In September 2007, Ellen Pakkies, a working mother from Lavender Hill on the Cape Flats, strangled her son to death. The judge in the subsequent trial sentenced her to community service for her crime. What drove Ellen to commit this horrific deed, and why the ostensibly light sentence for such a heinous crime?

The story of what happened over ten years ago has continued to grip public interest, putting a spotlight on the dire and desperate situation faced by many parents of addicted children. A highly successful play was produced in theatres around South Africa in 2011/12, and a full-length movie has recently been made of this story, which will reach the big screen in September 2018.

When Dealing in Death was first published in 2009, the scourge of drug addiction was sweeping across South Africa, affecting every level of society. Little, if anything, has changed since then, as this new edition reveals. The use of tik, particularly in the Western Cape, has skyrocketed, and it was Abie Pakkies’s addiction to this drug, and the horrendous impact it had on his and his family’s lives, that drove Ellen to murder. Her trial exposed the dark underbelly of a community crippled by drug and alcohol abuse, and focused attention on the plight of those who live in poverty and do not have recourse to drug-rehabilitation centres and other measures effective in the treatment of addicts.

Dealing in Death looks at the global and local drugs culture, the predicament of Ellen Pakkies and other mothers like her, and an impoverished community and the apartheid laws that gave birth to it.

'I was made in Coffee Bay. Right there on the beach, in the sand.'

From the opening lines, we are drawn in and engrossed by this startling memoir of a singular childhood. Suzan is adopted as a newborn in the late 1960s into a seemingly loving and welcoming family living in Pietermaritzburg. But Suzan is set on a collision course with, most particularly, her adoptive mother, and society, from her very beginning. Suzan's relationship with her mother is fraught with drama, which veers over into a level of emotional abuse and needless cruelty that is shocking.

At the age of thirteen, Suzan is sent to a place of safety as a ward of the state, effectively 'orphaning' her. From there, she spirals out of control – fighting to survive in a world of other neglected, abandoned and abused children. She becomes a 'runner', escaping at every opportunity from her various places of confinement, grabbing her schooling in snatches, living on the edges of a drug and prostitution underworld, finding love wherever she can.

Suzan’s young life was the stuff of movies, but it is her writing, in a voice that is unforgettable and true, that transforms her memories into something magical rarely matched in South African literature. A new classic.

The twelve stories in this book, taken from Shaun Tomson's own life experiences in and out of the surfing world, offer the simple message "I will" as a model to face life's challenges and help you achieve your goals. All you need is to be encouraged to find your voice and commit yourself to positive values. The stories resonate with positivity and hope for the future, and are infused with the belief that even in the darkest time, light shines ahead to show you the way forward.

Shaun Tomson's impossibly handsome visage has long ago been carved deeply into the pantheon of surfing's elite. He need do nothing more than continue to surf Rincon well and make a few aloha-shirted public appearances now and then to stride off gloriously into surfing immortality. But in recent years, at least partially brought on by the devastating loss of his teenaged son Mathew, Tomson has waded into the world of inspirational writing and speaking, endeavoring to pass on the lessons he's learned from a life extraordinarily well-lived.

These stories will inspire you to believe in yourself and to believe in the power that each and every one of us has to shape our lives through the power of “I Will.”

The gripping and shocking story of three generations of the Sackler family and their roles in the stories of Valium and Oxycontin, by the prize-winning, bestselling author of Say Nothing.

The Sackler name adorns the walls of many storied institutions – Harvard; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Oxford; the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations in the arts and the sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing Oxycontin, a blockbuster painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis-an international epidemic of drug addiction which has killed nearly half a million people.

In this masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, Patrick Radden Keefe exhaustively documents the jaw-dropping and ferociously compelling reality. Empire of Pain is the story of a dynasty: a parable of 21st century greed.

Die daggaplant (Cannabis sativa) word al vir duisende jare gebruik. Dit is, inderdaad, ’n baie nuttige plant om materiaal en toue mee te vervaardig. Dit is egter die bekendste vir die psigotropiese effekte van dagga se aktiewe bestanddeel, tetrahidrokannabinol (THC).

Die kwessie oor of dagga verslawend is, is nog nie heeltemal duidelik nie. Baie navorsing word gedoen om korrekte en interessante inligting vir gebruikers, hul naasbestaandes, handelaars en almal wat oor dagga wonder, beskikbaar te stel.

Hierdie handleiding bring die leser op datum met alles wat ons weet aangaande dagga. Slegs wanneer al die feite op die tafel is, is dit sinvol om ’n opinie oor hierdie wonderlike plant te waag.

"My name is Samantha and I’m an alcoholic. At the time of writing, I’ve been sober for 13 years, 11 months and 16 days. And yes I still count. I promised I would never speak about it publicly until my children understood what that meant, that mommy was an alcoholic. I think they may have understood long before I did."

From Whiskey To Water is the no-holds-barred memoir by one of South Africa’s most loved radio talk show hosts, Sam Cowen. Having kept her alcohol addiction well away from the public eye for over 14 years, in this tell-all tale, Sam finds the courage to talk about her struggle with her addiction to whiskey, food and finally to a passion that saved her life – marathon swimming. Told in her characteristically hilarious dead-pan style, this is one of the bravest books you’ll read this year.

"So this is a book on how I stopped drinking? No, it’s not. It’s how I stopped drinking, started eating, became clinically severely obese, stopped eating (everything that wasn’t nailed down) and swam my way to freedom. No, it’s not. It’s actually about addiction and learning and sadness and anxiety and love and drive. It’s about channelling the unchangeable into the miraculous. It’s about dragons and learning how to put them to sleep when you can’t slay them. It’s about being my own Daenarys."

Should marijuana be legalized? The latest Gallup poll reports that exactly half of Americans say "yes"; opinion couldn't be more evenly divided.
Marijuana is forbidden by international treaties and by national and local laws across the globe. But those laws are under challenge in several countries. In the U.S., there is no short-term prospect for changes in federal law, but sixteen states allow medical use and recent initiatives to legalize production and non-medical use garnered more than 40% support in four states. California's Proposition 19 nearly passed in 2010, and multiple states are expected to consider similar measures in the years to come.
The debate and media coverage surrounding Proposition 19 reflected profound confusion, both about the current state of the world and about the likely effects of changes in the law. In addition, not all supporters of "legalization" agree on what it is they want to legalize: Just using marijuana? Growing it? Selling it? Advertising it? If sales are to be legal, what regulations and taxes should apply? Different forms of legalization might have very different results.
Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know(r) will provide readers with a non-partisan primer about the topic, covering everything from the risks and benefits of using marijuana, to describing the current laws around the drug in the U.S. and abroad. The authors discuss the likely costs and benefits of legalization at the state and national levels and walk readers through the "middle ground" of policy options between prohibition and commercialized production. The authors also consider how marijuana legalization could personally impact parents, heavy users, medical users, drug traffickers, and employers.
What Everyone Needs to Know(r) is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press

Ivan Petrov was born in 1934 in the industrial town of Chapaevsk. His father was shot by Stalin as an 'enemy of the people', and Ivan was brought up by his mother and violent stepfather - both alcoholics, along with most of the rest of the town. By his early 20s, Ivan had also succumbed to the lure of the bottle. 'Smashed in the USSR' is his eye-opening, frequently eye-watering story.

Born Perlé van Schalkwyk, into a strict Jehovah Witness family, after studying drama at Stellenbosch University, Perlé quickly realises that acting is not going to buy her that house on the hill. And so erotic dancing and stripping becomes her modus operandi and GiGi is born. 

Tales of drugs, murder and porn lace her fascinating life, along with stories of courage and cunning in the sexist underworld. GiGi is a true survivor. Ultimately, this bare all memoir will both titillate and inspire. 

Now a major TV series on Disney+ 'A shocking investigation... Dopesick is essential' The Times 'Unfolds with all the pace of a thriller' Observer 'A deep - and deeply needed - look into the troubled soul of America' Tom Hanks 'Essential reading' New York Times Beth Macy reveals the disturbing truth behind America's opioid crisis and explains how a nation has become enslaved to prescription drugs. This powerful and moving story explains how a large corporation, Purdue, encouraged small town doctors to prescribe OxyContin to a country already awash in painkillers. The drug's dangerously addictive nature was hidden, whilst many used it as an escape, to numb the pain of of joblessness and the need to pay the bills. Macy tries to answer a grieving mother's question - why her only son died - and comes away with a harrowing tale of greed and need.

Feminism is a beneficial force in addictions therapy as they have the same goals--mending imbalances of power. A variety of important topics related to addictions treatment are addressed in this timely volume, accompanied by concrete clinical solutions for therapists and counselors to use in their own practice. Feminism and Addiction demonstrates the positive impact feminism can have on addictions treatment. Addictions treatment methods that have been developed primarily based on research with men are examined and questioned to determine what changes need to be made to meet the needs of women. The applicability of twelve-step treatment programs, for example, is investigated as to whether its required adoption of belief in powerlessness is concurrent with feminism's battle with female subjugation. This thought-provoking volume contains the most current theoretical, social, and clinical issues enmeshed in the debates between men's experiences and women's experiences of addiction. Critical issues addressed include advice for how to deal with issues of codependency; how to treat clients faced with physical or sexual abuse in addition to addiction; how to integrate cultural differences into treatment; and how to face the particular difficulties of gay and lesbian clients in addictions treatment. This valuable book will help you apply constructivist approaches to build therapy methods which are collaborative, internal, and organic, thus more appropriate to treating women's experience with addiction. Feminism and Addiction helps family therapists who work with women and their families strike a unique balance between the principles of feminism and family therapy's goal of repairing and healing relationships between men and women.

The inspiration behind the Netflix tv series Painkillers, starring Uzo Aduba and Matthew Broderick THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Now on BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week' Winner of the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction Shortlisted for the 2021 Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2021 Shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction The gripping and shocking story of three generations of the Sackler family and their roles in the stories of Valium, OxyContin and the opioid crisis. 'One of those authors I will always read, no matter what the subject matter, which is why I gobbled up Empire of Pain . . . a masterclass in compelling narrative nonfiction.' - Elizabeth Day, The Guardian '30 Best Summer Reads' 'You feel almost guilty for enjoying it so much' - The Times The Sackler name adorns the walls of many storied institutions - Harvard; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Oxford; the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations in the arts and the sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing Oxycontin, a blockbuster painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis - an international epidemic of drug addiction which has killed nearly half a million people. In this masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, award-winning journalist and host of the Wind of Change podcast Patrick Radden Keefe exhaustively documents the jaw-dropping and ferociously compelling reality. Empire of Pain is the story of a dynasty: a parable of twenty-first-century greed.

In our current digital era, imagination and the cultural and material conditions by which it is developed are more crucially than ever implicated in the experienced adversities and contradictions of drug use. The technological changes of society underscore the need for rethinking dominant understandings which portray addiction as an immediate and even mindless relation between a person and a substance or behavior, only minimally affected by subjective significance and historical alterations of everyday life. Indeed, from ancient mythology to our modern times drugs have been part of our cultural history. Understandings and practices of their uses have developed through cultural ideas and cultural-material conditions like traditions, rituals and routines. Today, the omnipresence of digital media in everyday life is massively changing and expanding such cultural and material conditions. Digital media equip people with associations between drugs and an incredible abundance of images, ideas, facts, fiction, narratives, plots, soundtracks, characters, and much more, and thereby expanding their imaginable potentials for providing answers to biographical questions. People and potential drug use become connected in novel and labyrinthine ways through digital communities and arrangements of everyday life. And digital media are part of and transform the cultural-material practices in which activities and experiences of intoxication actually take place. In the book, all these details are extensively analyzed empirically based on qualitative data on the lives of a number of young, Danish people who were undergoing treatment for drug-related problems at the time of the research. An underlying premise of the entire work is that addiction may be seen as a more extreme expression of how the technological developments in our contemporary world more generally speaking magnify the contradictory implications of imagination for modern living. Over the recent years, psychological research into the significance of the human capacity to imagine for how people deal with and live their lives has received growing attention. Yet, the complex involvement of imagination in actual living and consequently the theoretical cruxes this engenders continue to amaze and surprise research and researchers. This book also contributes to these theoretical ambitions with a substantial work on the concept of imagination. It primarily suggests that a critical discussion of how imagining is essentially a contradictory process in everyday life and how it is always grounded in the agency of material aspects, ranging anywhere from mundane artifacts over mediated content to advanced technologies, is ultimately what makes the scientific study of imagination relevant to understanding and intervening in the dilemmas and crises of modern life and society. The book will primarily interest scholars of social psychology of everyday life, scholars working conceptually and empirically on imagination, scholars of social studies of media, materiality and technology, and researchers or practitioners working with addictions.

This text provides readers with an in-depth understanding of the essential aspects of youth substance abuse-an important contemporary personal, social, and public health issue. Humans have been using natural and synthetic chemicals for at least two millennia-primarily for the purpose of treating medical problems, but also for recreational purposes. The 2014 Monitoring the Future survey of eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students indicates a general decline in the use of illicit drugs over the last two decades. On the other hand, perceptions among youth that certain types of drug use-like marijuana and e-cigarettes-are harmless are growing. Youth Substance Abuse: A Reference Handbook provides an overview of the history and development of youth substance abuse along with a discussion of the medical, social, psychological, legal, and economic issues associated with youth substance abuse both in the United States and other parts of the world. The book begins with a comprehensive introduction to the subject of youth substance abuse that explains how modern societies have reached the point where abuse of both legal and illegal substances is a major health issue in many nations. Readers will learn about the effects of substances such as cocaine, marijuana, and heroin as well as substances that are typically legal but have deleterious health, social, or psychological effects, such as tobacco, alcohol, prescription drugs, and electronic cigarettes. Subsequent chapters address how and why youth substance abuse has become a problem in the United States and other countries, the demographics of this widespread problem, the direct and indirect effects of youth substance abuse and addiction, and the range of services and methods that are available for treating substance abuse. Presents individual perspectives on youth substance abuse issues that provide readers with a very personal outlook on specific aspects of the topic Provides readers with broad coverage of current issues and topics in substance abuse by adolescents as well as a historical perspective of how this problem has developed in the United States over the past century Includes a chapter of primary documents sourced from a number of laws and court cases dealing with various aspects of youth substance abuse

This outstanding resource guide for students and young adults provides an introduction to the history of prescription drug abuse that explains how this problem has arisen and examines the social, political, economic, and health issues associated with prescription drug abuse in modern society. Evidence suggests that both adults and youth are abusing a wider range of prescription drugs and abusing them more frequently than has been the case in the past. Prescription drugs are the second most common class of drugs abused by Americans, more than twice as commonly abused as cocaine, and five times as commonly abused as heroin. This book provides readers with information about the specific health effects that can result from using certain types of medical chemicals, particularly opioid analgesics, stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogenics; explains the most important factors that have led to the growth of prescription drug problems; and reviews the current status of the issue in the United States and other nations. Readers will learn about the dangers associated with the use of prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes, the methods that have been put in place and are being developed to prevent the abuse of prescription drugs, and the trends in prescription drug misuse, with possible explanations for these trends. The book also reviews some of the steps being taken by governments and other organizations and agencies to combat the problem of prescription drug abuse. Explains the dangers associated with the use of prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes Provides a detailed introduction for readers seeking to learn about the topic of prescription drug abuse and serves as an research tool for school projects Includes thought-provoking perspective essays from individuals involved in the discussion of how to address prescription drug abuse Supplies primary source documents in the form of excerpts from laws, administrative rulings, and court cases regarding prescription drug abuse as well as a glossary of key terms used in discussing the topic of prescription drug abuse

This concise, up-to-date volume compiles information and materials documenting illicit drugs and their use from multiple perspectives. Illicit drug use is a deeply embedded characteristic of most societies, resulting in illness, death, crime and violence, terrorism, imprisonment, property confiscation-and massive allocations of government resources. Illicit Drugs provides comprehensive information for those seeking to understand the nature and scope of this far-reaching problem, as well as major issues of concern and debate surrounding it. Organized thematically, the book begins with an overview of illicit drug use and abuse, including its history and risk factors. The scope of illicit drug use in the United States is covered, including conditions that encourage the practice, costs, related policies and programs, and prevention and treatment considerations. The book looks at populations at risk, including children and youth, women, older adults, and racial and ethnic minorities. International aspects of illicit drugs, such as production, trafficking, and consumption are also examined. A chronology of significant events, decisions, policies, and agreements about illicit drug use in the United States from 1872 to the present Graphs and tables about illicit drug use patterns and problems A world map depicting the distribution of problem drugs throughout the world A glossary of key terms about drug use and abuse A bibliography of significant reference materials addressing illicit drug use

This book provides a comprehensive overview of drug policy in the United States from the early 1900s through the present day, providing historical and social context through the telling of the colorful and often tragic stories of the events and individuals throughout this period. Substance Abuse in America: A Documentary and Reference Guide examines the history of U.S. drug policy chronologically, from the early 1900s through the current day, covering topics such as patent medicines, Prohibition, Reefer Madness, the psychedelic '60s, Nixon's War on Drugs, and the powerful warring Mexican drug cartels that currently threaten political instability in that country. This book provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. drug policy that will fascinate general readers and benefit those in the field of substance abuse treatment or policy. Each chapter includes an analysis of a primary source document that serves to illuminate drug policy in America at a particular point in time as well as the reasons for the waxing and waning popularity of various drugs. The author provides accurate historical context that explains perceptions about substance abuse in American history, and draws compelling parallels across different time periods to show that much of what may seem new and unique for the present generation actually has a historical precedent. Suggestions for further readering are provided with each chapter, including books and book chapters, articles in the popular press, government documents, and links to Internet resources

StreetWays: Chronicling the Homeless in Miami is a collection of interviews with 28 homeless individuals living in downtown Miami and Miami Beach. Besides extensive photographs of these people and their lives on the street, the book also includes interviews with social service providers, as well as a detailed analysis of homelessness in the United States and more specifically in Miami. The work concludes with a policy analysis and suggestions for addressing issues of homelessness in Miami and the nation. StreetWays attempts to make clear how and why homelessness occurs, and what the actual lives and experiences of the homeless are about. Through extensive interviews and extensive documentary photographs, a selected group of homeless Miamians lose their invisibility as their experiences, needs and aspirations are reported. The book calls for a better understanding of the experience of homelessness places such as Miami, and of the need to understand homelessness as an issue of diversity and human rights.

If sound policy is to be made on the issue of marijuana in the workplace, all available empirical evidence about its impact on job performance should be utilized in the decision process. Although a substantial amount of relevant research has been done, the results published in journals in widely divergent fields, are not easily summarized and present no single, simple message for decision makers. Schwenk and Rhodes offer a unique review of this complex body of work and challenge the many highly publicized but scientifically unsound mythical numbers touted as supporting various policy options. The authors provide a clear and objective presentation to managers on how to evaluate the evidence for themselves and make sound decisions for their own organizations. Scrupulously unbiased in its choice of material, the book will be an essential resource for organizational and public policy makers, and for university students and their teachers.

The effect of marijuana on job performance has been widely accepted as harmful--but is it? Congress thought so, and in 1988, used productivity losses which it attributed to marijuana and other drugs to justify passage of legislation initiating a mandate for a drug-free workplace. Additional legislation expanding this mandate followed and a high percentage of large corporations and an increasing number of small businesses now expend scarce resources on anti-drug programs. Schwenk and Rhodes remain neutral in the debate over workplace drug policies, but argue that policy should be informed by empirical research on the impact of marijuana on job performance. Their book is both a challenge to the mythical numbers so often publicized as supporting a particular advocate's vested position, and a guide to both practitioners and scholars to help them evaluate the diverse body of existing evidence and the claims made by those committed to given policy positions.

Schwenk and Rhodes reprint examples of high quality research previously published in major journals in the fields of psychology, anthropology, economics and medicine. Reviewing and summarizing existing findings, the authors relate these findings to the decision situations faced by policy-makers in the private and public sectors. While the book refuses to endorse any decision outcome with regard to marijuana and the workplace, it makes strong recommendations about the DEGREESIprocesses DEGREESR that should be used in selecting those outcomes. It provides guidelines for evaluating policy-relevant social scientific evidence and discusses the role such evidence can and should play in policy-making. The book shows that contrary to widely held beliefs, very little evidence that the substance has a consistent negative effect on worker productivity. Though social science does not show that resources devoted to creating a drug-free workplace are likely to pay off economically, the authors stress that the implications of this fact for corporate and government decisions are not cut and dried, but depend on the decision rules and the policy goals selected by policy-makers. This book will be an essential tool for managers, scholars, and anyone trying to make sense of the complicated and confusing maze of data and arguments surrounding this divisive issue.

This volume features a comprehensive set of protocols featuring a range of both old and new technologies that can be used to analyze drugs of abuse, including prescription drugs, new psychoactive substances and psychoactive plants. Chapters guide readers through the application of color tests, light microscopy-based particle imaging, GC-MS, Raman spectroscopy, capillary electrophoresis, ultra-high performance LC-tandem MS, DART-MS, MALDI-mass spectrometry imaging, LC-MS/MS and HPLC-ESI-MS/MS to the analysis of abused drugs in wastewater, hair, urine and plant-derived materials, among other matrices. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Analysis of Drugs of Abuse aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.