About this episode

This episode explores the intersection of health, medicine, and law, focusing on abortion, cannabis rescheduling, and corporate medicine.

On this episode, we look at the intersection of health, medicine, and the law. We explore how the upcoming rescheduling of marijuana may impact research on the drug, hear the story of a doctor who faced manslaughter charges in the 1970s for providing an abortion, and learn about legislation that some states are using to try and keep private equity out of medicine. Near the end of 2025, President Donald Trump made an announcement that marijuana advocates had been waiting decades to hear — plans by the federal government to move cannabis from schedule 1 to schedule 3, a much less restrictive legal category that would allow scientists to more easily conduct research on the drug’s therapeutic value. Pulse reporter Liz Tung digs into the history of how cannabis first became a federally illicit drug, what impact that status has had on research, and how much of a difference rescheduling will really make. We talk with Britt Carpenter, a recovery advocate and executive director of Philly Unknown Project , about how medical marijuana helped him get off opioids after years of addiction — and how the stigma against marijuana may prevent others from doing the same. Abortion has been in a…

People in this episode

Host: Liz Tung

Guest: Britt Carpenter

Topics covered

• healthcare
• law
• abortion
• cannabis
• corporate medicine
• medical research
• addiction recovery

Keywords

• healthcare
• law
• abortion
• cannabis
• medical marijuana
• opioids
• addiction
• research
• private equity
• Roe v. Wade

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Philly Unknown Project, U.S. Supreme Court, federal government, marijuana advocates

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