In his book Tras el grito (originally published as Chasing the Scream ), Johann Hari explores the history of the war on drugs through deeply human, often tragic stories. One of the most haunting and central narratives in the book is the systematic "hunting" of jazz legend by the man who launched the modern drug war, Harry Anslinger . The Story of Billie Holiday and Harry Anslinger
: A teenager in Mexico who became a prolific killer for the Zeta Cartel. His story shows how the illegal market turns desperate young people into "monsters" through a culture of terror. Tras el grito - Johann Hari.epub
: A former Baltimore police officer who realized that arresting addicts only made their lives worse and deepened racial inequality, leading her to join the movement to end the drug war. In his book Tras el grito (originally published
: The story of how Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001, choosing to spend money on housing and jobs for addicts instead of prison—a move that saw addiction and overdose rates plummet. His story shows how the illegal market turns
: Holiday, who had suffered extreme childhood trauma (including being forced into prostitution at age ten) and used heroin to "stun her grief," refused to be silenced.
: Immediately after her performance, Harry Anslinger —the head of the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics—sent a message to Holiday: stop singing that song .
: Anslinger , who held deeply racist views and hated jazz, assigned a Black agent named Jimmy Fletcher to stalk her for two years to find a way to arrest her. Fletcher eventually found her using drugs, and she was sentenced to a year in prison.