America's frontline soldiers in the battle against illegal drugs are agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In 1973 President Richard Nixon founded the DEA with 1,470 agents and a budget of $74.9 million to fight what he called ôan all-out global war on the drug menace.ö Today the DEA has 5,235 agents, a budget of more than $2.3 billion, and 87 foreign offices around the world. Agents of the DEA fight one of the toughest and most controversial battles in the ongoing war against crime. Drug Enforcement Administration details the numerous fronts in the unit's ever-expanding fight against drug traffickers and describes the tactics used to bring them to justice.

It's a national epidemic and an international conspiracy. Drugs have infested our society with a vengeance, making the drug enforcement agent a central figure in the war on drugs. International training teams of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have traditionally taught the special skills required by all drug agents. Until now, there

DEA Agent Jack Riley, "[Chicago's] most famous federal agent since the days of The Untouchables" (-Rolling Stone)tells the inside story of his 30-year hunt for the drug kingpin known as El Chapo, and reveals the true causes of the American opioid epidemic. Jack Riley, grandson of a Chicago cop known for using his fists, was born to be a drug warrior. Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, who farmed marijuana and opium poppies as a teenager in Mexico, was born to be a drug lord. Their worlds collided when Riley, a career special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, was promoted to lead the fight against Chapo on the border at El Paso. Drug Warrior is the story of Riley's decades-long hunt for the world's most wanted drug lord, set against the rise of modern international drug trafficking, and America's spiraling opioid epidemic. Jack Riley started his career as an undercover street agent in Chicago busting small-time dealers. By the time he worked his way up to second in command of the DEA-a post few field agents ever reach-he had overseen every major mission to capture foreign drug kingpins since the 1990s, and had witnessed first-hand how El Chapo changed the game. As brilliant as he was lethal, Chapo not only decimated his competition, he foresaw Americans' dependence on opioids and heroin, and manipulated supply to increase demand. Riley's story culminates as he and the DEA win their greatest victory-the capture and extradition of his long-time nemesis-and Chapo faces his darkest fear: U.S. justice. A riveting memoir of life inside the drug wars, and a never-before-seen glimpse of the inner-workings of the DEA, Drug Warrior is a critical examination of how America's opioid crisis came to be, and the extraordinary people fighting it.

The "spine" of the Andes Mountain, which runs through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, is the source of almost all of the world's cocaine-based products, both legal and otherwise. In 1986, in the midst of the American "cocaine epidemic," the Reagan administration decided that the drug problem needed to be attacked at its source. The result was an eight-year clandestine drug war known as Operation Snowcap. From 1987 through 1994, groups of twelve to fifteen DEA agents were dispatched to South American countries on ninety-day temporary duty tours. These DEA agents met with counterparts from their host nation and together rained destruction down on the infrastructure and transportation networks that supported the illegal cocaine trade. Author Bob Hartman was deployed ten times during the course of Operation Snowcap. Inside DEA is his gripping, firsthand account of America's secretive drug war. In this true story, Hartman chronicles both his triumphs and tragedies and recounts his frustration with his superiors and the biased media portrayals of the operation. Prepare to be transported to the jungles of South America for an inside look at an often misunderstood chapter of history.

Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.

Drug Law Enforcement Strategies provides an authoritative, insider's perspective on the intricacies of drug crimes, investigations, and trials. Featuring law enforcement officials from around the country, this book guides the reader through the latest trends in the narcotics arenaincluding new drugs entering the market, the medical marijuana controversy, and the role of technology in investigationswhile analyzing how these issues are impacting procedures. These skilled authors highlight proven methods for embarking on an investigation, creating drug-specific case strategies, working with informants, going undercover, and setting short- and long-term goals for an investigation. Looking at the investigator's role in bringing a drug case to court, they also explain how to supply effective evidence, work successfully with prosecutors, and anticipate questions from defense attorneys. Additionally, these leaders reveal their strategies for collaborating with other agencies, training investigators, and coping with shrinking budgets and limited manpower. The different niches represented and the breadth of perspectives presented enable readers to get inside some of the great legal minds of today, as these experienced officers offer up their thoughts on the keys to success within this ever-evolving field.