In the Shadow of the Dope Fiend: America's War on Drugs [Hardcover]

William Weir (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1994

America is haunted by the spectre of the Dope Fiend. For nearly a century, our government has repeatedly waged war on drugs in order to pound a stake through the heart of this elusive Dracula. This social history explores the various American crusades against various drugs that have been led, followed, fought, and always lost. It covers the involvement of moralists, prohibitionists, and the CIA; anti-communist crusaders, profiteers on both sides of the law, the machinations and motivations of narcs and crooks and politicians and addicts, and above all, the activities of the American government in the international drug trade for over two generations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The U.S. will continue to lose the so-called War on Drugs, charges Weir (Fatal Victories), because its approaches to the problem are all wrong. Interdiction is futile, he argues, because of the size of our country and its long shorelines and land borders ("the smuggler's delight"). The government, particularly the CIA, has not only fostered but helped build the drug trade in various parts of the world. The decline of the manufacturing economy has reduced the number of low-level jobs and concomitantly stimulated the growth of an underclass without hope for a better future and ripe to become either drug buyers or drug sellers. Harsh sentences have clogged jails, hog-tied courts and wasted police time. Profits are so enormous that law-enforcement agents are easily bribed. The creation of the demon Dope Fiend, a straw man set up in the 1980s to frighten the public about illegal drugs, has not worked, Weir concludes. The only solution, he believes, is decriminalization. Dealers could be licensed to sell drugs?including tobacco?and the sales would be run by state (not federal) government, thus eliminating the profit motive. A cogent case for change. Illustrations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Journalist and public relations specialist Weir has previously written studies of gunslingers (Written with Lead, 1992) and Pyrrhic successes (Fatal Victories, 1993). In this rather sensationally titled volume, he reviews the social history of America's crusades against drugs, blaming moralists and politicians, profiteers and thugs for establishing a dope fiend myth that continues to distort public policy and guarantees a massive, highly profitable black market in controlled substances no matter how many "wars" may be declared. Weir covers the roles of organized crime and various government agencies in this illicit trade, the place of flower children and the Vietnam War in defining drug mythology, and the impact of drug war culture on our communities, police, and courts. For Weir (as for other critics of criminalization), the War on Drugs creates more problems than drugs do themselves; his last chapter considers various alternatives. Not an essential purchase, but In the Shadow of the Dope Fiend does provide a fairly inclusive compendium of the case against prohibition as a solution to drug use in the U.S. Mary Carroll

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Archon Books (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0208023844
• ISBN-13: 978-0208023841
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,319,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Crime & Criminals  > War on Drugs

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well researched and eye-opening study., November 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Shadow of the Dope Fiend: America's War on Drugs (Hardcover)

William Weir, throughout this book builds a convincing case for a much-needed re-evaluation of U.S. drug policy. Weir's research into the drug war and its causes and effects is solid and well documented. This volume should be required reading for anyone on either side of the drug policy debate.