Around 500,000 people in California are addicted to methamphetamine. Out of a population of almost 40 million, that’s one in every 200 people.

Understandably, then, America is the first place people think of when they hear the word “meth” – but the drug is causing issues in many more countries than just the US: methamphetamine use is also raging across Mexico, the Philippines and South-East Asia.

In The War On Drugs, we examine the social implications of prohibition worldwide. Any attempt to shut down the trade of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine or weed invariably sets off a chain of events that just makes things worse, leaving a trail of death, illness, violence, slavery, addiction, crime and inequality across the globe.

Everyone loses – except, in a weird kind of way, the drugs themselves.

In this episode, we pick apart crystal meth fact from fiction and discover how the War on Drugs has created a world on speed.