Your spouse complains about your drinking. Your boss suggests Alcoholics Anonymous. You know you have a problem. You need a solution; you need a miracle. The authors ask readers to imagine such a miracle: Suppose that while you are asleep tonight a miracle happens and your problem is solved, just like that! Because you were sleeping, you didnt know that this miracle occurred. What is the first thing tomorrow morning that will let you know that there has been a miracle and that your problem is solved? From that "first thing," the authors help readers to imagine a future where drinking is not a problem and to specify small, concrete, obtainable goals that will make that future a reality. Neither the humiliation of "hitting bottom" nor a lifetime commitment to AA is necessary to make this approach work. Instead the individual learns to recognize exceptions (times when drinking is not a problem), catch himself "doing things right," handle setbacks, and revise the "miracle picture" when things arent working. Highly practical, The Miracle Method is a radically new and effective approach to problem drinking.

This volume provides an in-depth look at the genetic influences that contribute to the development of alcoholism. Part I: Epidemiologic Studies contains five chapters that examine the various approaches employed in the study of the genetics of alcoholism. It provides a historical perspective and details all the essentials of this subject. Part II: Selective Breeding Studies highlights the results of research involving the selective breeding of rodents. This type of research has produced homogenous strains exhibiting specific behavioral responses considered significant in the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence. The studies presented in Part III: Phenotypic Studies investigate and analyze phenotypic markers that serve as correlates to the genotypic determinants of alcoholism. Through its broad scope, this volume provides for the first time a panoramic view of the knowledge available on the hereditary influences of alcoholism.

Drunk driving is most often viewed as criminal behavior that is best addressed through the justice system. However, in this new book H. Laurence Ross argues that drunk driving is more than a criminal issue. It is an inevitable consequence of American society's almost total dependence on automobile transportation and acceptance of the liberal use of alcohol as a part of leisure. Ross offers a more practical approach to the problem of drunk driving, one that combines criminal deterrence with other efforts to reduce the number of deaths caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol. Ross first discusses the deterrence approach to controlling drunk driving, contending that well-publicized law-enforcement campaigns aimed at increasing the certainty and swiftness of punishment are more successful than highly punitive laws that the target population does not expect to be applied. Ross then shows how society can couple its legal attack on drunk driving with institutional responses. His policy agenda includes proposals to: - reduce the consumption of alcohol by increasing liquor taxes and restricting the marketing of alcoholic beverages; - deter automobile use in situations associated with drinking by such means as establishing curfews on driving by young people and subsidizing alternative transportation during drinking hours; - diminish deaths currently associated with drunk driving by instituting measures that improved car and highway safety generally.

The popular image of alcoholism is one of families devastated by violence and torn by dramatic conflict. The authors of this book paint a very different picture, offering powerful evidence that most chronic alcoholics live out their lives in intact, relatively quiet family environments. However, they show that living in an alcoholic family - one in which alcoholism is the central theme around which family life is organized - has profound effects on family members, both drinkers and nondrinkers, and that these effects can be carried from generation to generation in complex ways.

Work on female drinking and female drug and alcohol abuse is proliferating because interest and productivity in alcohol research has expanded. In this work, the editors' primary focus is on the abuse of alcohol, its biological effects, behavioral effects, abuses, and problems. This book updates where this field is at the moment. The first five chapters deal with basic issues of biology, epidemology, and anthropology. The next five chapters deal with substance abuse including antecedents, consequences, comorbidity, fetal effects, special populations, and illicit drug use. Two chapters which follow are concerned with related disorders, that is, smoking and eating disorders. The final chapters cover treatment and prevention.

Shows educators, parents, and other concerned adults how they can work together to create a comprehensive, community-wide prevention program that effectively confronts the serious drug and alcohol problems threatening our youth. It draws on other community-wide prevention efforts in the United States and Europe to show how to employ community mobilization, educational strategies, voluntarism, and mass media to achieve significant reductions in adolescent drug use.

At a time when the accepted standard treatment for alcoholism is long-term and expensive, solution-focused therapy, as developed at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, offers a brief and cost-effective alternative. Insoo Kim Berg and Scott D. Miller believe that a focus on solutions, rather than pathology, is the most constructive strategy for working with problem drinkers; their foremost concern is with what works. To this end they don't reject traditional treatment programs; rather, they view them as one part of a flexible and multidimensional approach to alcohol abuse treatment. The authors successfully utilize solution-focused therapy in their work with problem drinkers, but it is their philosophy of working with clients and within clients' belief systems to encourage change that is at the heart of their model. The model, grounded in the philosophy of solution-focused brief therapy, introduces a paradigmatic change in the approach to substance abuse treatment. Rather than treating a problem drinker, Berg and Miller work with clients to treat problem drinking. The authors' refreshing blend of respect for their clients and optimism about their ability to stop abusive drinking offers hope to clients who can't fit into traditional long-term programs or who have given up on themselves. This book shows how clients can be helped to construct a future where drinking or substance abuse is no longer a problem. Solution-focused therapy, based on respect for and collaboration with the client, concentrates on success and solutions. Therapists develop goals with the client, rather than imposing "appropriate" treatment objectives. If one solution doesn't work, the technique not the client is blamed and client and therapist go on to "do something different." The authors' model is much more than a list of interventions; it is a multi-faceted approach to treatment, which can adapt to anything that works, whether brief therapy, AA, or more formal inpatient programs."

With skill and compassion, Sarah Hafner, a recovering alcoholic, elicits from 18 women their struggles and triumphs as they fight addiction in a society where women are already given second-class status. By interviewing a cross-section of women, Hafner makes readily available the identification process found so helpful in various recovery programs. These stories reveal the personal side of a disease that afflicts approximately 10.5 million Americans nearly half of them women, and directly affects many millions more. Nice Girls Don't Drink invites us into the lives of women from all segments of our society - rich and poor, gay and straight, women in diverse ethnic groups and a variety of occupations. Housewives, salesclerks, counselors, and artists are here together telling of a disease that transcends the distinctions of class, education, and culture. With courage, candor, and even flashes of humor, the women recount the early influences that led to their addiction, often including alcoholic or abusive parents; how alcoholism took over their lives; crucial turning points; and the recovery that enabled them to reclaim their dignity. The book guides readers to sources of help, and lists the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and the thirteen affirmations of Women for Sobriety. A monument to the resilience of the human spirit, Nice Girls Don't Drink is a source of inspiration not only for the female alcoholic, but for anyone struggling to overcome an addiction or other handicap and live a more complete life.

This is a comprehensive examination of the contemporary movement against drunk driving. Written in an eminently readable style, the volume addresses all major substantive aspects of the anti-drunk driving effort including society's changing attitudes and response to the crime itself and the offenders, the role of grass roots groups such as MADD and RID, federal and state initiatives, actions and enabling legislation, and anti-drunk driving programs and projects. Gerald D. Robin takes a socio-legal approach throughout, emphasizing the rationales behind, controversies surrounding, and effectiveness of new strategies and developments to combat drunk driving.

Following two introductory chapters, which outline the dimensions of and societal responses to the drunk driving problem, the chapters are arranged to reflect the chronological processing of suspects through the justice system from the point of stopping them on the road to the final disposition of cases in court. Thus, individual chapters treat issues such as sobriety checkpoints, administrative license suspension, prosecuting and defending drunk drivers, mandatory sentencing, third party liability, and deterring drunk driving. Numerous photographs and figures illustrate points discussed in the text. Ideal as a supplemental text for criminology courses, this book is also an important resource for professionals involved in treating drunk drivers and their victims.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PREVENT YOUR CHILD FROM GETTING HOOKED--AND HOW TO HELP ONE WHO ALREADY IS
Substance abuse can happen in any family, to any teenager. But it "can" be prevented and stopped before tragic consequences result. The critical deterrent is knowledge, pure and simple.
Written by a chemical dependency counselor who has had years of experience working with emotionally disturbed teenagers, "Kids, Alcohol & Drugs" provides the knowledge you need. Ruth Maxwell offers hope, practical advice, and workable solutions that will teach you how to:
- Recognize denial--and how it can stop you from seeing the reality of drug abuse in your home
- Help your child deal with the unique pressures of adolescence from school, home life, and peer group
- Learn what chemicals your teen might be using--and how they affect him or her
- Determine the best form of treatment, incorporating both your teenager's needs and your own
"Real support for parents. We especially liked the differentiation between cooperative kids who need help and non-cooperative kids needing help, as well as the distinction between parents who are helpful and those who are considered co-dependent. We will recommend "Kids, Alcohol & Drugs" to our Toughlove parents."--Phyllis and David York, founders of Toughlove
"With skill, insight, and empathy, Ruth Maxwell tackles one of the most insidious problems of our time so that parents can start their children--and themselves--on the road to recovery."--Joyce Vedral, Ph.D., author of "My Teenager Is Driving Me Crazy"

Dr. Nowinski s book breaks new ground for professionals working with adolescents and young adults. In clear and practical terms it speaks to the current epidemic of substance abuse among our youths. Beyond describing diagnosis and treatment, this book succeeds in integrating developmental psychology and family therapy techniques with recovery. Anthony A. Ferrante, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry"

Deteriorating job performance resulting from alcohol and drug dependency requires special handling and specific skills. Developing these skills and learning what to do with them are not difficult tasks. Employee assistance program professionals provide such training for key personnel. Focusing on strategic intervention designed to help employees with personal problems that interfere with job performance, Walter Scanlon describes the functions and benefits of employee assistance programs (EAPs), discusses their training and consultation objectives, and shows how EAPs effectively identify and address such problems. An important EAP goal is to reduce both the incidence of alcohol- and drug-related problems and the costs associated with them.

EAPs target employees whose work performance has deteriorated because of chemical dependency or other personal problems. Scanlon has divided his discussion of EAPs into seven workable segments: the concept of EAP; EAP history; the history of drug and alcohol use; current drug and alcohol use in the United States; the legal, corporate, societal, and individual influences on rehabilitation and EAP; governmental influences including the Drug Free Workplace Act and mandatory drug screening; and cost considerations, including the trend toward managed health care.

In "Witness to the Fire, " Linda Schierse Leonard, Ph.D., explores the dark and fiery journey of transformation from the bondage of addiction to the freedom of recovery through creativity. A Jungian analyst, Leonard studies the relationship of creativity and addiction in the lives of writers such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Eugene O'Neill, Jean Rhys, and Jack London, as well as the experiences of ordinary men and women. Leonard holds out the hope that anyone bound by addiction can reclaim the power that fuels dependency for a life of joy and creativity.

"A clear and vivid picture of cocaine addiction: the drug, the progression of drug dependence, and most important, the outpatient treatment and recovery process." —Sheila B. Blume, M.D., South Oaks Hospital, Amityville, New York

Cocaine is America's fastest growing drug problem, especially since the appearance of crack. This concise, highly practical book is a detailed guide to clinical assessment and treatment of cocaine addiction, with emphasis on outpatient treatment and relapse prevention strategies. In a straightforward, uncomplicated style, the author provides a wealth of practical information that is useful not only to professionals but also to cocaine users themselves, as well as to their families, friends, and employers—all of whom can benefit from an increased understanding of the addiction and its treatment.

If marijuana were legalized the drug problem would be eased. This is an assertion which this volume discusses in full. It describes the history of drug use and abuse and the US government's approach to drug control including deterrence, treatment, education and prevention. Articles confront topics such as the risk of a "war on drugs," an enlightened legalization policy, and ethical and legal dilemmas.

Newly revised and updated, this engaging narrative chronicles America's delight in drink and its simultaneous fight against it for the past 350 years. From Plymouth Rock, 1621, to New York City, 1987, Mark Edward Lender and James Kirby Martin guide readers through the history of drinks and drinkers in America, including how popular reactions to this ubiquitous habit have mirror and helped shape national response to a number of moral and social issues. By 1800, the temperance movement was born, playing a central role in American politics for the next 100 years, equating abstinence with 100-proof Americanism. And today, the authors attest, a "neotemperance" movement seems to be emerging in response to heightened public awareness of the consequences of alcohol abuse.

The theme throughout Contested Meanings is the conflicting and changing ways society defines social problems. He emerges in the course of the book as a thoughtful and realistic social critic who looks beyond analyses of drinking as pathological behavior to consider the place of alcohol in American popular and leisure culture.

"The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together." -All's Well That Ends Well Here is a vivid account of the climate of emotions that can-and in this case did-cause severe mental illness. The reader can sense the emotional atmosphere, feel the unspoken communications, and understand the family myths that created-in a talented, wealthy, and well-born family-two highly neurotic children, and one who later became schizophrenic. This unique document emerged from a series of long conversations between the youngest child and Dr. Beulah Parker, a noted psychoanalyst. A Mingled Yarn blends scientific observations with novelistic detail as it unfolds an intimate view of daily life in a disturbed family. Occasionally, Dr. Parker interrupts the narrative for some psychoanalytic interpretation of events and personality development, but the book is written in nontechnical language. It illustrates graphically the ways in which environmental and interpersonal factors are crucial in bringing about the development of emotional illness. Special emphasis is placed on the difficulty that members of this family had in expressing to each other what they really felt, and the havoc wrought by parental "communication deviation" and skewed attitudes. A Mingled Yarn is a remarkable document that will fascinate all people interested in emotional health and wellness.

'This is a great resource that reflects the huge expertise of the authors. It will be welcomed by students, researchers and indeed anyone wanting critical but comprehensive coverage of key issues and trends concerning drugs and society - locally and globally, historically and today.' - Nigel South, Professor of Sociology, University of Essex 'Provides informative, balanced and contextualized insights into the relationships between people and drugs. Whatever your background and however knowledgeable you feel you are about contemporary drug issues, I guarantee that you will learn something unexpected and new from this valuable text.' - Joanne Neale, Professor of Public Health, Oxford Brookes University Why do people take drugs? How do we understand moral panics? What is the relationship between drugs and violence? How do people's social positions influence their involvement in drug use? Insightful and illuminating, this book discusses drugs in social contexts. The authors bring together their different theoretical and practical backgrounds, offering a comprehensive and interdisciplinary introduction that opens up a wide scientific understanding moving beyond cultural myths and presuppositions.

This is an invaluable reference source for students on criminology, sociology and social sciences programmes, as well as drug service practitioners such as drug workers, social workers and specialist nurses.

To some it's anathema, to others it provides relief from crippling pain: to others still, it is a legal anomaly and should be decriminalized. Whatever the viewpoint, and by whatever name it is known, cannabis - or marijuana, hashish, dope, kif, weed, dagga, grass, ganga - incites debate at every level and its impact on the world's cultures and economies is undeniable. Dating back to the Neolithic period, the history of cannabis is a tale of medical advance, religious enlightenment, political subterfuge and human rights; of law enforcement and customs officers, cunning smugglers, street pushers, gang warfare, writers, artists, musicians and happy-go-lucky hippies and pot-heads.

Drug use is a major challenge for public services, healthcare professionals and policy-makers all over the world. This book offers a complete overview of the issues associated with substance misuse from an interdisciplinary perspective. It begins by providing a reference guide to the different psychoactive substances, looking at the biological and psychological impact of their use. Key issues in the effect drugs have on society are then addressed, before outlining methods of recovery and therapy. Chapters include: Reflective questions to challenge readers' assumptions Case studies to help students understand the impact of substances on individuals Links to further resources to expand readers' knowledge It will be valuable reading for those studying on degrees in criminology, health, nursing, social work and counselling.

When the San Jose Mercury News ran a controversial series of stories in 1996 on the relationship between the CIA, the Contras, and crack, they reignited the issue of the intelligence agency's connections to drug trafficking, initially brought to light during the Vietnam War and then again by the Iran-Contra affair. Broad in scope and extensively documented, "Cocaine Politics" shows that under the cover of national security and covert operations, the U.S. government has repeatedly collaborated with and protected major international drug traffickers. A new preface discusses developments of the last six years, including the Mercury News stories and the public reaction they provoked.

A sweeping and highly readable work on the evolution of America's domestic and global drug war How can the United States chart a path forward in the war on drugs? In Drugs and Thugs, Russell Crandall uncovers the full history of this war that has lasted more than a century. As a scholar and a high-level national security advisor to both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, he provides an essential view of the economic, political, and human impacts of U.S. drug policies. Backed by extensive research, lucid and unbiased analysis of policy, and his own personal experiences, Crandall takes readers from Afghanistan to Colombia, to Peru and Mexico, to Miami International Airport and the border crossing between El Paso and Juarez to trace the complex social networks that make up the drug trade and drug consumption. Through historically driven stories, Crandall reveals how the war on drugs has evolved to address mass incarceration, the opioid epidemic, the legalization and medical use of marijuana, and America's shifting foreign policy.

Driving With Care: Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Driving Safety Education-Strategies for Responsible Living: The Participant's Workbook, Level 1 Education, 2e is a six-session, 12-hour DWI education program for first time offenders who indicate minimal if any problems, other than impaired driving, associated with AOD use, who have no prior offenses, no prior diagnosis of Substance Abuse or Substance Dependence, and no other problems related to AOD use or misuse. The key outcomes for this protocol are to prevent recidivism into DWI behavior and to prevent future AOD related problems.