The Drug Dilemma

The anthology is designed as a starting point for academic debate about illegal drugs. The 25 reprinted articles cover reducing harm and reduction, law enforcement, supply reduction, the European Union's drug policies, and terrorism and drugs. Each appends suggested topics for debate. They are not i

Some Sharp observations ... Emphasizing interrelated themes of policy failure and policy change, this book is a theoretical and conceptual examination of drug policy in the United States. It is in part a policy history, using case studies to link specific drug policies to a general theoretical framework. These cases focus primarily on three important and interesting episodes of drug policy development during the Nixon-Carter, and Reagan-Bush administrations, and the author interprets the historical significance of each period. The Dilemma of Drug Policy in the United States examines a wide array of ideas concerning incrementalism, interest groups, and symbolic politics to determine why there has been so much continuity in drug policy despite policy failure. Finally, a chapter on policy alternatives deals with the legalization debate, and critiques it from the perspective of a political scientist.

This text aims to stimulate an informed debate about the possible alternatives to unsuccessful current control policies to tackle the drug problem.

This work focuses on the many critical areas of America’s drug problem, providing a foundation for rational decision making within this complex and multidisciplinary field. Broken up into three sections, Understanding the Problem, Gangs and Drugs, and Fighting Back, topics covered include the business of drugs and the role of organized crime in the drug trade, drug legalization and decriminalization, legal and law enforcement strategies, an analysis of the socialization process of drug use and abuse, and a historical discussion of drug abuse that puts the contemporary drug problem into perspective.

Current approaches to the drug problem are not working and almost everyone agrees that more effective solutions are needed. This comprehensive volume offers a dynamic new approach to understanding and solving the drug problem. This text applies the techniques and formulations of general semantics to investigate and make recommendations about various aspects of drug abuse. General semantics, a process problem-solving approach based on the primacy of the scientific method and importance of language as a shaper of thoughts and perceptions, has a proven record of success in problem-solving across a wide variety of disciplines and fields. Topics examined include American drug history and policy, the legalization issue, drugs and creativity, treatment, and prevention. A chronological overview of drug-taking in human history and a resource guide are provided. One chapter offers an in-depth description of an effective drug abuse prevention model and a program using the model.