Ed Edwards: The Political History of Smack and CrackEd Edwards: The Political History of Smack and Crack
Believe in people podcast
Playwright Ed Edwards talks about his play *The Political History of Smack and Crack*, linking his personal experiences of addiction, prison and NA with wider political forces behind Britain’s heroin epidemic. The conversation looks at denial, relapse, stigma and the power of fellowship and storytelling in recovery.
1:01:04•21 May 2026
Ed Edwards on Addiction, Politics and a "Fucked Up" Love Story
Episode Overview
- Addiction is shaped by politics, poverty and policing, not just individual choices, and Britain’s heroin wave came in the wake of Thatcher-era unrest.
- Recovery communities like Narcotics Anonymous can act as a practical higher power, because people there understand addicts better than they understand themselves.
- Denial often hides behind a "hierarchy of drugs", where heavy cannabis use is minimised because it isn’t heroin or crack.
- Relapse can follow years of abstinence when meetings and recovery practices slip, and it may start with something as seemingly small as one drink.
- Fellowship, humour and storytelling help people in recovery feel less alone and challenge stereotypes about who uses drugs and why.
“"You walk into that room and everybody in that room except you understands why you do that: it's because you're an addict, not because you're a wanker."”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and drugs, even after relapse and prison? This conversation with playwright Ed Edwards offers a gritty, funny and sharply political take on addiction that speaks straight to anyone interested in recovery and how society shapes it.
Ed talks about his play *The Political History of Smack and Crack*, which follows Mandy and Neil – two addicts in early recovery caught up in a "fucked up love story" – while weaving in his own history of cannabis, crack, jail time and Narcotics Anonymous. He’s clear that addiction "is never just personal"; it’s tangled up with Thatcherism, poverty, policing, and the wave of heroin that hit working-class communities in the 1980s.
You’ll hear him contrast the usual doom‑laden drug dramas with the messy reality of getting clean: the chaos of the first seven years, the strange comfort of NA meetings, and the brutal honesty of relapse after 13 years abstinent, kicked off by “a tequila”. His description of NA as a practical higher power is especially helpful for anyone wary of the spiritual language: the fellowship worked because "they know more about me than I know about myself".
Ed and host Matthew Butler also tackle stigma inside and outside recovery – from the "hierarchy" that looks down on cannabis users to wider attitudes that still frame addiction as an individual failure rather than a structural issue. They touch on consumer culture, constant distraction, and why the collective bond of NA can feel like a rare lifeline in an increasingly fragmented society.
With plenty of gallows humour, political bite and raw honesty, this conversation suits people in recovery, those supporting loved ones, and anyone trying to make sense of why drugs grip communities the way they do. What part of Ed’s story most challenges how you think about addiction?
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