The long shadow line: History and the war on drugs
What can the tobacco trade of the 17th century tell us about the modern war on drugs?
The Independent (UK)
Monday, October 10, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Tobacco rose and fell and rose and fell in a 400-year smoking spree that established a pattern for the trade in all addictive substances. Beginning with tobacco, governments have sought to ban drugs as soon as they arrive, invariably invoking their destructive effects on family and nation. Governments waffle between turning blind eyes to the criminals and fighting them bloodily. The ultimate ends of this process – legalisation, social stigma, and, most direly, unfashionability – suggest what will happen to the global market for marijuana and heroin.
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