A Dramatic and Researched History of Meth

The chapters are logically divided by region, covering Tijuana, Nichoacan, Netherlands, Sinaloa and the other places. And later chapters cover general topics related to this epidemic.
The “Introduction” addresses the obvious question of why this researcher chose to focus on meth. He explains that this interested started during his travels, and research into New York’s tunnel people in 1994-5: they were using crack as outcasts, while Wall Street guys were using cocaine as insiders. He notes that his hometown is Antwerp, where in 2018, “a hand grenade exploded 40 meters from my kitchen window” (viii). This stimulated him to write: Drugs: Antwerp in the Grip of the Dutch Syndicates. Then, in 2019, he saw the headline “Breaking Bad in Brabant” and this really got him going in the meth direction.
“Chapter 1: The Bizarre History of Meth” begins with the curious fact that meth, like other pop drugs, comes from a natural “plant, Ephedra sinica, a shrub native to the mountainous and rocky areas of China…” etc. (1). Then a history is given for who first isolated the “active ingredient” in 1885. Then, the ingredients were put together and crystalized by a Japanese researcher in the same lab in 1919. Obviously, the Americans soon capitalized on this discovery by selling it as a legal drug in 1931: “to treat congestion and asthma”. Previous books have covered how Germany was a top-producer of heroin, and cocaine before WWII. So it was normal when Nazis took over and took up drug-selling to promote the “one… tolerated” ideology of the “National Socialist” party (2-3).
Turning to a random page, it continues to be dense with interesting facts: “Europe remains a small player, with approximately 1.3 tons meth confiscated yearly between 2014 to 2018.” This fact is followed by a citation note that explains the source of this claim (30).
I did not find any slow pages. “In 2012, the Town hall of Wallre was set on fire, allegedly by drug criminals whose operations had been hampered by the authorities…” (63). Anybody who likes thrillers and history, is sure to enjoy reading this book cover-to-cover. I cannot lower this book’s score down from 5 stars, which I usually give, because I did not find a single mistake in what I had time to review.
—Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Fall 2024: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-fall-2024

A well researched book on the issues with crystal meth on a global level. Fascinating insights into the drug world. Enjoyable but thought-provoking.