Hello and welcome to the History Hour Podcast from the BBC World Service with me

Max Pearson the past brought to life by those who were there. It's 50 years since America's

President Nixon declared a war on drugs.

America's public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is

necessary to wage a new all-out offensive.

This week we're looking at the historic global impact of the illegal drugs trade,

the vast power of drug cartels and the violence involved.

Columbian drug barons say they have declared total war on their government

and are threatening to attack judges,

business.

The Taliban are hugely intertwined with the drugs industry in this province and in the

whole of southern Afghanistan.

We'll get insights into some of the main players in this dangerous game.

He was able to intimidate the people that worked for him.

And the human cost.

When you look in their eyes, you can see they have lost everything even the will to live.

That's all coming up later in the podcast but let's start with the anniversary that

we're marking namely 50 years since Nixon declared a war on drugs.

Claire Bowes has spoken to Jeffrey Donfeld, who was in Nixon's White House team trying to work

out the best way to help addicts give up heroin. America's public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse.

Richard Nixon was a Republican. In his third year in office he declared a national emergency

over drugs and asked Congress to agree to provide a total of $371 million to spend on programs to control drug abuse in America.

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