Narconomics

Narconomics provides a fresh perspective on the global drug trade by analyzing cartels through an economic lens, comparing their business practices to legitimate corporations like Walmart, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola.

Through investigative fieldwork in Andean cocaine fields, Central American prisons, Colorado cannabis shops, and Dark Web marketplaces, Tom Wainwright explores how cartels manage supply chains, compete, diversify, and adapt to market forces.

The book serves both as an investigation into how drug cartels operate and as a blueprint for more effective policy approaches, arguing that traditional law enforcement strategies are ineffective and proposing alternatives such as legalization and market-based interventions.