Illegal drugs get a legal-history treatment across four episodes, starting with marijuana and methamphetamine and tracing how each substance's legal status shifted over the twentieth century. Pharmacologists and scientists explain what the drugs actually do to the body, while advocates on opposing sides of the war on drugs argue over policy on camera. The series digs into origins that surprise: marijuana's medicinal use was first documented in China 4,000 years ago, and it was sold and used legally in the US well into the 20th century before criminalization. Amphetamines get similar treatment, from battlefield stimulant to prescribed antidepressant, with the note that US troops in World War II were issued an estimated 200 million doses to fight fatigue. Archival footage, period artifacts, and interviews build the case that today's drug culture was not inevitable but legislated into being, one law and one moral panic at a time. The series treats each drug's rise and fall in status as a separate case study rather than a single argument.