Africa and the War on Drugs

Nigerian drug lords, khat—chewing Somali pirates, crystal meth-smoking gangs controlling South Africa's streets and narco-traffickers corrupting Guinea-Bissau: these are some of the vivid images surrounding drugs in Africa which in recent years have alarmed policymakers, academics and the general public. In this revealing and original book, the authors weave these aspects into a provocative argument about Africa's role in the global trade and control of drugs. They show how foreign-inspired policies have failed to help African drug users but have strengthened corrupt and brutal law enforcement officers. This is a vital book on an overlooked front of the so-called war on drugs.