The media has a drug problem, we need to stage an intervention. From 'face-eating cannibals on monkey dust' to people on bath salts 'ripping out their scrotum' to 'crack babies', newspapers keep making up drug stories.

Over the past century, large sections of the press have acted as campaigners for the War on Drugs, hyping up drug-scare stories and peddling false narratives.

From the ‘crack babies’ hysteria that shook America in the 1980’s to the ‘weed is a gateway drug’ theory, media outlets use shock tactics to sell papers. Reports of ‘zombies’ with ‘superhuman strength’ high on ‘monkey dust’ are not only wildly inaccurate, but they dehumanise some of society’s most vulnerable people.

In this episode of The War On Drugs, we debunk some of the media’s biggest drug myths.

In War On Drugs, we examine the social implications of prohibition worldwide. Any attempt to shut down the trade in drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine or weed invariably sets off a chain of events that just makes things worse, leaving a trail of death, illness, violence, slavery, addiction, crime and inequality across the globe.

Everyone loses – except, in a weird kind of way, the drugs themselves.

Watch more from this series:

Can Psychedelics Make You Less Depressed?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Debunking Crystal Meth Myths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
The War on Drugs is Racist to the Core
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

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