Neil Woods spent 14 years as an undercover drugs operative, gaining the trust of some of the most violent, unpredictable criminals in Britain. Now he’s an active member of the international drug policy reform movement, and co-author of Good Cop, Bad War and Drug Wars. Subscribe to the podcast: http://jordanharbinger.com/subscribe Full show notes can be found here: https://jordanharbinger.com/806 What We Discuss with Neil: 0:00 - How a huge nerd became a cop 8:18 - Neil's undercover gang life 34:29 - The most fun crimes to commit 40:47 - Forced to use the product in front of the dealer 59:47 - Close calls being undercover 1:18:54 - Addicted to the thrill of being undercover 1:32:10 - How prohibition created new addicts There are only a limited number of people willing to risk prison for the potential rewards of breaking into houses and stealing their contents. So when a burglar slips up and finally gets arrested, it stands to reason that break-ins will go down in that neighborhood — one has been subtracted from the finite pool of would-be thieves. But drug crime is a different animal altogether. There’s no shortage of people willing to deal drugs because the rewards are staggeringly astronomical, and the demand never goes down. So when a drug dealer is taken off the streets, it creates a power vacuum in the market that erupts in violence and related crimes as aspiring criminals compete to take their place. And as Neil Woods discovered while working 14 years as an undercover drug-busting operative, the current methods of policing drug crime only demonize the people who need help the most and empower the very worst elements in society. On this episode, Neil — co-author of Good Cop, Bad War and Drug Wars — joins us to share the complex logistics of undercover law enforcement, the skills (and no short amount of luck) he employed to build rapport among the most violent drug gangs in the UK and stay alive in the process, the close calls he managed to survive when these skills fell short, why the pressure placed on police departments for results in an unwinnable war on drugs makes corruption almost inevitable, and why Neil now advocates an evidence-based drug policy and related criminal justice reforms. Listen, learn, and enjoy! Get the BEST highlights from each episode on our clips channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-cxPJ7QxPE8M7EYe5Vv7ag Want to watch more in-depth interviews with some of the world’s most amazing and successful people? Find full episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNbAQB8BYtM&list=PLxuPu-uyanrrBgAl5-76enemxVsxFjnEQ&index=1 Welcome to The Jordan Harbinger Show, a video podcast where each week you get to join a conversation with some of the world’s highest performers and incredible personalities. I’ll ask them the tough questions to tease out their top tips so that you can reach levels of personal growth and mastery that you never imagined possible. Learn more about Jordan: http://jordanharbinger.com/about #podcast #jhs