Drugs, Power, and Politics

This book explores the increasingly broad terrain of drugs in American society with an emphasis on politics. It begins with the War on Drugs initiated by President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s and extends to the current day with the vast power of the pharmaceutical industry (Big Pharma), expansion of global criminal syndicates, militarization of the drug war, and struggles between states and federal government over the legalization of marijuana. This book explores the long historical trajectory of both the War on Drugs and the growth of Big Pharma, focusing on social outcomes and political consequences in the US and beyond.

Carl Boggs is Professor of Social Sciences at National University in Los Angeles, Adjunct Professor at Antioch University in Los Angeles, and author or editor of numerous books including Imperial Delusions: American Militarism and Endless War (Rowman & Littlefield 2004) and Masters of War: Militarism and Blowback in an Era of American Empire (Routledge 2003).

Chapter 1 Drugs: The Historical Matrix Chapter 2 An American Crusade Chapter 3 Delusions of an Epoch Chapter 4 Drug War, Authoritarian Politics Chapter 5 Narco Globalism Chapter 6 The Medical-Drug Behemoth Chapter 7 The Medicalized Society Chapter 8 The Great Pot Wars