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Why Doria’s War on Drugs is Doomed

By Sarah Evans

The São Paulo Mayor's approach to fighting addiction ignores history's lessons.

When São Paulo Mayor João Doria set out to fulfil a campaign promise and rid the city of its cracolândia (crackland), an area that was home to a group of homeless people, some of whom used drugs, he did so with an overwhelming and telegenic show of force: 500 police officers armed with guns, tear gas and dogs marshalled to take on this marginalized and disempowered population.

In one sense, the raid worked: The residents dispersed. In the words of ...

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