America's Longest War [Paperback]

A. Gross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 1994

The hidden and forbidden truth about America's failed war on drugs is explored in this eye-opening book. The authors present a complete look at the real and imagined dangers of drugs, and call for a rethinking of policy. "A clear, heavily documented statement of the argument for declaring peace in the war against drugs."--Booklist

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The first part of this worthy book by Yale law professor Duke and California lawyer Gross reiterates powerful evidence about the abuse of legal drugs like alcohol, the failure of attempts at prohibition and the links between illegal drugs and our current crime wave. Adding a new layer of argument, the authors detail the costs to our criminal justice system, in which, they maintain, due process is regularly ignored. Duke and Gross make an intriguing case that the cost to individual autonomy posed by the prohibition of drugs is too high and they point out that "almost any common activity produces abusers." Suggesting that reducing the drug supply is impossible and that eliminating demand through treatment and education, though a laudable goal, is equally impossible, the authors offer a sober assessment of the costs and benefits of legalization. Their proposal to legalize selected drugs, including cocaine and heroin, is based on an ultimate aim of "responsible use" akin to the country's policy toward alcohol. Only in the final page, however, do Duke and Gross acknowledge the importance of long-term solutions to the poverty and anomie that make the drug abuse problem in the cities so intractable.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Arguing that many of the social and economic costs popularly attributed to drug use are in fact consequences of drug criminalization, Duke and Gross urge a policy of regulated legalization as the best way to minimize the harm drugs cause. Some of this material is familiar, but Duke and Gross marshal statistics and clinical studies effectively, moving from studies of the effects of specific legal and illegal drugs through a review of the historical approaches to drug use and an examination of the cost of prohibiting drugs--in terms of crime, freedom, autonomy, constitutional rights, health, and safety--to an explanation of reasons why the drug war can't succeed ("A `drug-free' society is no more attainable than a `sex-free' society") and a discussion of different forms of legalization. The harm-minimization approach Duke and Gross support emphasizes prevention and education, easy access to treatment, research and use of therapeutic drugs, public health programs to reduce the death and disease, and--like Elliott Currie's Reckoning --recognition that, among the poorest Americans, drug use will remain commonplace until the nation addresses basic issues of poverty, employment, housing, and health care. A clear, heavily documented statement of the argument for declaring peace in the war against drugs. Mary Carroll --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (October 26, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874777887
• ISBN-13: 978-0874777888
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,037,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Halfway through review, May 31, 2002

By 

Peter M Wells - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Longest War (Paperback)

So far I rate this book 5 stars. I am also writing a book on this topic, and one of the most compelling reasons I have encountered for the decriminalization of substances is the situation in Iran. There dealers of Heroin have been subjected to the death penalty, and the traffic is unabated. As mentioned in this book and other sources, the harsher the penalties, the greater the profits. In every society there are persons so desperate and lacking in education and opportunities that death itself is no deterrent to such profit. In our (US) society recently a former chief of police in Los Angeles said that even casual users should be shot. He did not include cigarette smokers or beer drinkers. Fanatics are not often troubled by attacks of logic.
Abraham Lincoln said Prohibition laws run contrary to the principles upon which the United States was founded. He is one of George W. Bush's heroes. Dubya seems not to have read his hero.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intense,truthful,and well researched!!, May 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: America's Longest War (Paperback)

Read this book!! In it lies the truth behind the legal-illegal substance/drug story and thier relative harms. You will be surprised. Offered are models for legalization that only a brain-washed fool would argue with. Open the book, read, then open the debate! Well written. Bravo!!