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History Channel Explores “America’s War on Drugs”

No one gets a closer view of America’s war on drugs than the officers and drug traffickers who stand on opposite sides of the battle line. What really goes on behind the scenes in each camp? What kind of power struggles wage? Who’s really behind the drug epidemic?

The History Channel decided to get in the trenches and find out.

The new documentary series, “America’s War on Drugs” offers first-hand accounts from gang members, insiders, major drug traffickers, and former CIA and DEA officers. From covert LSD experiments to the rise of the cocaine cowboys, no stone’s left unturned as we’re taken on a journey through the last five decades, exploring truths and revealing secrets.

Drug Conspiracies and Alliances

With so many parties vying for power in this war, it’s hard to sift through the struggle to see connections clearly. The series attempts to reveal some of the true compromises and consequences that many have missed while the war was raging.

The first of these shocking events in the series covers an alliance between the CIA, mafia, and foreign drug traffickers back in the 60’s. The goal was to protect us from communism, but was it worth the concessions made to allow drug trade in our nation instead? The series explores these questions and others that arise from the power struggle among war lords, spies, street gangs, and politicians.

The series goes on to divulge the CIA’s connection to the crack epidemic, the CIA’s unintentional popularization of acid and the psychedelic counterculture, and the negative effect of NAFTA on the drug scene in America.

“America’s War on Drugs” concludes with an episode examining the terror attacks on September 11th. This final chapter explores how the War on Drugs and the War on Terror are intertwined.

Future Battles

After five decades at war, where are we headed? The series takes a peek at what lies in store: “Five decades into the War on Drugs, a move to legalize marijuana gains momentum, mega-corporations have become richer and more powerful than any nation’s drug cartel, and continuing to rise is the demand for heroin and other illegal drugs.”

The four-part series is sure to raise as many questions as it answers. (Is the government really in bed with the drug dealers?) Find out more about the series and the history of the war on drugs here.

Image Source: iStock

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