In the shadow of the dope fiend

the long version

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.