Objective/context:

This article presents an historical analysis of the prohibition of drugs in Mexico considering the interconnections between different social, moral, economic, political and security aspects that comprise the fight against certain psychoactive substances, their producers, sellers and consumers.

Methodology:

The analysis follows a theoretical and methodological approach called narcoanalysis,(2) influenced by the concepts of genealogy and biopolitics developed by Michel Foucault. Said outlook posits that the production of an illegal drug market takes place from the juxtaposition of five analytical levels: moral, health, public safety, national security and international security.

Conclusions:

The application of narcoanalysis to the Mexican case helps us understand the transformation of local narcotrafficking, its symbiosis with the legal economy and with political power; likewise, the proposals for legal reforms for the control of drugs, such as marijuana and peyote.

Originality:

This new theoretical-methodological approach seeks to understand the production and transformation of drug policies, their social origins, and their political and social effects, considering the dynamism and interconnectedness between the social, economic and political spheres, inside and outside the Mexican borders.