The American Disease Origins of Narcotic Control [Paperback]

The American Diseaseis a classic study of the development of drug laws in the United States. Supporting the theory that Americans' attitudes toward drugs have followed a cyclic pattern of tolerance and restraint, author David F. Musto examines the relationz between public outcry and the creation of prohibitive drug laws from the end of the Civil War up to the present.

Originally published in 1973, and then in an expanded edition in 1987, this third edition contains a new chapter and preface that both address the renewed debate on policy and drug legislation from the end of the Reagan administration to the current Clinton administration. Here, Musto thoroughly investigates how our nation has dealt with such issues as the controversies over prevention programs and mandatory minimum sentencing, the catastrophe of the crack epidemic, the fear of a heroin revival, and the continued debate over the legalization of marijuana.

Preface to the Third Edition
Preface to the Expanded Edition
Preface
1. The American Disease
2. Diplomats and Reformers
3. The Harrison Act
4. The Search for Cures
5. State and Local Narcotic Control
6. The Federal Assault on Addiction Maintenance
7. The Narcotic Clinic Era
8. The Troubled Twenties
9. Marihuana and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics
10. Federal Support of the Medical Approach
11. The Return of Drug Toleration, 1965-1985
12. Renewed Efforts at Control, 1986-1997
13. The Dynamics of Narcotic Control
Notes
Index

Musto makes a persuasive case for thoughtful deliberation when framing a policy against the use and abuse of drugs. He is a national asset. --the late Fred W. Friendly, former Director of Seminars on Media and Society, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Mandatory reading....An important work of historical clarification....Musto tells a rich and significant story, enlivened by the foibles, myopia and hysteria of several l³©