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In Our Right to Drugs, Thomas Szasz shows that our present drug war started at the beginning of this century, when the U.S. government first assumed the task of protecting people from patent medicines. By the end of World War I, however, the free market in drugs was but a dim memory, if that ...

In Our Right to Drugs, Thomas Szasz shows that our present drug war started at the beginning of this century, when the U.S. government first assumed the task of protecting people from patent medicines. By the end of World War I, however, the free market in drugs was but a dim memory, if that. Instead of dwelling on the familiar impracticality or unfairness of our drug laws, Szasz demonstrates the deleterious effects of prescription laws, which place people under lifelong medical tutelage. The result is that most Americans today prefer a coercive and corrupt command drug economy to a free market in drugs. Szasz stresses the consequences of the fateful transformation of the central aim of U.S. drug prohibitions from protecting us from being fooled by "misbranded" drugs to protecting us from harming ourselves by self-medication-defined as "drug abuse". And he reminds us that the choice between self-control and state coercion applies to all areas of our lives, drugs being but one of the theaters in which this perennial play may be staged. A free society, Szasz emphasizes, cannot endure if its citizens reject the values of self-discipline and personal responsibility and if the state treats adults as if they were naughty children. In a no-holds-barred examination of the implementation of the War on Drugs, Szasz shows that under the guise of protecting the vulnerable members of our society--especially children, minorities, and the sick--our government has persecuted and injured them. Leading politicians persuade parents to denounce their children, and encourage children to betray their parents and friends--behavior that subverts family loyalties and destroys basic human decency. And instead ofprotecting blacks and Hispanics from dangerous drugs, this holy war has allowed us to persecute them, not as racists but as therapists--working selflessly to bring about a drug-free America. Last, but not least, to millions

Guide for people involved in policy formulation, drug education, health care workers and those concerned with the effects of drug use. Provides information about the health and social dangers of illicit drugs, legal drug markets and organised crime. Discusses the possible effects of decriminalising ...

Guide for people involved in policy formulation, drug education, health care workers and those concerned with the effects of drug use. Provides information about the health and social dangers of illicit drugs, legal drug markets and organised crime. Discusses the possible effects of decriminalising the use, supply and sale of illicit drugs and provides information about international drug policy and United Nations Conventions. Includes a brief history of drug use, references, a bibliography and an index. Mofitt is a former Royal Commissioner examining the infiltration of organised crime into Australia. Malouf is president of the Australian Pharmacists Against Drug Abuse and Thompson is a magistrate with experience in both adult and children's courts.

""The $800 Million Pill is a masterful work of explanatory and investigative journalism. Merrill Goozner has versed himself in the interlocking worlds of medicine, business, politics, and basic science to explain how pharmaceutical breakthroughs truly occur. He also explains why drug costs are now ...

""The $800 Million Pill is a masterful work of explanatory and investigative journalism. Merrill Goozner has versed himself in the interlocking worlds of medicine, business, politics, and basic science to explain how pharmaceutical breakthroughs truly occur. He also explains why drug costs are now so needlessly high.JThis is a compelling and important book."--James Fallows of The Atlantic Monthly, author of "Breaking the News

"Merrill Goozner does a superb job at explaining just how the pharmaceutical industry gets away with systematic overcharging, and why bio-medical advances do not require the current profiteering. This is the definitive book on this vital topic."--Robert Kuttner, Co-Editor of "The American Prospect and author of "Everything for Sale

"Why do your prescription drugs cost so much? The real answers may surprise you. In a lively and straightforward narrative, veteran journalist Merrill Goozner goes behind the headlines and pharmaceutical industry spin to uncover the politics and the practices that drive up drug costs. His diagnosis and prescriptions make a valuable contribution to the growing national debate over safe, quality and affordable health care for all Americans."--Clarence Page, syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune

"Merrill Goozner has written an important book. The high-stakes national debate over what to do about prescription drug coverage and costs too often suffers from a dearth of facts and analysis. This volume helps to fill that gap by illuminating the seemingly opaque world of pharmaceutical research and development."--Susan Dentzer, Health Correspondent for "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS

Psychoactive substances have been central to the formation of civilizations and the growth of the world economy. Consuming Habits describes how and why:* tea and coffee replaced beer on the breakfast tables of 18th century Europe* in Islamic emirates at the turn of the century kola nuts formed part ...

Psychoactive substances have been central to the formation of civilizations and the growth of the world economy. Consuming Habits describes how and why:* tea and coffee replaced beer on the breakfast tables of 18th century Europe* in Islamic emirates at the turn of the century kola nuts formed part of tax payments, and were given as gifts by so-called 'big men'* in 1902 opera singers had their doctors prescribe them cocaine to aid singing* the original version of 'coca-cola' was described as a 'brain tonic.'This pioneering collection of original essays explores the rich analytical category of psychoactive substances from challenging historical and anthropological perspectives.