Once in a long while comes a book that changes the way we look at a particular issue. “World War-D” aspires to be such a book; it changes the way we think about the war on drugs, pulling it out of the ideological and moralist morass where it has been enmeshed from the onset, turning things on their heads – or I should say, back on their feet.
“World War-D” re-centers and refocuses the issue around a simple but fundamental question: “Can organized societies do a better job than organized crime at managing and controlling psychoactive substances?” I obviously think they can, and I explain why and how.
“World War-D” is the first book to bring one of the most contentious issues of our time to the mainstream in a comprehensive but accessible way, without being simplistic. It examines all the facets of the issue from a global perspective, repositioning it into the wider and more relevant context of psychoactive substances.
“Word War-D” offers a reasoned critic of the prohibitionist model and its underlying ideology with its historical and cultural background. It clearly demonstrates that prohibition is the worst possible form of control, as the so-called “controlled substances” are effectively out of control; or rather, they are controlled by the underworld, at a staggering and ever-growing human, social, economic and geopolitical cost to the world.
“Word War-D” is the first book to tackle the issue of legalization head-front, offering a pragmatic, practical, and realistic roadmap to global controlled re-legalization of production, distribution and use of psychoactive substances under a multi-tiers “legalize, tax, control, prevent, treat and educate” regime with practical and efficient mechanisms to manage and minimize societal costs. Far from giving up, and far from an endorsement, controlled legalization would be finally growing up; being realistic instead of being in denial; being in control instead of leaving control to the underworld. It would abolish the current regime of socialization of costs and privatization of profits to criminal enterprises, depriving them of their main source of income and making our world a safer place.
102 years after the launch of global drug prohibition, 40 years after the official declaration of the war on drugs, one year before the Mexican and US presidential elections where the legalization debate will be one of the major issues, “World War D” is timely and long overdue, as its topic is rapidly moving from fringe lunacy to the mainstream. A growing wave of support for drug policy reform is rising throughout the world; the war on drugs failure is being denounced across the board, from church groups to retired law enforcement, to the NAACP, to Kofi Annan, George Shultz, Paul Volcker and a string of former Latin American and European heads of state.
The book is intended for an international audience and aims to be a major contribution to the war on drugs debate.
Product Details
- 448 pages – format: 6×9
- Publisher: Columbia Communications Inc; First edition (October 24, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN:
- Paperback: 978-0984690404
- Kindle edition: 978-0-9846904-1-1 – ASIN: B005XH20CQ (Amazon)
- Epub/Nook edition: 978-0-9846904-2-8
- PDF edition: 978-0-9846904-3-5
Reviews and comments on “World War-D”
Gustavo de Grieff – was Attorney General of Colombia and oversaw the capture of Pablo Escobar and the surrender of the Cali Cartel; Gustavo de Grieff is one of the very few high level officials who called for legalization while he was in office:
I find that you have written one of the best books on the drug problem that I have read (and I have read more than thirty books on that subject). For example, your history of prohibition in part 1 is without any doubt the best I have ever read.”“your chapters on possible legalization and regulation and on your counter arguments against it are excellent and I subscribe to them entirely.
LEAP founder and Chairman, Jack Cole:
It is a very good read and already I can say a very important work. You did a fantastic job. It is up there with the very best drug policy books.
Arthur Torsone, author of “Herb Trader”:
I believe your book will be extremely helpful to those who have the power to reverse the existing draconian drug laws. Hopefully your book will be a road map to a sane conclusion.
When the rulers of our land eventuality exchange prisons for medical clinics the bible hand book that will be used to EDUCATE the citizen in need of help should be your book. It shows how and why we humans react as we do to outside substances.
I’m still blown away by the incredible amount of detailed information you have, what an extraordinary work of literature you have here, congratulations.
Santiago Roel, Crime Prevention consultant pioneering government reform in Mexico since 1991. Author, lecturer – www.prominix.com:
It is a thorough and well-documented compilation, a global overview of all the issues revolving around the war on drugs, prohibitionism and psychoactive substances. It offers a methodical, well-argued and compelling case against prohibitionism and a realistic and pragmatic roadmap to global legalization. Anyone genuinely interested in understanding this failed war and its negative impact on the World should begin by reading this book.
John P., typesetter, while working on book layout:
“I am fairly amazed by the content, as I read pieces; this is impressive. There is nothing out there like that.”
While working on my project back in November 2010, I established contact with former UNODC chief Antonio Maria Costa. Underneath are some of Mr Costa’s replies to my correspondence:
I just do not get all this insistence on “war on drugs”. I never used this term. The United Nations never used this term. I fear it is being used to mask other objectives. Drugs were banned by member states because they are dangerous, they are not dangerous because they are banned.
If you believe that some sort of (whatever form of) legalization of drugs would be the correct answer – well, I am afraid this would be dangerously naive. In other words, if this is the answer you would like to receive, I must conclude that the set of issues you raised are a bit more complicated than you seem to realize.
When I asked him for his reaction to the Global Drug Policy Commission, counting among its members Kofi Annan, who was UN Secretary General while Mr Costa was UNODC Director:
The only common denominator among them is “former”. What is wrong with people who, when in office say one thing, when out of office say its opposite?
I try in “World War-D” to understand where such attitudes come from, how we got where we are, how we are still there after so many years of hopeless failure, how we can accelerate the move beyond such attitudes.
Latin and South American countries should legalize, but so should the U.S. They’re probably too afraid of the U.S. to outright legalize. The next best thing might be for them to have a Dutch-style coffeeshop system, whereby the national level makes enforcement an absolute zero priority and local governments are allowed to grant tolerance permits like the Dutch gedoogvergunning. They’ll have more tourist money than they currently have, said on a whole on a national basis. Surrounding countries will see that and fill in the empty spaces to cash in. People who never thought of booking a vacation in Costa Rica or somewhere will be saving up and dreaming in anticipation of the freedom to walk into a coffeeshop as an adult and buy and partake without being considered a criminal for responsible use.
I believe in the healing power of NATURE! Nature has provided the world with all the nutrition and medicine we need, with just a little bit of help from the medical profession, politics, and organized crime. Legalized therapeutic use of marijuana is the first step in rebuilding the drug culture, with the cultivation and home use of COCA and OPIUM following close behind. I revere the cannabis plant, the coca tree, and the opium poppy as gifts to the world from Nature. I want to know more about these crops and the issues that surround them. Thank you!
Hi,
Well I discovered your book, and would like to propose you to make its french version of it. I’m not a professionnal translator, but I’m an activist for drugs policy reform. I have no budget for it, but I’m actually in contact with a french editing company and I’m just finishing the publishing of “legalize it !” written by Francis Caballero (wellknown lawyer).
If you’re interested by my proposal, I hope to get asap the raw files of the book…
Let’s keep in touch.
Best regards,
FARId Ghehiouèche
A real eye-opener
Let me start with a disclaimer: I am a Londoner grandmother, and when the 60s counter-culture hit, I was teaching in a private school and caring for my baby daughter, so I didn’t get much more from that time than some strange weedy whiffs on the beaches of Brighton on the week-ends. “World War-D” was a gift from friends who probably thought that I should know better. I had never given much thought to the topic and basically bought into the official propaganda that drugs are evil and drug users are degenerates. Living in London, I have quite a few friends who occasionally indulge in anything from marijuana to cocaine, all while living perfectly normal productive lives, but I never quite connected the dots, even as my chain-smoking alcoholic husband was drinking himself to near-death. Besides, the UK is far more permissive than the US, and we have been spared the judicial excesses that seem to be the norm there. The UK is not Mexico or Columbia either, and narco-violence is virtually inexistent.
So, reading “World War-D” was a real eye-opener. The accumulation of factual evidence is overwhelming at times (at least for me), but the book is well documented, well argued and convincing. The research is rigorous and impressive, backed by abundant references. Little did I suspect the extent of the damage inflicted by the War on Drugs in many parts of the world. The author exposes the hypocrisy of the US government and its shoddy role on both sides of the issue since at least World War II, starting with Lucky Luciano and the Italian mafia, all the way to Ahmed Walid Karzai and through the Iran-Contra affair. He clearly demonstrates the disconnect between the official propaganda and reality, denouncing prohibitionism as an alibi for racial discrimination, fueling the shocking US incarceration rate, disproportionately targeting the African-American and Latino communities.
Mr. Dhywood does a great job at demonstrating the ultimate futility of the War on Drugs, as prohibitionism creates an illegal market place in a market economy, with all the violence and other catastrophic consequences attached to it, at a staggering economic, social and human cost to the world, with dangerous destabilizing effects in many parts of the world. The current trends in the illegal drugs marketplace don’t leave much space for hope that prohibitionism will ever be more successful.
As a neophyte, I found very useful the second section of the book dedicated to the psychoactive substances and how they affect the brain. Positioning illicit drugs among other psychoactive substances such as alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs gives a better perspective of the issues raised by the use of psychoactive substances in general. It clearly demonstrates the arbitrariness of the prohibition of certain substances while the vast majority of psychoactive substances are legally available, with varying degrees of control. The critical role and function of alcohol in Western culture is brilliantly explained.
But Mr. Dhywood doesn’t stop at telling us what is wrong with prohibitionism. In the last section of the book, he makes a strong case for controlled legalization of all psychoactive substances, with varying degree of regulation based on the substance and its intended mode of administration, focusing on reducing harmful use.
Perhaps if more people like me could be convinced to read this book, public opinion would start shifting away from the official propaganda and take a more critical look at these very damaging policies. The book gives a very good overview of all the aspects of the topic, while presenting constructive, credible alternatives. I highly recommend it.
I have just finished reading your very interesting book, “World War D” and I send you my comments, please find them enclosed.
THE GOOD.
Your research is excellent; you have information that overwhelmingly demonstrates the futility and stupidity of prohibitionism and the tremendous human, social and financial costs that it implies, with no positive result. Mexico and our society is the best example of the negative effects of this human mistake, we hope that we can do something to change the current state of events because in many areas of our country prohibitionism is making life very difficult and dangerous as a consequence of these government policies, many of the most valuable people are just leaving us.
THE BAD.
I feel that you spend a lot of lines or pages on information which is not based on facts or proven data; “it is rumored that” “some sources believe that” and other statements of similar nature, that are not certain but rely on gossip or rumors and are not necessary to prove your point.
THE UGLY.
I have to confess that I do not like the name, on a book shelf it would be impossible to guess what it is about, yours is a serious study and the title is more like that of an essay by a high school kid.
And the worst is the drawing at the cover it looks more like a comic book than an academic investigation and effort.
A most articulate indictment of the War on Drugs, with a realistic pathway out of it.
As you keep turning the pages, the more you learn about one of the most disastrous and the longest lasting US policy failure, the more you want to scream: “Enough already!” Jeffrey Dhywood does a very good and methodical job at dismantling this colossal fiasco, spelling out the humongous toll it has and is still exacting on the world, explaining why it is doomed to failure. Mr Dhywood cleverly breaks down his book in three sections, starting with an historic overview and the current state and evolution of the War on Drugs. The 2nd section deals with the neurochemistry of mind alteration and a detailed review of the major psychoactive substances, with a special emphasis on alcohol and its dominant status in Western culture. The 3rd section offers a critical analysis of prohibitionism, laying out the foundation for a convincing case for global controlled legalization.
Altogether, World War-D is one of these rare books that get its point across with force and clarity and make you want to get up and do something about this seemingly intractable problem.