Cartels Are Trafficking Drugs Through West Africa | The War on Drugs

Over the past decade or so, South American cartels have found a new way to get their product into the vast European marketplace – West Africa.

The region’s porous borders, endemic poverty and weak law enforcement make it an easy target for international organised crime. But now drug use is spilling over into local markets, and the corruption inherent in the War on Drugs has begun to warp entire societies, leading to the emergence of Africa’s first real narco-states.

In The War On Drugs Show, 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.

Check out the VICE World News playlist for global reporting you won't find elsewhere:    • World News  

Watch more from this series:

Turning 12-Year-Olds Into Drug Dealers
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Why Cannabis Is an Important Medicine
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The Reality of Legalizing Cocaine, Heroin, and Ecstasy
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