War and Drugs explores the relationship between military incursions and substance use and abuse throughout history. For centuries, drugs have been used to weaken enemies, stimulate troops to fight, and quell post-war trauma. They have also served as a source of funding for clandestine military and paramilitary activity. From the Opium Wars through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, themes of colonialism, capitalism, and anticommunism have constructed the foundation for the current crisis of international drug trafficking and addiction. In addition to offering detailed geopolitical perspectives, this book explores the intergenerational trauma that follows military conflict and the rising tide of substance abuse among veterans, especially from the Vietnam and Iraq-Afghan eras. Addiction specialist Bergen-Cico raises important questions about the past and challenges us to consider new approaches in the future—especially to that longest of U.S. wars: the erstwhile “War on Drugs.”
- PTSD,
- drug policy,
- history of drugs,
- CIA,
- Cold War,
- Opium Wars,
- Vietnam,
- Afghanistan,
- Iraq War
- American Politics,
- Asian Studies,
- Eastern European Studies,
- Education,
- Health Economics,
- International Economics,
- International Public Health,
- International Relations,
- Law and Politics,
- Mental and Social Health,
- Political Economy,
- Public Health,
- Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies and
- Substance Abuse and Addiction
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/dessa_bergen-cico/3/