Pills Powder And Smoke

Antony Loewenstein Scribe Publications

Like the never-ending war on terror, the drugs war is a multi-billion-dollar industry that won’t go down without a fight. Pills, Powder, and Smoke explains why. The war on drugs has been official American policy since the 1970s, with the UK, Europe, and much of the world following suit. It is at best a failed policy, according to bestselling author Antony Loewenstein. Its direct results have included mass incarceration in the US, extreme violence in different parts of the world, the backing of dictatorships, and surging drug addiction globally. And now the Trump administration is unleashing diplomatic and military forces against any softening of the conflict. Pills, Powder, and Smoke investigates the individuals, officials, activists, victims, DEA agents, and traffickers caught up in this deadly war. Travelling through the UK, the US, Australia, Honduras, the Philippines, and Guinea-Bissau, Loewenstein uncovers the secrets of the drug war, why it’s so hard to end, and who is really profiting from it. In reporting on the frontlines across the globe — from the streets of London’s King’s Cross to the killing fields of Central America to major cocaine transit routes in West Africa — Loewenstein reveals how the war on drugs has become the most deadly war in modern times. Designed and inspired by Washington, its agenda has nothing to do with ending drug use or addiction, but is all about controlling markets, territories, and people. Instead, Loewenstein argues, the legalisation and regulation of all drugs would be a much more realistic and humane approach. The evidence presented in this book will persuade many readers that he’s right.

ISBN10 : 9781925693768 , ISBN13 : 1925693767

Page Number : 377

Undoing Drugs

Maia Szalavitz Hachette UK

From “one of the bravest, smartest writers about addiction anywhere” (Johann Hari, New York Times bestselling author)—the untold story of harm reduction, a surprisingly simple idea with enormous power Drug overdoses now kill more Americans annually than guns, cars or breast cancer. But we have tried to solve this national crisis with policies that only made matters worse. In the name of “sending the right message,” we have maximized the spread of infectious disease, torn families apart, incarcerated millions of mostly Black and Brown people—and utterly failed to either prevent addiction or make effective treatment for it widely available. There is another way, one that is proven to work. However, it runs counter to much of the received wisdom of our criminal and medical industrial complexes. It is called harm reduction. Developed and championed by an outcast group of people who use drugs and by former users and public health geeks, harm reduction offers guidance on how to save lives and improve health. And it provides a way of understanding behavior and culture that has relevance far beyond drugs. In a spellbinding narrative rooted in an urgent call to action, Undoing Drugs tells the story of how a small group of committed people changed the world, illuminating the power of a great idea. It illustrates how hard it can be to take on widely accepted conventional wisdom—and what is necessary to overcome this resistance. It is also about how personal, direct human connection and kindness can inspire profound transformation. Ultimately, Undoing Drugs offers a path forward—revolutionizing not only the treatment of addiction, but also our treatment of behavioral and societal issues.

ISBN10 : 9780738285757 , ISBN13 : 0738285757

Page Number : 260

Fentanyl Inc

Ben Westhoff Scribe Publications

A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR An undercover investigation into the synthetic-drug epidemic. A new group of chemicals is radically transforming the recreational-drug landscape. Known as Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS), they range from so-called ‘legal highs’ like Spice, to synthetic opioids — most famously, the deadly fentanyl. Designed to replicate the effects of established drugs like cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, and heroin, NPS are synthesised in laboratories. They are cheap to produce and easy to transport. They are also extremely potent and often deadly. Originally developed for medicinal purposes, and then hijacked by rogue chemists, who change their molecular structures to stay ahead of the law, these chemicals’ effects can be impossible to predict. What we do know is that they have triggered the biggest drug epidemic that America has ever seen, and which is now spreading internationally. In Fentanyl, Inc., award-winning investigative journalist Ben Westhoff goes undercover to infiltrate the shadowy world of synthetic drugs — becoming, in the process, the first journalist to infiltrate a Chinese fentanyl lab. He tracks down the drug baron in New Zealand who unintentionally helped to start the synthetic-drug revolution; prowls St. Louis streets with a former fentanyl dealer to understand how the epidemic started; and chronicles the lives of addicts and dealers, families of victims, law enforcement officers, and underground drug-awareness organisers in the US and Europe. Fentanyl, Inc. is essential reading on a global calamity we are only just beginning to understand.

ISBN10 : 9781925693911 , ISBN13 : 1925693910

Page Number : 358

The Cannabis Manifesto

Steve DeAngelo North Atlantic Books

Written by the founder and CEO of the world's largest medical cannabis dispensary, The Cannabis Manifesto delivers a clear, concise history of cannabis as a medicine, details the unintended consequences of prohibition, and considers its future as a regulated consumer product. Steve DeAngelo draws on his experience serving the sick as the head of the controversial Harborside Health Center and a colorful lifetime of working for social justice to present a compelling call for the legalization of this most controversial of plants. His provocative argument that there is no such thing as recreational cannabis challenges readers to rethink everything they thought they knew about marijuana—and teaches them how to use it responsibly. The Cannabis Manifesto answers essential questions about the plant, employing extensive research to fuel a thoughtful discussion around cannabis science and law while at the same time taking readers on a magical tour of a little-known world. DeAngelo explains how cannabis prohibition has warped our most precious institutions—from the family, to the workplace, to the doctor’s office and the courtroom. His vivid narrative provides a lively, behind-the-scenes look at Harborside's showdown with the federal government and details the life of a hippie who missed the sixties. In calling for a realistic national policy on a substance that has been used by half of all Americans, this essential primer will forever change the way the world thinks about cannabis, its benefits, and the laws governing its use.

ISBN10 : 9781583949382 , ISBN13 : 1583949380

Page Number : 230

Pablo Escobar

Shaun Attwood Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

The mind-blowing true story of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel beyond their portrayal on Netflix. Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was a devoted family man and a psychopathic killer; a terrible enemy, yet a wonderful friend. While donating millions to the poor, he bombed and tortured his enemies - some had their eyeballs removed with hot spoons. Through ruthless cunning and America's insatiable appetite for cocaine, he became a multi-billionaire, who lived in a $100-million house with its own zoo. Pablo Escobar: Beyond Narcos demolishes the standard good versus evil telling of his story. The authorities were not hunting Pablo down to stop his cocaine business. They were taking over it. Shaun Attwood's War on Drugs trilogy - Pablo Escobar, American Made, and We Are Being Lied To - is a series of harrowing, action-packed and interlinked true stories that demonstrate the catastrophic consequences of drug prohibition."

ISBN10 : 1537296302 , ISBN13 : 9781537296302

Page Number : 290