Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-169) and index.

Nigerian drug lords in UK prisons, khat-chewing Somali pirates hijacking Western ships, crystal meth-smoking gangs controlling South Africa's streets and the Bissauan state captured by narco-traffickers. These are some of the vivid images surrounding drugs in Africa which have alarmed policymakers, academics and the general public in recent years. In this revealing and original book, the authors weave these aspects into a provocative argument about Africa's role in the global trade and control of drugs. In doing so, they show how foreign-inspired policies have failed to help African drug users who require medical support, while strengthening the role of corrupt and brutal law enforcement officers who are tasked with halting the export of heroin and cocaine to European and American consumer markets.A vital book on an overlooked front of the so-called 'war on drugs'.