The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade

The Mexican drug trade has inspired prejudiced narratives of a war between north and south, White and Brown; between noble cops and vicious kingpins, corrupt politicians and powerful cartels. In this first comprehensive history of the trade, historian Benjamin T. Smith tells the real story of how and why this one-peaceful industry turned violent. Smith uncovers the industry's origins and explains how this illicit business essentially built modern Mexico, affecting everything from agriculture to medicine to economics--and the country's all-important relationship with the United States. Drawing on unprecedented archival research; leaked DEA, Mexican law enforcement, and cartel documents; and dozens of harrowing interviews, Smith tells a thrilling story brimming with vivid characters--from Ignacia "La Nacha" Jasso, "queen pin" of Ciudad Juárez, to Dr. Leopoldo Salazar Viniegra, the crusading physician who argued that marijuana was harmless and tried to decriminalize morphine, to Harry Anslinger, the Machiavellian founder of the American Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who drummed up racist drug panics to increase his budget. Smith also profiles everyday agricultural workers, whose stories reveal both the economic benefits and the human cost of the trade. The Dope contains many surprising conclusions about drug use and the failure of drug enforcement, all backed by new research and data. Smith explains the complicated dynamics that drive the current drug war violence, probes the US-backed policies that have inflamed the carnage, and explores corruption on both sides of the border. A dark morality tale about the American hunger for intoxication and the necessities of human survival, The Dope is essential for understanding the violence in the drug war and how decades-old myths shape Mexico in the American imagination today.

About the Author :
Benjamin T. Smith is one of the foremost historians of modern Mexico. His previous books have explored politics, violence, Catholicism, and journalism in modern Mexico. He also provides expert witness accounts for Mexican asylum seekers escaping gang violence. He is a professor at the University of Warwick. John Curless is a theater, film, and television actor. He has appeared on Broadway in Journeys End, The Sound of Music, and The King and I and off-Broadway in Passion Play, Comic Potential, and The Entertainer. His film and television credits include Vibrations, Ed, and NYPD Blue. His audiobook narrations have been awarded two AudioFile Earphones Awards.

Review :
"[A] prodigious overview...a century-long chronicle crammed with as much violence and mayhem as a Don Winslow border novel." -- "New York Times Book Review" "A well-researched, sobering view of the damage that Americans' need to get high wreaks on our neighbors." -- "Kirkus Reviews" "Fascinating, surreal, and tragic." -- "Ioan Grillo, author of El Narco" "Successfully upends more than a century of false rhetoric...A vital corrective." -- "Francisco Cantú, author of The Line Becomes a River" "True crime at its historical best, replete with all the larger-than-life characters and thrills and spills of a Netflix narco drama." -- "Financial Times (London)"