| The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control |  | Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: EBooks
List Price: $19.75
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $9.76 (49%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 47103
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Edition: 3
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.2930973
ASIN: B001CEPKIK
Publication Date: April 30, 1973
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Today's campaign to "crack down on crack" and the controversy surrounding mandatory drug-testing make the coverage of narcotics control in The American Disease timely and important. A classic study of the development of drug laws in the U.S., the book examines the relations between public outcry and the creation of prohibitive drug laws from the end of the Civil War to the present day. (Originally published in 1973, the book is now updated by the addition of a new chapter and introduction to cover developments in the past 15 years.)
According to Dr. Musto, Americans' attitudes toward drugs have followed a cyclic pattern of tolerance and restraint. Marshalling an impressive amount of evidence, he supports the theory that acceptance wanes over a 20 to 30-year period of extensive drug use and is followed by a period of intolerance, during which there is a danger of excessive restraints and false links between drug use and feared minorities. At the turn of the century, when cocaine changed suddenly from the all-American tonic to the most feared of all drugs, it was linked to fears of black Americans. Racial tensions in the American South increased, lynchings reached a peak, and law officers increased the caliber of their guns. Proponents of the closing of opiate-maintenance clinics, who succeeded with a 1919 Supreme Court decision outlawing the maintenance of "drug fiends," wildly exaggerated the number of drug users and linked them to feared immigrant groups such as the Chinese. The first federal anti-marijuana law, in 1937, was partly a response to the threat of laid-off Mexican farm workers, who cultivated the plant for personal use.
In detailing the connection between waves of public repulsion and narcotics control, Musto examines American foreign policy and the role played by physicians and the emerging pharmaceutical industry. While not prescriptive, his book offers needed insights as we enter yet another phase of drug intolerance--the second this century. Musto raises critical questions lawmakers and other citizens must consider as they devise ways of curbing drug use while avoiding the sort of Draconian overkill that has in the past set the stage for a reactionary wave of drug enthusiasm. In particular, he expresses concern over the potential for drug testing to be overzealously applied in an attempt to "eliminate" drug abuse from American society.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Musto is the man December 2, 2003
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is incredible. Musto is the man. I would know. He's my professor. The book is incredibly interesting, especially if you are unfamiliar with the history of drugs, and it is absolutely packed with info. I can't say enough about how insanely intelligent this man is and that he is by far the top expert in the field.
 Basic for Understanding Drug Problems in the USA July 31, 2001
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
This is the book on the history of drug policy in the USA. Musto details the whole history of the regulation of addictive from the beginning of the 20th century to the years of the Clinton administration. There is particular emphasis on Federal drug policy. Musto shows well how drug policy has oscillated between relative tolerance and stringent efforts to crackdown on the use of potentially addictive drugs. Musto is particularly good at demonstrating how apparently extrinsic factors influenced strongly Federal response to narcotic regulation. Fears of Federal regulation by physicians, aspects of Progressive era reformist zeal, even foreign policy considerations are shown to be important influences on Federal drug policy. While this is not a social history of drug use, Musto is careful to show how attempts at regulation were often influenced by misperceptions of the extent of drug abuse. There are some surprising aspects to Musto's story. Federal regulation of narcotics, backed by important Supreme Court decisions, was an early example of expansive Federal power superceding state and local regulation. One of Musto's most interesting observations is the considerable extent to which racist fears of Chinese immigrants, Mexican migrants, and African-Americans influenced early efforts to control narcotics tightly. Readers will find this book very informative with a strong sense of deja vu; contemporary debates about drug policy are similar in many ways to debates occurring early in the 20th century. This fact illustrates the difficuly developing sensible and effective policies towards drugs with addictive potential.
him January 18, 2000
5 out of 57 found this review helpful
i didn't actually read the book, but david musto is a cool dud
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
