Today’s OED Word of the Day:

narcocracy, n.

1. A body of people responsible for the implementation of drug laws. rare.

1983 National Rev. (Nexis) 29 Apr. 492 The National Research Council report of June 21, 1982..was promptly suppressed by the narcocracy because it questions the efficacy of marijuana prohibition and advocates complete decriminalization and the consideration of legalization.

2. An elite or dominant group of people whose wealth derives from the trade in illegal drugs; a government or state dominated by such a group. Cf. NARCOKLEPTOCRACY n.

1985 A. HENMAN in A. Henman et al. Big Deal v. 141 Informal narcocracy would..come to mean a political system which..is governed by a legal and ideological need to appear to be suppressing its principal economic activity, the production of illicit drugs. 1987 Times 18 Dec. 7/5 The temperature has hit 20°C in Palermo this week, causing something of a problem for the wives of the new rich, the ‘narcocracy’,..itching to wear their fur coats. 1995 Arkansas Democrat-Gaz. (Nexis) 18 July 7B, It’s really disgusting… A complete sellout to the narcocracy. 2000 Bangkok Post (Nexis) 10 Dec., Colombia, to be blunt, has been known as a narcocracy for a decade.

This should be brought back into mainstream use. Also, the OED’s WOTD is fantastic and often much more interesting than anywhere else I’ve seen it.

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