Drug Warriors and Their Prey: From Police Power to Police State (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "If we wish to destroy drug users we must detect them..." (more)
Key Phrases: drug warriors, bureaucratic thrust, forfeiture income, United States, Justice Department, Nazi Germany (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Independent researcher Miller continues the argument he began in The Case for Legalizing Drugs (LJ 4/15/91). Drawing on his latest book, Nazi Justiz (Praeger, 1995), he makes an extended analogy between Germany repressing the Jews and America repressing drug users. In chapters on identification, ostracism, confiscation, concentration, and annihilation, he shows that democracy, privacy, and family life can be lost in our society just as they were when these policies were applied to the Jews. Because of "bureaucratic thrust," the criminalization aimed at one group consumes the entire society. In contrast, Miller thinks drug use is normal and should be regarded as such; he marshals convincing evidence that it can be mature and responsible. If drugs are abused, he does not think criminalization or medical force are solutions, any more than they would be solutions to unemployment. Although many will find Miller's case overstated, it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Recommended for most libraries.?Janice Dunham, John Jay Coll. Lib., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The war on drugs is a war against ordinary people: starting from this premise Miller analyzes America's drug war in all its social implications, from examples of enforcement strategies which don't work to court systems which threaten victims. The idea is that civil liberties are being eroded in the process of conducting a war against drugs: many examples demonstrate this loss. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Trade (February 28, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275950425
• ISBN-13: 978-0275950422
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,295,973 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most powerful books that you will ever read., October 4, 1999

By	Georgina Fenichel (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

The author has done the work and now the citizens must spread the "gospel". Like a seer Lawrence is able to anticipate the insane trajectory of where this drug war is leading. Though the picture he paints is ugly, if these drug warrior zealots are not vigorously challenged now he clearly shows how much uglier it will become. The evil of Nazi Germany and that of the US drug war are clearly shown to progress via the same chain of events: identification, ostracism, confiscation, concentration, and the final solution ie annihilation. Miller is an American hero doing the best he can to awaken conciousness.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely well researched & scary! If only it were fiction!, March 6, 1999

By	Gordon C. Wilson (Laguna Niguel, Calif. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a passionate archenemy of the "Drug War", the "Drug Czar" and everything else brearhing of fascism in this once-free country, I have read many many boks and articles against this so-called war. I even try (if possible without gagging) to read books that try to support this horrendous farce - many of which are written by people who are drug warriors themselves or just terribly deluded) because I think it's very important to know my enemy. Of all the books that I have ever read on this atrocity, this book has got to be the most articulate and momentous. Other books slash at the war, make fun of it, and are often quite entertaining as well as frightening. Entertainment definitely has its place, and it is great when one is (somehow) able to laugh at even matters as horrendous as child-beatings, rapes, and drug warriors. Sometimes that's the only way we can face the grim realities. This book spares, for the most part, any humor, however, and just tells us, very convincingly, how it is. The author's thesis is simple: He sees a direct parallel between the drug war and the Nazis in Germany. I would like to believe that he is being too extremist in his position. Surely our drug czar and his henchmen will never be as ruthless and terrifying as Hitler! That's what I once thought too, but after reading the book I was convinced otherwise. The creators of this "drug-war" are no mere well-intentioned fools or people ignorant of abstract concepts such as freedom. They have one clear goal in mind: power, power and more power. Let's hope enough Americans wake up in time and the see chasm into which the road is leading us! This incredibly well researched and articulate just may wake us up in time - that is, if it doesn't scare us to death first. Read the book! Read it NOW!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!

Gordon Wilson (Mathematician, Libertarian, and a bit of a mixture between Paul Revere and Patrick Henry )

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now that I've read this book, I want to burn a flag., December 29, 2000

By	"ebreit42" (New Port Richey, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This is one of the most powerful books I've read in a long time. Richard L. Miller deserves an award. In this book, the author details the erosion of civil liberties by the current war on drugs. For those familiar with this area, he trots out the typical points: harsh penalties for minor violations and loss of civil liberties for all.

But what makes this book special is the author's analysis of legal issues and history. Richard Miller is an independent scholar who has written about Nazi justice (in "Nazi Justiz"). I thought his application of Nazi jurisprudence to the drug war was overkill at first. Little did I know just how wrong I was. As one reviewer put it, this book will help you lose weight.

What sets this book above the others on the drug war is that Miller explains how the war effects the innocent, and how innocence is no longer an adequate defense. In fact, Miller has a Justice Department official quoted as saying that innocence was not a defense to forfeiture of assets. He argues that asset forfeiture has corrupted law enforcement at all levels.

In one example, Miller tells of an elderly couple in one California county who owned a mutil-million dollar ranch adjacent to a national park. Apparently, the Park Service wanted the land, the local law enforcement the assets (in the form of the house, possessions, etc.). Thus, police had to get a warrant to raid the property. First, they searched it illegally. This is a typical tactic of DEA agents and local law enforcement, who search a house and either plant or discover evidence that they can use to get a warrent later. Regardless, the courts have determined that even illegal searches and seizures are acceptable in the war on drugs. All of this is documented in the book. Even in the illegal search, no drugs were discovered. An elderly couple, go figure?

If you think that stopped the police, DEA, et al., then you haven't read the book. One local officer testified before a judge that "thousands" of marijuana plants were being cultivated on the property. This testimony was based on a lie told to the officer by another. Although both were aware of the lie (and the couple's complete innocence of ANYTHING), this way neither officer could be chared with perjury. Needless to say, the judge issued the warrant.

During the raid, the husband was sleeping. He was roused awake by his wife's screaming and was shot to death as he put down his rifle, which he had becuase he thought he was being robbed and was defending his wife. The agents participating in the raid evicted the wife. Even agents of the U.S. Park Service were involved, in case you doubted their complicity.

It gets better. The location of the ranch was in a different county than the one in which the local police were from! They went out of their own jurisdiction for the express purpose of seizing property from people THEY KNEW were innocent. All of this was expressed by the county prosecutor (where the ranch was), when he said that they appeared to be motivated by a desire to obtain the property and assests of its owners.

This book is meticulously documented and researched. The analysis of the legal issues with references to the Nuremburg Tribunal and Nazi legal principles is stunning. As well as his telling of the internment of Japenese-Americans to demonstrate how segments of society can be treated if the propaganda warriors desire their elimination.

If you're not enraged by the time you're finished reading this book, your heart is dead.