Should the use of cannabis be decriminalized or legalized? If so, how should it be legislated, and for whom? Although Western nations have sought to address these questions for decades, there has never been a thorough and comprehensive study of the subject. A special committee of the Canadian senate sought to rectify this, and when their report was made public, it astonished observes with its audacious recommendations. Important scientific resources were used for the committee's purposes: the investigations of 23 international researchers based on 200 interviews; the work of Canadian specialists working in an array of disciplines; and a large number of discussion groups. The essential recommendations of the report are found in this book. The Senate committee proposes new perspectives on illicit drugs, calling for a rational new political view that does not marginalize users. With innovative scientific investigation and bold recommendations, this report, prefaced by Senator Nolin, is an indispensable tool in the national and international debate surrounding cannabis.

Short-listed for the North American Society for Sport History Book Award 2003Alcohol is never far from sporting events. Although popular thinking on the effects of drinking has changed considerably over time, throughout history sport and alcohol have been intimately linked. The Victorians, for example, believed that beer helped to build stamina, whereas today any serious athlete must abstain from the 'demon drink'. Yet despite current prohibitions and the widespread acceptance of alcohol's deleterious effects, the uneasy alliance of sport with alcohol remains culturally entrenched. It is common for sporting celebrities to struggle with alcoholism, and teams are often encouraged to 'bond' by drinking together. Indeed, many of today's major sporting sponsors are breweries and manufacturers of alcoholic drinks.From hooliganism to commerce, from advertising and sponsorship to health and fitness, if there is one thing that brings athletes, fans and financial backers together it must be beer. This cultural history of drinking and sport examines the roles masculinity, class and regional identity play in alcohol consumption at a broad range of matches, races, courses and competitions. Offering a fresh perspective on the culture and commerce of sporting events, this book will be essential reading for cultural historians, anthropologists and sociologists, and anyone interested in sport.

A comprehensive and compassionate look into the major issues surrounding drug and alcohol abuse-from their causes and symptoms to their lethal consequences and treatment options.

""Reinventing Justice" is an indispensable book for anyone studying the drug treatment court movement. It should be required reading for lawyers, judges, treatment professionals, and others practicing in treatment courts throughout the United States. Nolan's impressive work contains fascinating ethnographic observations, which are made even more significant because they are presented to the reader alongside his skillful discussion of the historical roots, socio-political context, and likely impact of the treatment court movement on the criminal justice system of the future. From the first page to the last, this book is beautifully written, engaging, and informative."--Richard C. Boldt, University of Maryland School of Law

""In this fine book, James Nolan extends his earlier work on the growing role of therapeutic ideas in contemporary culture. Here, he examines the cultural dominance of the therapeutic idiom in current efforts to deal with the problem of drugs. Based on extensive observations of drug courts and interviews with people involved in them, he shows why these courts have become popular across the country, how they function, and what they tell us about our changing understandings of justice."--Robert Wuthnow, Princeton University

"An important, well-written work that pays sustained ethnographic attention to the newly emerging therapeutic drug court. James Nolan reports that a new concept of justice is on the rise: a kind of justice in therapeutic pursuit of the appearance of changing hearts, requiring confessions far beyond the realm of factual evidence, while delving into an inquisitorial morass of motive and self-accountability. This book adds to a still smallliterature that provides rigorous, empirical accounts of the therapeutic age. It is a significant statement about how remarkably influential this age has become."--Jonathan B. Imber, Wellesley College

""Rarely has there been an attempt to move beyond pragmatic/evaluative questions to consider the place of drug courts within criminal justice generally, or explore the theoretical underpinnings of their operation. This book by James Nolan is both welcome and timely. It will become a standard text for all readers interested in drug courts."--Philip Bean, Loughborough University

It's been forty years since Timothy Leary sat beside a swimming pool in Cuernavaca, Mexico, ingested several grams of the genus Stropharia cubensis, and experienced a dazzling display of visions that led him to herald the dawning of a New Age. And yet, from the counterculture movement of the 1960s, through the War on Drugs, to this very day, the world at large has viewed hallucinogens not as a gift but as a threat to society.

In Hallucinogens, Charles Grob surveys recent writings from such important thinkers as Terence McKenna, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil, illustrating that a reevaluation of the social worth of hallucinogens-used intelligently-is greatly in order.

Tobacco companies had been protecting their turf for decades. They had congressmen in their pocket. They had corrupt scientists who made excuses about nicotine, cancer and addiction. They had hordes of lawyers to threaten anyone,inside the industry or out,who posed a problem. They had a whole lot of money to spend. And they were good at getting people to do what they wanted them to do. After all, they had already convinced millions of Americans to take up an addictive, unhealthy, and potentially deadly habit. David Kessler didn't care about all that. In this book he tells for the first time the thrilling detective story of how the underdog FDA,while safeguarding the nation's food, drugs, and blood supply,finally decided to take on one of the world's most powerful opponents, and how it won. Like A Civil Action or And the Band Played On, A Question of Intent weaves together science, law, and fascinating characters to tell an important and often unexpectedly moving story. We follow Kessler's team of investigators as they race to find the clues that will allow the FDA to assert jurisdiction over cigarettes, while the tobacco companies and their lawyers fight back,hard. Full of insider information and drama, told with wit, and animated by its author's moral passion, A Question of Intent reads like a Grisham thriller, with one exception,everything in it is true.

The classic American struggle between the public interest and corporate interests is perhaps nowhere better illustrated than in the decades-long struggle between the tobacco industry and advocates for public health. The failure of the "global settlement" legislation is now viewed by many public health experts as an historic missed opportunity, and in this extraordinary book, "Smoke in Their Eyes, " Michael Pertschuk brilliantly describes the forces brought to bear.

A lifelong public health leader and tobacco control advocate, Pertschuk provides uncommon insight into the movement and its opposition. Questions that reveal themselves here can be applied to public advocacy as a whole: how can movement leaders gauge and best employ popular support? Who has legitimacy to speak on behalf of a particular public cause? And perhaps most crucially, how is it possible for those whose cause is a moral one to strike political compromise? With a narrative as compelling as the issues it raises, "Smoke in Their Eyes" will be of great interest to everyone from students of public advocacy and political science to general readers.

The classic American struggle between the public interest and corporate interests is perhaps nowhere better illustrated than in the decades-long struggle between the tobacco industry and advocates for public health. The failure of the "global settlement" legislation is now viewed by many public health experts as an historic missed opportunity, and in this extraordinary book, "Smoke in Their Eyes, " Michael Pertschuk brilliantly describes the forces brought to bear.

A lifelong public health leader and tobacco control advocate, Pertschuk provides uncommon insight into the movement and its opposition. Questions that reveal themselves here can be applied to public advocacy as a whole: how can movement leaders gauge and best employ popular support? Who has legitimacy to speak on behalf of a particular public cause? And perhaps most crucially, how is it possible for those whose cause is a moral one to strike political compromise? With a narrative as compelling as the issues it raises, "Smoke in Their Eyes" will be of great interest to everyone from students of public advocacy and political science to general readers.

In a newly enlarged edition of this eye-opening book, David T. Courtwright offers an original interpretation of a puzzling chapter in American social and medical history: the dramatic change in the pattern of opiate addiction--from respectable upper-class matrons to lower-class urban males, often with a criminal record. Challenging the prevailing view that the shift resulted from harsh new laws, Courtwright shows that the crucial role was played by the medical rather than the legal profession.

"Dark Paradise" tells the story not only from the standpoint of legal and medical sources, but also from the perspective of addicts themselves. With the addition of a new introduction and two new chapters on heroin addiction and treatment since 1940, Courtwright has updated this compelling work of social history for the present crisis of the Drug War.

A clear, concise introduction to substance abuse treatment for non-specialist physicians. Provides information on the nature of addiction, brain chemistry, pharmacology, current treatment protocols, and specific populations such as women, adolescents, and the aged.

Here is a concise, authoritative guide to the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with various types of mental illness. The book equips physicians and medical students with the latest theories and practical strategies required to help patients with mental health and substance problems.

This is a no-nonsense, practical book for helping organizations rid their workplaces of drug abuse and its serious and costly consequences. The book draws upon the collective experiences of hundreds of organizations that have said "no more, not here" and have grown stronger as a result. The path to a drug-free working environment is straight but narrow. The Drug-Free Workplace:
How to Get There and Stay There delineates the path, always with a view toward avoiding missteps that can lead to trouble.
Bringing a workplace back to safety and profitability is a collaborative and multi-disciplinary effort. Participation necessarily involves professionals from security, safety, human resources, and health. Central to the effort is an enlightened management. Every specialist and manager committed to developing and maintaining a drug-free workplace will find in the pages of this book a wealth of sensible, meaningful information.
A drug-free workplace program cuts costs, increases productivity, reduces loss and wastage, avoids accidents, and literally saves careers, families, and lives. Much is at stake, making the drug-free program deserving of thoughtful deliberation, considerable planning, and careful implementation. Preliminary to the process is understanding the key tasks. All of the tasks are spelled out in this book.

Offers organizations a clear course to enact drug policiesTeaches the ramifications of testing and investigating drug use and abuseAddresses liability issues to keep buisness owners, security managers, and their companies out of court

Drawing on the latest findings from developmental, psychobiological, and social scientific research, DeGrandpre "criticizes America's obsession with performance and quick satisfaction and the country's reliance on Ritalin [as] a performance-enhancing drug" (Natural Health). He cautions that our society-wide rush to more, and faster, stimulation leaves children especially vulnerable to "sensory addictions." Ritalin Nation exposes the shortsightedness of mere biological explanations of ADD and offers some practical guidelines for cultivating a less-hurried existence and promoting a saner, safer community for our children.

Based on three years of ethnographic work in New York City, this book provides the first detailed account of the economic lives of women drug users. Set in a neighborhood plagued with AIDS, Sexed Work reveals the economic lives of a group of women whose options have been severely circumscribed, not only by drug use, but also by poverty, racism, violence, and enduring marginality. Maher draws extensively on the women's own words to describe how structures and relations of gender, race and class are articulated by divisions of labor in the street-level drug economy. This rich, nuanced and theoretically sophisticated study of "crime as work" will be compelling reading for all those interested in the way in which women deal with the intersection of gender, race, and work.

Ecstasy - the popular Rave scene drug - is widely regarded as the 'friendly, happy' drug. In South Affica, more than 12000 people ingest the drug weekly. Yet, up to now little research has been done on how Ecstasy is used and the nature of its effects. What emerges is a complex web of adverse side-effects and a drug that cannot be regarded as harmless in any terms. The psycological and physiological effects of 'E' are investigated. Studies show that Ecstasy causes alterations in the brain, with the risk of brain injury remaining long after the hig has worn off. Raves and their culture are also analysed in depth. This is a key to understanding 'E' usage, since the Rave scene as such is symptomatic of the growing hunger among young people for relational connections and spiritual direction.

Society's drug problem will persist, and debates over how to solve it will continue, getting nowhere, until we define our terms. This book is an effort to do just that -- to parse the legal, moral, and philosophical underpinnings for any discussion of drug policy.

Does liberal political theory, with its commitment to individual freedom, offer any guidance in the matter of drugs, particularly regarding their legal status? Do the commitments that citizens of liberal democracies make -- commitments to ideals such as rationality, equality, justice, and democratic forms of decision-making -- have implications for drug policy? These are the questions addressed in this volume, which explores the possibilities and limitations of philosophical reflection on this pressing, practical social issue.

The authors, distinguished political and legal philosophers, search out the justification of policies that manage problems of drug consumption and social disintegration, but do so in keeping with the moral and political commitments of a liberal democratic society. Their subjects range from the rationality or irrationality of drug consumption to the scope of liberty; from the proper aims of legislation to the rhetoric of the war on drugs, particularly as deployed by former "Drug Czar" William Bennett.

What does a codependent say to his mate when he wakes up?  
"Good  morning, how am I?"
--Overheard at a Codependents Anonymous meeting

Throughout the world today, more than two million alcoholics and hundreds of thousands of drug addicts, compulsive overeaters, sex addicts, compulsive gamblers, codependents, and other addicts abstain from their addiction, having found a new life by practicing the 12-step program of recovery developed by Alcoholics Anonymous.  Over the years, their practices have evolved into a way of life--the 12-Step Culture.

"I don't remember my first meeting, but I've been told that I talked for a really long time."
--Mary, a member of Narcotics Anonymous

AA to Z is the first book to document the richness and diversity of the lives of recovering people and to provide an encyclopedic look at this unique subculture.  Less self-help than enlightenment and entertainment, AA to Z is comprised of real-life stories of recovering addicts as well as an "addictionary" of recovery terminology.  Everything from the well-known slogan "One Day at a Time" to more esoteric terms like "pigeon" (a lovingly insulting term for a newcomer to the program) and "Wharf Rats" (sober Deadheads) is explained with clarity, insight, and humor.  

"How it works, you ask--slowly and well."
--Cooper, a member of Alcoholics Anonymous

Conversational, witty, and engaging, AA to Z is a must-have for all 12-step participants and their loved ones, and it offers the uninitiated a fascinating firsthand look at one of the most influential yet least-documented cultural movements of our time.

Through interviews with 120 pregnant, or recently delivered, drug-using women, this book examines how pregnant drug addicts make choices about drug use, pregnancy and pre-natal care. To combat the stereotype of the negligent, uncaring and even abusive pregnant drug user, the authors seek to understand the feelings and motivations of the women themselves. How do they decide whether or not to terminate their pregnancy? What are their parents' and family members' attitudes toward their pregnancy? What options are available to them if they choose to keep the baby but kick the habit? The authors present the demographics of their study population and a description of their lives: their childhoods, drug use patterns, relationships and experiences of violence. They delineate women's efforts to manage their pregnancies and reduce the potential harms of drug use during pregnancy. They detail what they call the ""final showdown"" of birth and delivery when months of ambivalence, fear and harm reduction efforts culminate in the glaring light of an institutional setting. Finally, they address the policy implications of their findings.

The challenge: How to raise children in a drug-filled society and prevent substance abuse

Dr. Schwebel's Recommendations: Start when your children are youngCreate a family climate for communicationShow your children how to meet their needs without drugsHelp kids understand the dangers of drugsHelp them learn to resist peer pressureTeach your children how to make wise decisionsEstablish give-and-take discussions with teensStay alert to potential drug problems and know how to respond

How to listen and what to say in order to accomplish these goals is what Saying No Is Not Enough is all about. Now in its second edition, this valuable prevention and intervention guide for parents and professionals by Dr. Schwebel, one of the nation's experts, presents his complete, step-by-step program, refined and time-tested over the last twenty-five years.

What's New in This Second Edition: A full chapter on tobaccoRecommendations about parents discussing their own substance useWhat to do about drug testingMore on marijuana, the myths vs. the realitiesMore on how to deal with lying and dishonestyMore on intervention for parents whose kids are already harmfully involved with drugs

Reefer Madness, a classic in the annals of hemp literature, is the popular social history of marijuana use in America. Beginning with the hemp farming if George Washington, author Larry "Ratso" Sloman traces the fascinating story of our nation's love-hate relationship with the resilient weed we know as marijuana.

Herein we find antiheroes such as Allen Ginsberg, Robert Mitchum (the first Hollywood actor busted for pot), Louis Armstrong (who smoked pot every day), the Beatles, and more rapscallions standing up for, supporting, smoking, and politicizing the bounties of marijuana.

With a new afterword by Michael Simmons, who has written for Rolling Stone, LA Weekly, and High Times, on the progress of the hemp movement and the importance of medical marijuana, Reefer Madness is a classic that goes on.

For more than a decade, Howard Clinebell's Understanding and Counseling the Alcoholic has been considered the standard work in the field. This updated edition of Clinebell's earlier book expands his work on counseling to encompass the care of persons with drug addiction, behavioral addictions, multiple addictions, and co-dependency. The volume includes a new annotated bibliography.

"This is the most comprehensive summary on understanding and counseling persons with addictions of which I am aware. The book should be part of every counselor's library." --Anderson Spickard, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt Internal Medicine Associates

"This invaluably revised work on addiction is inclusive and comprehensive. Building upon seminal research in alcoholism, this expansive explication of the etiology, treatment, and after-care of those afflicted and affected by addictions provides a pragmatic proposal of care for all practitioners. It gleans the best from the past, appropriates the research of the present, and provides a vision of what effective care might be in the future.--Robert H. Albers, Professor of Pastoral Theology at Luther Seminary and Editor of The Journal of Ministry

With the aim of showing how educators can use their skills to inform practical action on problematic drug issues, this text identifies the drug issues emerging in the classroom and highlights strategies for dealing with them.

Since the 1990 First International Conference on the reduction of Drug-Related Harm, the term 'harm reduction' has gained wide currency in public health and drug policy. Hitherto, a heated struggle between prohibition and legalization of addictive substances occupied the field, and this debate tended to obscure practical, collective approaches. Harm reduction, an emerging blend of policy directives and program initiatives, is of growing interest to scholars in several disciplines. This new approach was inspired by the positive outcomes of such public measures as needle exchange programs for reduction of HIV risk, methadone maintenance programs, education on the risks of tobacco use, and server intervention programs for the alcohol industry.

The sustained intellectual effort to conceptualize and evaluate this method of treating substance use problems is proving fruitful, but as yet, only a few papers on the subject have emerged. Ranging from history and social theory to human rights considerations, this book is illustrative of the scope and vigour of the emerging harm reduction model. The essays, appearing for the first time in this collection, cover a wide variety of topics which include policy; women and reproductive issues; the experiences of special populations; concepts, discourse, and human rights; defining and measuring harm; and interventions.

Researchers and practitioners will benefit greatly from the varied papers in the volume which combine insights into policy-making and frontline outreach efforts with comprehensive conceptual and empirical approaches. Harm Reduction represents an important initiative in making academic work accessible and useful to a larger community, and provides guidance for policy evolution and programs.

Manual of Therapeutics for Addictions

Edited by Norman S. Miller, MD, Mark S. Gold,MD, and David E. Smith, MD

Here is a much-needed practical guide to the effective diagnosis and treatment of alcohol and drug addictive disorders. Designed to meet the diverse needs of family and primary care physicians, psychiatrists and mental health professionals, and medical students and residents, this authoritative text offers clear, step-by-step recommendations on the selection and application of both pharmacological and psychosocial therapies. Arranged in an easy-to-use outline format, Manual of Therapeutics for Addictions:

• Covers the pharmacology, neurochemistry, and treatment options for alcohol and such drugs as marijuana, cocaine, and opiates
• Includes material on eating, sexual, and gambling addictions
• Contains age-, cultural-, and gender-specific information for diagnosis and treatment
• Addresses relevant medical complications and psychiatric interactions
• Features contemporary topics such as managed care, minority concerns, and forensic issues