Psychology
St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Drugs and Society: U.S. Public
Policy
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Lanham, MD
2005, 228 pages
There are two main approaches to reforming drug policy which
reflect differing American values. One is the public health or harm
reduction or cost/benefit approach, which implements the American
value of pragmatism. The other—libertarian or rights-based
approach—can be seen to implement the American value of
individualism. It views the private behavior of adults as none of
the government's business and aims at maximizing individual
freedom. Drugs and Society includes a wide range of
historical, social science, philosophical and legal background, and
offers the reader the information needed to create an alternative
drug policy.
"Drugs and Society demonstrates the counterproductive futility
of the war on drug—expanding black markets and increasing economic,
public health and social costs. Leading scholars from the relevant
disciplines show how we created this disaster and offer a variety
of policy alternatives. I strongly recommend this book for
colleagues and policy makers in the social and behavioral sciences
and public health.”
—Jeffrey A. Miron, Ph.D., Harvard University