The Man Who Declared War On Drugs

The origins of the seemingly eternal War on Drugs can be traced back to one man: Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Beginning in 1930s, when America’s attitudes on opioids, cocaine, and marijuana were less vitriolic, Anslinger argued for total drug prohibition and severe punishment for offenders.

Brooke speaks with Alexandra Chasin, author of Assassin of Youth: A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslinger’s War on Drugs, about how Anslinger’s racist propaganda helped outlaw pot and influenced future drug policy; and Johann Hari, author of Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, who tells the story of Anslinger’s ruthless pursuit of jazz singer Billie Holiday for her heroin use.