Brian Hatch found recovery and began using his experiences to help others through ALL IN: The Addicted Gambler's Podcast. In this conversation, he reflects on the financial and emotional consequences of gambling, the shame that kept him from returning to Gamblers Anonymous after a relapse, and the compulsive nature of addiction. Brian also discusses the difficulty of walking away from gambling, the role accessibility can play in addiction, and the importance of Gamblers Anonymous and continued recovery while offering hope to others struggling with gambling addiction.
Baby Boomers and older adults can face unique risks related to problem gambling, including retirement, isolation, increased free time, financial losses, and easy access to gambling. Through personal experiences and expert perspectives, this documentary examines gambling addiction in later life and the emotional, psychological, and financial consequences that can follow. It also explores why casinos and other forms of gambling may become important social spaces for older adults, challenges misconceptions about gambling addiction and willpower, and emphasizes that recovery remains possible at any age.
After losing their sons to drug overdoses, two Orange County mothers set out to educate young people about prescription drugs, addiction, and overdose. Through firsthand accounts from grieving parents, young people affected by addiction, and addiction professionals, this documentary explores how experimentation can develop into devastating substance use problems. Created as a prevention tool for young audiences and families, it challenges assumptions about who can develop an addiction while emphasizing the consequences of drug use, the warning signs families should recognize, and the importance of honest conversations.
Germany has become an important destination in Europe's growing cocaine market, with international trafficking networks using ports and emerging smuggling routes to move enormous quantities of the drug across borders. From a record-breaking 16-ton seizure at the Port of Hamburg to new routes through Kenya, this documentary follows cocaine's journey from South America to dealers and consumers in Europe. Through law enforcement, experts, and personal stories, it explores the profits, violence, enforcement challenges, and economic conditions driving an increasingly globalized cocaine trade.
Journalist Elizabeth Vargas speaks candidly with Diane Sawyer about her experiences with anxiety, alcohol addiction, treatment, relapse, and recovery. Behind a successful career at ABC News, Vargas struggled with severe anxiety and increasingly relied on alcohol to cope, eventually entering treatment multiple times. She reflects on hiding her addiction, resisting help, and the impact her drinking had on her family and career. Through her story, the interview explores the connection between anxiety and alcohol use disorder, the realities of relapse, and the ongoing commitment required in recovery.
In 2001, Portugal transformed its approach to drugs by decriminalizing possession of small amounts for personal use and shifting its focus toward health, treatment, and harm reduction. Two decades later, SBS Dateline travels to Lisbon to examine how the policy works in practice and what impact it has had on addiction, overdose deaths, and people who use drugs. Through policymakers, frontline workers, and personal stories, the investigation explores Portugal's progress, the problems that remain, and whether countries such as Australia could learn from its approach to drug policy.
SBS Dateline travels to Thailand to examine a changing war on drugs as the country confronts widespread yaba use, methamphetamine trafficking, prison overcrowding, and decades of punitive drug policies. Filmed during Thailand's historic move to decriminalize cannabis, the investigation follows anti-trafficking units, social workers, formerly incarcerated people, and communities affected by drug use. It also travels to the Golden Triangle, where instability in neighbouring Myanmar and the growth of synthetic drug production have transformed regional trafficking and contributed to an enormous supply of cheap methamphetamine flowing into Thailand.
This 2012 Global News investigation examines the OxyContin controversy in Canada through the experiences of patients, grieving families, researchers, and medical professionals. As prescriptions for the powerful pain medication increased, so did concerns about addiction, overdose, and the way its risks had been presented to doctors and patients. The report investigates Purdue Pharma's marketing of OxyContin, its influence within pain medicine, and allegations that the drug's potential for addiction was deliberately downplayed, while revealing the devastating consequences prescription opioid use had already left behind.
