Oswaldo Zavala: Drug Cartels Do Not Exist

Oswaldo Zavala discusses his book, Drug Cartels Do Not Exist. He argues that stories around narcotics trafficking are largely based on n the claims of the US and Mexican governments and various cultural depictions. Zavala sees little connection to the realities of the trade as it exists. Media, in both countries, uncritically report law enforcement narratives regarding the narcotics trade in service of a national security myth. Oswaldo Zavala, a Mexican journalist and a professor of Latin…

Emily Dufton: Methadone, Suboxone, and the War on Drugs

Emily Dufton discusses her book Addiction, Inc.: Medication-Assisted Treatment and America’s Forgotten War on Drugs. It’s the history of the federal development and subsequent commercialization of the opioid addiction medication industry. Beginning with the Johnson Administration, the reasons the Federal response to and creation of drug policy moved from harm reduction to carceral solutions are explored. Emily Dufton, drug historian and writer, her writing has appeared in the Washington…