Intelligence Networks and Global Drug Trade

Douglas Valentine: “It takes a book to explain the economic foundations of the war on drugs, and the reasons behind the regulation of the medical, pharmaceutical and drug manufacturers industries. Suffice it to say that by 1943, the nations of the ‘free world’ were relying on America for their opium derivatives, under the guardianship of Harry Anslinger, the Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN)…. To put it simply, lying to frame defendants, which has always been unstated policy, is now official policy: no longer considered corruption, it is how your government manages the judicial system on behalf of the rich political elite. As outlined in this article, the process tracks back to Nixon, the formation of the BNDD, and the creation of a secret political police force out of the White House. As Agent Bowman Taylor caustically observed, ‘I used to think we were fighting the drug business, but after they formed the BNDD, I realized we were feeding it.’ The corruption was first ‘collateral’—as a function of national security performed by the CIA in secret—but has now become ‘integral,’ the essence of empire run amok.” Narcotics and Covert Intelligence: How the CIA Commandeered the ‘War on Drugs’ (2015)