War and Drugs

This superbly written book reads like a historical mystery exploring the synergistic and symbiotic relationship between warfare and substance abuse. It provides documentation that enables the reader to begin to see how drugs have been used to weaken enemies, relieve pain (see the chapters on Civil War and the Afghan and Iraq Wars), stimulate troops to fight (see the chapter titled High Hitler); and served as a source of funding for clandestine military and paramilitary activity (see chapters on the Cold War, MK Ultra) for centuries.At the macro-level the book reveals to the reader ways in which formal policies, quid-pro-quo alliances, clandestine operations, and rogue groups have shaped the expansion in cultivation, trafficking and demand for drugs. At the micro-level the reader comes to understand the how living casualties of war manifest in substance abuse to quell post-traumatic symptomology; a dynamic illuminated by the aftermath of the Vietnam War, which marked a turning point in the world's relationship with drugs.Insightful and informative this book is also engaging, even entertaining with chapter titles like "High Hitler" "The Cold War was Hot for the Drug Trade", MK Ultra and Project Bluebird" "Vietnam and Blowback at Home." The only thing this book needs is a soundtrack!

Important contextualização on the issue in subject.