Claim · claimSorter/cs-014

The drug war's racial targeting was incidental, an unintended consequence of neutral enforcement

Education, not medical advice. Drafts and study material from an independent research library. Citations on this page were checked on Oct 13, 2026; claims in the body text and organizational sources are still under review. What was checked.

Refuted recorded as “Falsified” Chasing the Scream

Ehrlichman (Nixon domestic policy adviser, Harper's 2016): 'We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but...by criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.' The account rests on Baum's notes alone, and Ehrlichman's family and several former Nixon aides dispute it. ACLU (2020): Black Americans 3.73x more likely to be arrested for marijuana despite similar use rates. The racial targeting was explicit policy, not incidental outcome.

Ehrlichman in Baum (2016); ACLU (2020)

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Course modules that use this claim

The Politics of Plants Course module

Drafts on the same book

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What the Record Actually Shows: Holiday and Anslinger Editorial draft
Rat Park: What Was Actually Proved Editorial draft
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The Portuguese Experiment: Full Picture Editorial draft
The Commissioner's Morphine Editorial draft
Harm Reduction: The Other War Editorial draft
One Hundred Years of Failure: The Drug War in Full Editorial draft
The Connection Model: Evidence, Limits, and What It Gets Right Editorial draft
The Fentanyl Crisis: What Hari's Framework Predicted and Didn't Editorial draft
Harm Reduction in 2026: What Has Actually Changed Editorial draft
The Racial Drug War: Ehrlichman to 2026 Editorial draft
Decriminalization in America: Oregon's Reversal and What It Means Editorial draft
Billie Holiday and the Structure of the Argument Editorial draft
The Slogan and the Argument Editorial draft
What Portugal Actually Did Editorial draft
The Commissioner's Last Prescription Editorial draft
The Rats and What They Proved Editorial draft
The Opposite of Addiction Is Connection: Verdict Editorial draft
Passage: Billie Holiday on Addiction Editorial draft
The Scream at the Start of Everything Editorial draft

Reading list for this book

Reading list: Chasing the Scream Reading list

NotebookLM packs on this book

The Opposite of Addiction NotebookLM source pack

Bridge pieces that use this book

The War Osmond Was Fighting and the War Anslinger Was Fighting Bridge piece
The Race Against Time: Schultes's Urgency and Hari's Crisis Bridge piece

Science annotations on this book

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Then vs. Now comparisons on this book

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The Opposite of Addiction: Connection, How Hari's Claim Holds Up Then vs. Now comparison
Portugal's Drug Decriminalization: The 2026 Picture Then vs. Now comparison
The Anslinger-Holiday Story: Historical Accuracy Then vs. Now comparison
Chasing the Scream's Rat Park: The Replication Problem Then vs. Now comparison
The Drug War Centenary: 2014 in Retrospect Then vs. Now comparison
The Safe Supply Experiment: British Columbia 2023-2024 Then vs. Now comparison
The Fentanyl-Naloxone Race: Has Harm Reduction Kept Pace? Then vs. Now comparison
Billie Holiday's Historical Accuracy: What the Documents Show Then vs. Now comparison
The Housing First Evidence: Connection as Concrete Policy Then vs. Now comparison
The Racial Drug War in 2026: Has Anything Changed? Then vs. Now comparison