Drug Control in a Free Society

This book offers a provocative analysis of controlling alcohol and drugs in industrial societies.

James B. Bakalar (Author), Lester Grinspoon (Author)

9780521357722, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 29 April 1988

188 pages
22.8 x 17.2 x 1.3 cm, 0.268 kg

' … thoroughly thought-out, well-written and tightly constructed … essay, integrated and wide-ranging. The authors have mastered the vast literature on drugs, drug abuse, and the impact of alternative drug control strategies … a valuable introduction to the literature and issues on drug control for social scientists, philosophers, policy analysts, medical professionals, and up-scale lay readers.' Franklin E. Zimring

Virtually all known human groups have devised and regularly used techniques for altering consciousness, among which alcohol and drugs are prominent. James B. Bakalar and Lester Grinspoon offer a provocative analysis of the philosophical and historical foundations for efforts to control these techniques in industrial societies. What are the rights of individuals to diversity and enrich their experience? What, conversely, are the obligations of governments to protect their citizens? The authors explore the relevance to drug control of traditional doctrines of political liberty. They discuss the ideas of addiction, dependence, and compulsive drug use, central in both medical and legal definitions of drug abuse. They consider the history and sociology of modern drug control, and go on to present a useful typology of the forms of drug control. After assessing each point, they examine alternative ways of looking at what is usually called the drug problem. The book will be of interest to all those concerned with drugs and social control, in a wide range of fields.

Preface
1. Questions of risk and liberty
2. The meanings of addiction and dependence
3. The historical direction of drug policy
4. Varieties of drug control
5. Solution or dissolution of the drug problem? Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Criminal law & procedure [LNF]