Stuart Aken: World War D, by Jeffrey Dhywood, Reviewed

Voters are frequently disempowered by the very people they elect as their representatives. Rarely has there been such a gaping void between public opinion and political will, however, as there is on the question of drugs. Whilst the vast majority of the public recognised long ago that prohibition of drugs, like the experiment with prohibition of alcohol decades ago, doesn’t work, the politicians have dithered and dodged the question, failing to take effective action, whilst spending billions on ineffective policing.

Jeffrey Dhywood’s excellent book, World War D, explains the history of the drug problem, examines the political action and inaction, exposes the colossal hypocrisy surrounding the issue and suggests ways the world might move forward in an effort to defeat a problem that is largely the result of lunatic legislation.

Those who were unaware will learn how drugs, once a legal component of everyday medicines and other stimulants, were demonised and became the cause of criminalisation of huge numbers of otherwise normal citizens all over the world. They’ll learn the hypocrisy of figures such as Newt Gingrich, a user who believes it wasn’t immoral (though it was illegal) for him to indulge but who now believes current users act in an immoral way by taking the same substances. It’s probably common knowledge by now that alcohol is a far more dangerous substance than most drugs within society and, of course, we’re all familiar with the role of tobacco and the tobacco industry in causing major damage to the general health of the world. What is not, perhaps, generally understood is that drugs themselves are relatively harmless in most cases and it’s the criminalisation of drug users that is the source of most problems.

It has long been known that governments have used drugs as a way of undermining other governments: our own UK government almost destroyed China with the Opium Wars, and the CIA is documented as having destabilised many small regimes by its use of drug smuggling. The most vocal opponent of the removal of criminalisation of drugs is the USA, even though many of its former presidents now actively, or in some cases, secretly, consider that decriminalisation is the only answer. One has to wonder what it is that governments feel they have to fear by taking control of this huge market.

Currently, many criminal gangs and terrorist organisations, including the appalling Taliban, exist on money they obtain from the black market in drugs. The war has long been lost. All that continued criminalisation does is to ensure that criminals dealing in prostitution, child sex slavery, illegal immigration, pornography, extortion and indiscriminate violence against populations the world over continues and, indeed, expands.

I am not, and never have been, a user of drugs. I prefer to be in control of my own mind. But I do drink, of course. It’s socially acceptable, isn’t it? Perhaps that’s something worth considering.

Jeffrey Dhywood has done his research. The evidence he presents has been meticulously recorded and he provides links and acknowledgements of his many sources. This book is the result of a combination of careful scholarship with a passion to see injustices removed and the world improved.

After reading this book, you will hopefully be convinced of the destructive inanity and hopeless failure of the War on Drugs. My hope is that everyone will read this book and take action. For those who don’t read it, but wish to know more, and maybe even consider taking action, please refer to the notes below.

LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition – http://www.leap.cc/) needs your support. They’ve been fighting in the trenches for years or even decades, and they need your help.

There are also various initiatives circulating over the Internet, mostly as petitions. Join them, sign them, support them, and help their diffusion by sharing them via email or the social networks.

Jeffrey and his group are launching an ambitious initiative that you can check on their website - www.worldwar-d.com.