OPIUM’S ORPHANS

A comprehensive account of the troubled history of drug prohibition.

Cambridge academic Caquet seeks to explain why so many attempts to counter the problem of drugs have failed. He points out that prohibition actually began in China during the colonial era, when Britain developed a lucrative market in opium. The Chinese government did as much as possible to curtail it, but two wars ensured that the business continued. Nevertheless, the seed of prohibition was planted, and it sprouted when transplanted to Europe and, later, America. In the 1950s, prohibition seemed to be working—until the explosion of the counterculture in the 1960s sparked a huge demand for marijuana, LSD, and other illicit substances. The Nixon administration coined the phrase “war on drugs” but failed to distinguish between types of drugs, a crucial mistake. There were a few short-lived successes, but by the time crack and then meth hit the market, it was clear that the long-term battle was being lost. When one source of supply was eradicated, another appeared, with the focus shifting to Mexico and South America. As Caquet shows, the money involved in the drug trade is staggering—so much that the drug cartels can challenge governments. Though the legalization of marijuana has helped in some places, the opioid and fentanyl crises have reached epic proportions. Most of the prohibition laws are still on the books, but Caquet believes that the game is largely over. He does not provide any solutions, but he suggests that the decriminalization of nonaddictive drugs should probably continue. Maybe people should be allowed to take whatever drugs they want as long as they don’t affect anyone else. Of course, there are always collateral effects, some of which are grave. Caquet explains how we got here, but the road ahead is like a dark highway heading into the night.

A thought-provoking, often disturbing account of drug prohibition that provides context for current debates.