Customer Reviews

Drugs (Contemporary Issues (Prometheus))

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Dr. Jeffrey Schaler edits a collection of public policy wonk/highbrow academic articles on an contentious and important subject: the war on drugs. What most impressed me about this book was Dr. Schaler's well-balanced approach to article inclusion. While he makes no secret of his own views on the subject (Schaler is emphatically against the war on drugs), he offers several strong pieces on the other side of the issue as well.

This book may not be easy to get into for someone not accustomed to the Public Policy academic cadence, but in my opinion the material is worth the extra effort to anyone concerned about the efficacy of the current war on drugs.

I can't believe that no one has reviewed this excellent book yet. This book is a collection of essays exploring the pros and cons of legalization. The first half features essays by those who are against legalization. Afterwards, there is a section on medical marijuana. The last part of the book is essays opposing drug prohibition, featuring such authors as Thomas Szasz, Milton Friedman, and Bruce Alexander. Read this book and decide for yourself if drug legalization is necessary, or if it would be a catastrophe.

The issue of marijuana decriminalization is a public policy issue that will certainly be the hot button issue in the coming days especially when California is holding a referendum in November. We will see how the people will decide. This book offers a good take.