Blowing Smoke Rethinking the War on Drugs without Prohibition and Rehab [Paperback]

Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist dealing with substance abusers, Michael Reznicek dares to question the medical profession's claim to special expertise in this area. He cogently explains how the disease model of addiction and the medicalization of drug use undermine freedom and responsibility, reinforcing the disastrous prohibition of politically incorrect intoxicants.Clinical psychiatrist Reznicek is calling for a tectonic shift in the way the nation, from individuals to the government, deals with drug addiction. Noting the failure of the war on drugs and the apparent ineffectiveness of rehabilitation, Reznicek debunks the notion that addiction is a disease. Drawing on research, 20 years in psychiatry, and his own struggle with substance abuse, he asserts that the disease model is dysfunctional, excusing behavior and providing assistance and benefits to abusers, including health care, disability payments, and other subsidies. He sees a false dichotomy that portrays the disease model as compassionate and any rejection of that model as mean-spirited. He begins by exploring the historical perspective on addiction from the temperance movement to eugenics to the current disease model. He goes on to examine the science behind the disease model, arguing that rehab treatment is akin to ideological indoctrination into the model itself. Reznicek concludes by advocating for legalization of drugs, with harsh social consequence for addicts, and offers recommendations of how addicts can break their habits. A controversial but fascinating look at the causes and treatment of addiction.Many critics of the war on drugs advocate a public health approach to substance abuse that emphasizes treatment for the disease of addiction. In Blowing Smoke, Michael Reznicek shows how such language reinforces the logic of drug prohibition by implying that people cannot help themselves. Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist, Reznicek dares to question the medical profesl#0