David Farber, distinguished professor of history at the University of Kansas, author of Crack and editor of The War on Drugs, explores the tragic consequences of Richard Nixon's 1971 declaration of a war on drugs. Looking at two key hinge points in this "war," Farber examines the conflict in the policymaking process between imperfect expertise and tempestuous political demands, and then the impact of that conflict on the lives of Americans, especially those most at risk of falling prey to drug abuse. Since 1971, Americans have traveled a hard road as they seek to balance the mass demand for the recourse drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, and opioids provide with the dangers of drug abuse and dependency. Even now, as the war on drugs has deescalated, Americans continue to fight over how drug use and abuse can and should be managed.

David Farber is the Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Kansas. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago after which he spent a year working on Capitol Hill. Since then, he has been a professor of history and has published numerous books on American political culture, social change movements, democratic practice, and the history of capitalism. He has been a visiting scholar or lecturer in Japan, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Lebanon, Australia, China, Russia, Indonesia and elsewhere.

Professor Farber will deliver the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies' 2024-25 Lerner Lecture on Hinge Moments in History.

Registration will open soon here!