Pan-African Issues in Drugs and Drug Control

Book excerpt: Popular ’war on drugs’ rhetoric postulates drug use in the West as the product of the drug production and trafficking roles of non-western societies and non-western peoples within and outside the West. In such rhetoric, African societies and people of African descent in Africa and in Diaspora have received criticisms for their respective roles in drug production and drug trafficking, including the position of many African countries as transit routes for drugs exported to the West. By contrast, the abuse of drugs by populations of African origin around the globe and the harmful consequences of the drug trade and drug abuse on these populations has been little studied. Drawing on contributions from seven countries in Africa; two countries in Europe; and seven countries in the Americas, this volume examines the relationships between drug use, drug trafficking, drug controls and the black population of a given society. Each chapter examines the nature and pattern of drug use or abuse; the effects of drug use or abuse (illegal or/and legal) on other areas such as health and crime; the nature, pattern, and perpetration of trafficking and sale of illegal or/and legal drugs; and past and current policies and control of illegal and /or legal drugs. It will be essential reading for all students, academics and policy-makers working in the area of drug control.