Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs

This is an extraordinary book. If there is any part of you that still thinks prohibition and the drug war was a good idea, this book will forever convince you otherwise. It is a fast read, difficult to put down. You will learn fascinating info that you probably have never heard before, told through the lives of people.The info on the true nature of addiction is, by itself, worth the read. This is info that has been effectively suppressed in the war on drugs. It is not just that we have been lied to, it's that the warriors have lied to themselves. When the author interviews them and asks them about the surprising results of these addiction studies, he is met by blank faces.The book reads like a novel, as we meet the likes of Harry Anslinger, who is forgotten today but is the person most responsibile for the prohibition and the drug war of the last 100 years. He is responsible for the lingering "reefer madness" propaganda and disinformation that is still in our collective conscious today.Many of the stories will make you angry. Anslinger's racism, and those of his agents, is horrendous. When Anslinger first took over the Narcotics Unit in the Treasury Dept, the unit was in danger of being eliminated - it was right after the repeal of alcohol prohibition. These agents needed a new war, to keep their paychecks coming. They zeroed in on cannabis and used pure racism to scare the public. The chapter on how Anslinger went after the singer Billy Holiday and arguably caused her death is sad - and again, it makes you mad.These authorities are not all in the past. They continue to this day. Prohibition handed over the drug industry to criminal enterprises, where violence is the go-to tool, just as it was in 1920's Chicago. In the book, we visit a city in Mexico that has been turned into a war zone. The author Johann Hari describes how being arrested for 1.5 grams of marijuana in Sheriff Arpaio's Maricopa County, Arizona can get you killed.Finally, the author visits places that are coming out of the fog of the drug war - Switzerland, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Portugal, and finally US states like Colorado and Washington. In Portugal, after drug use was decriminalized, heroin use decreased by 50%. During the same period, in the US - still in its drug-war model - heroin use doubled.In my opinion, there is one topic that should be included in the book, but is missing - cannabis as a medicine. Cannabis is, we are learning, perhaps the most medicinal plant on Earth. To this day, the argument is that MJ is safer than alcohol. But there really is no comparison.At the end of the book, you will learn a couple of surprising facts about the warrior Anslinger, a coda to his story, and perhaps to the 100-year story of this failed war.

As a drug policy expert, I have to admit, I wasn’t sure how well I’d do reading this book. I have a harder time getting into non-fiction books these days — I spend most of my time reading things online, and I’ve read so much about the war on drugs that it’s hard to get excited about reading a book about it.But less than halfway through the first chapter, I couldn’t put it down – it’s an amazing read. Johann has done something really phenomenal with this book, by combining compelling storytelling with the factual highlights of the abominable history of the war on drugs, plus an undeniable blueprint for replacing that war.For drug policy experts like me, it’s a great read with some fascinating personal perspectives, while filling in a few historical knowledge gaps. Definitely a reading highlight.But if you're an average politically-aware reader who doesn’t know all that much about the drug war, I think you'll find it even more valuable. Here, in one book, you get good stories with all the verified information you need to become informed on this critical issue. I plan on buying a few copies to give to friends to read.Additionally, you'll learn through detailed analysis that much of what you think you know about addiction is wrong.Hari starts with the biggest villain of all — Harry Anslinger — by researching through all his diaries and files stored at Penn State University. I’ve known mostly about Anslinger’s war against marijuana, and now learned a few more things about what he did to get the war on drugs started in full force in the book.Johann Hari provides us, throughout the book, with incredible access to individual players in the drug war. For the history, in addition to Anslinger, his research provides detailed insights into:-- Billy Holiday, a jazz singer and drug user whose paths crossed with Anslinger’s, and-- Arnold Rothstein, who invented the modern drug gang, and was the first major figure in organized drug crime in the United States.And as Hari moved us to the present and future, these personal stories came from actual extensive interviews with an amazing array of individuals, including:-- Chino Hardin, a drug dealer for years in Brooklyn, who started his business when he was 14 years old.-- Leigh Maddox, a state trooper who later turned away from the drug war.-- Rosalio Reta, a killer for the Zetas in Mexico, who resides in a prison in Texas.-- Marisela Escobedo, who refused to accept her daughter’s murder by drug traffickers, and led protests in Mexico, until she was assassinated in front of the government palace (interviews were with family and friends).-- Gabor Maté and Bruce Alexander, who developed new ways of looking at addiction, while working with addicts in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.-- Bud Osborn, a poet and homeless addict who helped transform that area of Vancouver and bring about the notion of rights for addicts.-- Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland, who supported and promoted harm reduction approaches, including heroin clinics.-- João Goulão, who helped lead a revolution in drug policy in Portugal.-- José Mujica, president of Uruguay, who brought marijuana legalization to his country.… and we learn about the players in the very different legalization approaches in Washington and Colorado.Good stories, compelling arguments, and powerful facts (all fact-checked by the author and editors, with over 65 pages of notes, and a website with actual audio tapes of the interviews for those who want more).I think this is the most important book about the drug war and addiction out today.

This book is addictive. I couldn't put it down. Very well written and researched. Johann Hari presents the evidence from his research in a straight forward way and gives examples of alternative measures that reduce harm and improve quality of life, not only for people suffering from addiction but also for their friends, families, and communities. Highly recommend!!

Muito bom

The US-led 'War on Drugs' is a colossal mistake and the accepted theories about addiction are basically wrong, Johann Hari convincingly argues in this 'tour-de-force'.Full of compassion for addicts, radically honest and at times disturbing for its graphic portrayal of the disasters of 'the War on Drugs', 'Chasing the Scream' is an essential volume to understand the true nature of addiction and the devastating effects of the 'official' US approach to combating drugs.

A MUST for all activist wishing to finish the dark night of prohibition, you will find a lot of data but most important of all: you will find new courage to keep bringing the down of a new informed and enlightened way to use drugs!!!

I have friends who have struggled with addiction, and this shone a different light on the epidemic by taking a pragmatic and holistic view of the problem. Crafted with a great narrative, you won't regret opening your mind with this great read.