These Illegal Drugs Are Important Medicines | The War on Drugs

A hidden effect of the War on Drugs – people across the world are unable to get medicines they actually need.

From delays in access and research into cannabis-based medicines to driving a street-valium crisis in Scotland to critical pain-relief shortages across the global south, we explore how the War on Drugs impacts the medical world, causing massive, unnecessary suffering along the way.

For half a century, prohibition has been causing chaos and misery worldwide. Any attempt to shut down the drugs trade 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. The War On Drugs is a war in which everyone loses – except, in a weird kind of way, the drugs themselves.

Watch more from this series:

The Prescription Drug Epidemic
   • How America Got Hooked on Opioids | T...  

The War on Drugs is Racist to the core
   • The War on Drugs is Designed to Discr...  

A World on Speed
   • Debunking Crystal Meth Myths | The Wa...  

Psychedelics
   • Can Psychedelics Make You Less Depres...  

Cocaine
   • Why Cocaine is Worth So Much | The Wa...  

The Media
   • The Media Lies About Drugs | The War ...  

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