8 Books about Drugs, from Science to Politics

One of the more well-known books about drugs to come out recently is Dopesick, which tells the story of OxyContin. It was only introduced in 1996 — a mere 26 years ago — and quickly flooded the market. Its use spans the country, from rural communities to wealthy suburbs, marking the only real common factor across geographic and class lines in America. The most devastating part of this book is the people affected by the drug, either in losing loved ones or coping with addiction.

Psychology professor Dr. Carl L. Hart’s argument is that the real danger of drugs comes from the fact that they’re illegal. He uses recreational drugs himself and insists that criminalization and demonization are the problem, not the drugs themselves. While doing research under funding from the war on drugs, he found that the facts didn’t support the ideology, and that the real goal of the campaign seemed to be keeping Black and Brown bodies in prison. Drug Use for Grown-Ups focuses on the positives of recreational drugs, when used responsibly, and on the failures of our society.

Entangled Life is all about the magic of fungi and mushrooms, from making bread and alcohol to altering our minds and treating mental illness. Merlin Sheldrake takes us on a journey through the various lives of fungi — most of which exists quietly underground — and, most fascinatingly, their psychedelic properties.

Ioan Grillo is a journalist who has covered the drug world in Latin America for two decades. Gangster Warlords exposes the crime wars across Central and Southern America and the Caribbean, from the militia-controlled ghettos to the shiny halls of policymakers. The effects of this work their way across the globe, influencing the fuel used in cars and the gold used in jewelry. No part of the world is untouched by the unjust criminalization of drugs.

When LSD was first discovered, it looked like a promising treatment option for mental illness and consciousness. But then the war on drugs halted all research. More work has been done undercover recently, and Michael Pollan, journalist and author of numerous books about where nature and humans collide, shares his own experiments with psychedelics. How to Change Your Mind just might open your eyes to a new way of being.

Judith Grisel is a behavioral neuroscientist and recovered drug addict, making her the perfect person to explore the science behind addiction. Never Enough explains how each drug interacts with the brain, what experiences they create, and why they are so hard to quit. It contains a moving blend of science alongside personal stories from addicts and caregivers.

With the death of Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug lord, in 1993, Colombians had hope for the end of deadly drug cartels. But that hope was short-lived. By the late ’90s, right-wing groups with ties to the cocaine industry showed up, leaving corruption, rape, and torture in their wake. There Are No Dead Here tells the stories of a journalist, a human rights activist, and a prosecutor whose lives were changed by standing up to the violence and corruption around them.