Mattha Busby is a freelance journalist, currently based in Mexico, who has written widely on health policy and society.
Alcohol consumption has skyrocketed in recent decades, and so, too, have alcohol-related deaths. Putting the industry under public control could push back against the public health crisis — and show how to regulate other drugs.
The US spends around $48 billion on the war on drugs each year. The massive spending doesn’t do much to stop drug use, but it has been a major boon for arms and security contractors and human rights abusers around the world.