West Africa and the Global Illegal Drug Trade

This chapter reconstructs the history of the drug trade and control in West Africa. Debates in drug histories of West Africa help connect and contextualize the region with the field of global drug history. The chapter starts by sketching the rise of cannabis, opiates, and cocaine trades, whose origins remain contested in academic and policy circles for methodological and political reasons. The chapter next explores sometimes unconnected policy responses to the evolving trades in West Africa. Policy research raises questions about the impact and limits of foreign, particularly colonial and US influences on domestic West African drug control, much like debates in other “developing regions.” Finally, the chapter assesses two particularities of the West African trade: its novel modes of smuggling and the role of the “weak” state. These alleged features of drug trades underscore the need for genuine research on drug smuggling and drugs in West Africa.