{"id":2363,"global_id":"krieger.jhu.edu\/laclxs?id=2363","global_id_lineage":["krieger.jhu.edu\/laclxs?id=2363"],"author":"481","status":"publish","date":"2022-09-26 11:53:29","date_utc":"2022-09-26 15:53:29","modified":"2022-09-26 11:56:01","modified_utc":"2022-09-26 15:56:01","url":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/laclxs\/event\/lecture-smith-the-dope-the-real-history-of-the-mexican-drug-trade\/","rest_url":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/laclxs\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/events\/2363","title":"Lecture: Smith, The Dope – The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade","description":"
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The Program in Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies presents<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A lecture by Dr. Benjamin Smith, Professor of History, University of Warwick<\/p>\n\n\n\n

followed by a Q&A with Laura Wadsten & Christy Thornton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come hear Dr . Smith talk about his new book, a myth-busting, 100-year history of the Mexican drug trade that reveals how an industry founded by farmers and village healers became dominated by cartels and kingpins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mexican drug trade has inspired prejudiced narratives of a war between north and south, white and brown; between noble cops and vicious kingpins, corrupt politicians and powerful cartels. In this first comprehensive history of the trade, historian Benjamin T. Smith tells the real story of how and why this one-peaceful industry turned violent. He uncovers its origins and explains how this illicit business essentially built modern Mexico, affecting everything from agriculture to medicine to economics\u2014and the country\u2019s all-important relationship with the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drawing on unprecedented archival research; leaked DEA, Mexican law enforcement, and cartel documents; and dozens of harrowing interviews, Smith tells a thrilling story brimming with vivid characters\u2014from Ignacia \u201cLa Nacha\u201d Jasso, \u201cqueen pin\u201d of Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez, to Dr. Leopoldo Salazar Viniegra, the crusading physician who argued that marijuana was harmless and tried to decriminalize morphine, to Harry Anslinger, the Machiavellian founder of the American Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who drummed up racist drug panics to increase his budget. Smith also profiles everyday agricultural workers, whose stories reveal both the economic benefits and the human cost of the trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-sponsored by Medicine, Science and the Humanities and International Studies<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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