Editors Inciardi and McElrath feature major drugs of use including: opiates, cocaine, marijuana, and hallucinogens. The book also addresses legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco. Other topics that are covered include gender and addiction, sexual identity and drug use, the symbolic meaning of drug taking, HIV/AIDS as it relates to injecting drug use, issues surrounding drug treatment and recovery without treatment, the relationship between drugs and violence (including sexual violence), and policy issues such as the drug legalization debate.
The Fourth Edition includes 11 new articles that address recent and emerging patterns of drug use and policy debates, such as: MDMA/Ecstasy, marijuana for medical purposes, Ketamine, and the role of clubs in promoting harm reduction. Each section begins with an introduction that offers background material as well as explanations and illustrations of key concepts relating to articles within sections. Discussion questions, designed to encourage critical thinking, follow each article. The edition concludes with a comprehensive subject index.
