Rating: 
Summary: change it
Review: an intensely thought-provoking and intelligently written
overview of one of the most serious problems of our time. The book goes on to offer solutions.It's time for change!
Rating:
Summary: History speaks for itself........we lost this war
Review: Great Book
i don't want to sit here and repeat the praises from the other reviews, but i just got done reading this joint and i thought i'd put my 2 cents in.
This book isn't an encyclopedia of statistics & reports on the Drug War like some books i've seen on the subject......it's easy-to-read and pretty short (about 200 pages), which is good because we need everybody in America to understand EXACTLY what's going on here without puttin' them to sleep......Mike Gray gives the average reader enough hard evidence and statistics to shut up any prohibitionists out there determined that stricter sentences & harder laws will make this problem "go away"......sorry, but it ain't happenin'
personally, the only parts of the book that i could do without is the first chapters telling stories about the hood and the dope dealings in Chicago by the GD's, and the last few chapters with stories of people who could benefit from Medical Marijuana but can't get it due to our current laws........to me they were old news and kind of boring, but i can definatly see why they're there.....to somebody disconnected from the battlefield in the hood, or somebody who is unfamiliar with the medical uses of weed and the people who could use that, i can see how those chapters would put a human face on the distant problems that they don't actually HAVE to deal with on a day to day basis
Most people can't see the forest for the trees, and what Mike Gray does with this book is take a HUGE problem that is usually looked at as smaller, isolated issues (the rise in drug use among kids, packed prisons, uneven racial statistics) and basically put it in "The Big Picture"........from the Racist Propaganda & false statistics that started the "War", to the Drug Wars in south america fueled by america's appetite for the product
Even if your already familiar with the situation, this is an interesting read.......it's crazy to me to think that i'm a 19 year old kid, from the hood, with no college education, reading some books i bought from down the street, but it seems like the people up in Washington (supposedly the best & brightest we have to offer to lead our country) don't have any reason or ambition to want to reform the biggest failure in American history
Knowledge is Power
Rating: 
Summary: Drug Crazy -read and be ENLIGHTENED!
Review: I have always wondered why the subject of drug use, addiction and legalization of drug use in the United States has been so polarized. In my years of experimenting with drugs such as Marijuana, amphetamines etc. I learned there are obvious reasons to use caution in the use of all drugs,whether street or legal ones. I find it interesting that all the attention from the press and govenment is always focused on the illegal street drugs and users, yet statistical facts bear out the reality that prescription drug addicts out number street addicts by a hugh margin. I find the book DRUG CRAZY, to be a breath of fresh air and sanity, documenting the real story of the genesis of drug laws and attitudes in this country. Any law that is legislated and enforced based on lies, manipulation of facts is not a law that belongs in a Republic such as ours. Mr. Gray has done an outstanding job in researching the actual documented history of drugs in america. I do not advocate the use of drugs for anyone, especially our youth, that is a personal decision made by free individuals who must take personal responsibility for that decision based on a study of the facts of each drug. This cannot be done if those facts are distorted or deleted from view. If you are confused by all the claims made by those who advocate the WAR ON DRUGS then please, please read this book. Your jaw will drop open when you find out how our present drug laws have come about.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Book!
Review: Mike Gray dares to challenge conventional wisdom. Quite frankly, 25 years from now our grandchildren will look back on how we handled the war on drugs and probably agree with Gray's conclusions. Not everyone agrees with the author, however on one point he is right on target...we are losing the war on drugs. Chapter six, "The River of Money" is my favorite part of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Let the debate begin here
Review: Pretty soon it'll be illegal to even *talk* about drugs in a rational way. Before that happens, citizens owe it to themselves to be informed about alternative arguments in the drug debate. (Aside: Do you find it curious that the government has produced tv ads linking "drugs" and terrorism, but has not brought up trade in diamonds, tanzanite, and -- apostasy! -- oil?) It's infinitely more complex than "We say it's bad, therefore it must be bad." As citizens we owe it to ourselves to encourage a discussion with vigor and frankness commensurate with the alleged evil of the problem. When the ad insults our intelligence by asking, "This is your brain; this is your brain on drugs -- any questions?" we owe it to each other to say, "Of course, dummy." Mike Gray gives us a post-kindergarten introduction to the situation and presents some thoughtful questions that have already been asked. I read this based on The Economist's high recommendation with which I agree entirely. It is a fast-paced cross-section of the relevant issues, never boring and always provocative. From street-level thugs in Chicago to the administration of huge Mexican cartels, from the historical roots of prohibition to radical new approaches, this is a terrific survey of the many facets of this issue, and it transcends by far what one can learn from PSAs. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's shocking how little most people actually understand about this subject -- which is probably the single biggest issue in American criminal procedure -- and how much of what they *do* know is inaccurate or depressingly simplistic. Please read this book, and let's elevate the discussion above its current Mother Goose reading level.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: Rather than taking the prohibition argument and tearing it apart point by point, Gray introduces us to the, at times, unbelievable players behind the movement, and how these individuals could manipulate public opinion about drugs through misinformation and flat-out lies. Gray is good at analysing the forces behind the enactment of drug laws-political motivations, greed, and religious fundamentalism. His chapters about fighting drug trafficking are extremely terrifying. His argument-prohibition is immoral-needs no more justification when we learn about the multitude of violence the drug wars create. An excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book
Review: This book grabs you on the first page and does not let go. It is just what it claims to be -- a clear story of how we got into this mess and how we could get out. Everyone should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: The War on Drugs: Power, Race, and Money!
Review: This book is an excellent companion to Smoke and Mirrors : The War on Drugs and the Politics of Failure, by Dan Baum. While Baum's history of the Drug War starts with the Nixon administration and focuses on the domestic consequences, Mike Gray's history lesson goes back to Harry Anslinger, who headed the Bureau of Narcotics (the precursor to the DEA) for decades and engineered mountains of bogus evidence about the national "drug problem" in order to build and sustain his empire. Gray examines the history of alcohol prohibition as well as the horrific effect that the Drug War has had in South and Central America. Both Baum and Gray spotlight the soaring prison population and the shattered lives of drug war prisoners. Gray's book illustrates the shear impossibility of an interdiction based approach by pointing out that the ports of entry are countless and border guards can double their yearly incomes by turning a blind eye for two minutes. Mike Gray wrote the screenplay for The China Syndrome, and he brings his talents as a story teller to this project, which makes it extremely readable.
Rating:
Summary: An easy read, certain to raise your blood pressure...
Review: This book should be a real eye-opener to the average citizen. It is an easy read of only 240 pages, so even the most time-pressed will be able to get through it in a week or two of spare moments. Mike Gray takes us through the past 90 years of the American drug war and also parallels it with the alcohol prohibition of the 1920's. Some has expressed disdain over the author's lack of detail on a solution to the status quo. The purpose of this book appears to focus mainly on what is wrong with the current situation -- an example of what not to do. He does call for reform of drug laws and policies, and it's up to the reader to realize that the solution is not too far off from the solution of the alcohol problem during the prohibition era -- to repeal prohibition. Buy it. Read it. Get all your friends to read it. While you're still fired up over it... write a letter to your local congressperson expressing your feelings... well, maybe you should write the letter after you cool down a little -- but not too much.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book on the madness of the drug war
Review: This is a very good book about the insanity of America's War on Drugs. The only thing that stopped me from giving it a five-star rating is how many other very good books there are on the same topic. Gray is a journalist, and his account is more journalism than strict social science. It is an easy and compelling read. Perhaps one day instead of seeing commercials about how buying drugs funds terrorism, our country will admit that paying taxes that support the Drug War, both domestically and internationally (e.g. giving millions to governments like the Taliban and Columbia), is a much bigger contributor to international terrorism and the destruction of America's families and cities than drugs themselves could ever be.
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