# Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs

**URL:** <https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/chasing-the-scream-the-first-and-last-days-of-the-war-on-drugs>

**By** Johann Hari, Trevor Burrus, Aaron Ross Powell

**Published:** May 6, 2016

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Johann Hari joins us this week to discuss his recent New York Times best-selling book about the past, present, and future of drug prohibition.

What was the U.S. government's original motivation behind drug prohibition? How has the way we view addiction changed over time? What happens when a country—or a state—decriminalizes drugs? What about hard drugs?

**Show Notes and Further Reading**

[_Chasing the Scream_ is available here](http://chasingthescream.com/) , along with all of Hari's interviews and notes used in writing the book.

Hari mentions Jeffrey Miron's work on the economics of drug prohibition; [you can read Miron's recent work here](https://www.libertarianism.org/people/jeffrey-a-miron).