Moskos has written a tough critique of US drug laws, but he’s cleverly disguised the first two-thirds of the book as a cops-on-the-beat tale of his time spent on the streets of the Eastern District of Baltimore. If you’ve watched The Wire, much of what Moskos says will sound familiar: the current US war on drugs is a wasteful effort that does little to curb violence (mostly perpetrated by the sellers, not the users) while doing nothing to help the users kick their habits. The anecdotes are amusing; the sociological data Moskos includes are valuable, and his argument is strong. Well worth reading.
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