We Sell Drugs - The Alchemy of Us Empire

We Sell Drugs is a study grounded in the transnational geography and political economy of the coca-leaf and coca-derived commodities market stretching from Peru and Bolivia into the United States. More than a narrow biography of one famous plant and its equally famous derivative products--Coca-Cola and cocaine--this book situates these commodities within the larger landscape of drug production and consumption. Examining efforts to control the circuits through which coca traveled, Suzanna Reiss provides a geographic and legal basis for considering the historical construction of designations of legality and illegality.

List of contents

Illustrations
Acronyms

Introduction
1. "The Drug Arsenal of the Civilized World": WWII and the Origins of US-Led International Drug Control
2. “Resources for Freedom”: American Drug Commodities in the Postwar World
3. Raw Materialism: Exporting Drug Control to the Andes
4. The Alchemy of Empire: Drugs and Development in the Americas
5. The Chemical Cold War: Drugs and Policing in the New World Order
Conclusion

Acknowledgments
Notes
Works Cited
Index

About the author

Suzanna Reiss is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.

Summary

Presents a study grounded in the transnational geography and political economy of the coca-leaf and coca-derived commodities market stretching from Peru and Bolivia into the United States.

Additional text

"Suzanna Reiss presents a novel and compelling argument . . . We Sell Drugs brings drugs into conversations where they did not participate before."

Product details

• Authors: Suzanna Reiss, Reiss Suzanna
• Publisher: University Of California Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.08.2014
• EAN: 9780520280786
• ISBN: 978-0-520-28078-6
• No. of pages: 328
• Series: American Crossroads; American Crossroads; American Crossroads Series (CAUP)
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Cultural history; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; USA, History: specific events & topics, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economic History, HISTORY / United States / General, LAW / Drugs & the Law, Economic history, Drugs trade / drug trafficking, United States of America, USA, History: specific events and topics, History of the Americas