My interview in the Sydney Morning Herald/Melbourne Age on the drug war and my new book, Pills, Powder and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs, by Kerrie O’Brien: The Morrison Government’s plan to drug test welfare recipients is counterproductive, futile and immoral, says Antony Loewenstein, who has spent the past five years researching the…
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Al Jazeera English documentary broadcast, West Africa’s Opioid Crisis
Al Jazeera English has just broadcast my documentary, West Africa’s Opioid Crisis, made with South African film-maker Naashon Zalk. Commissioned by the global network’s leading documentary program, People and Power, this was a 9-month investigation in Nigeria and beyond into the devastating effects of the addictive opioid drug tramadol: West Africa – and particularly its…
My new book, “Pills, Powder and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs”, is out
I’m excited to announce the release of my new book, Pills, Powder and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs. It’s now out in Australia (via Scribe publications), India later in the year (with Pan Macmillan India and a special foreword for this edition), November in the US and January in the UK. It’s a…
Disaster Capitalism documentary now streaming on Amazon
My 2018 documentary, Disaster Capitalism, on individuals, companies and governments making money from misery in Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Haiti and the US, is now available to stream on Amazon. The film is directed by Thor Neureiter, produced by Media Stockade and written/produced by me. It’s only for US viewers now but will soon be available…
UN report on abuses in Myanmar and ties to disaster capitalism
The UN recently released its independent international fact-finding mission report on Myanmar which encouraged the world to sever ties with the country’s military and the many companies, local and foreign, making $ from the brutal conflict. Thanks to Rawan Arraf, a wonderful lawyer in Australia and founder of the Australian Centre for International Justice, she…
How the EU is moving towards drone surveillance of refugees
My major investigation in the UK Observer/Guardian with Daniel Howden and Apostolis Fotiadis was published on 4 August: Amid the panicked shouting from the water and the smell of petrol from the sinking dinghy, the noise of an approaching engine briefly raises hope. Dozens of people fighting for their lives in the Mediterranean use their…
Pakistani TV interview on the global refugee crisis
Yesterday I was interviewed on Pakistani TV network Indus News about the global refugee crisis in the US, EU, Australia and beyond, and the companies making money from it all:
General public views on drug legalisation
Following my essay in this week’s Sydney Morning Herald about the need to legalise and regulate all drugs, the paper publishes three letters in response: I agree with Antony Loewenstein (‘‘Legal drugs will make us safer’’, July 8). The fact that drug manufacture and supply is left to criminals does not make sense and is…
Legalising and regulating all drugs is the solution
My essay appears in this week’s Sydney Morning Herald: The only way to ensure a safer Australian society is to legalise and regulate all drugs. This could save lives, earn huge revenue for the state and diminish the power of criminal gangs that make billions of dollars annually from the production and sale of illicit…
TRT World interview on police raids against Australian media
This week in Australia there were major police raids on the home of a prominent journalist and the public broadcaster, the ABC. It’s a worrying sign and part of a global trend against a free press and sources who provide vital information. I was interviewed by global broadcaster TRT World about the raids: