Customer Reviews

Crack In America: Demon Drugs and Social Justice

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In Crack in America, Reinerman and Levine have brought together a wealth of facts and expertise. The authors' chapters are well-written, and hardhitting. Their arguments are carefully composed, and the authors present sensible alternative models. The editors and their contributors have obviously spent time and effort researching the medical, legal and social components of drugs in America and elsewhere. Reinerman, Levine, and their contributors - Loren Siegel and Ira Glasser from the ACLU, Troy Duster, Ethan Nadelman from the Lindesmith Center, Marsha Rosenbaum and Sheigla Murphy, et al, are informed by a sense of social context - the issues of class, race, the economy and popular culture. They are sharp-minded thinkers and writers, who obviously should be involved in the creation of our nation's drug policies. The answers aren't easy, but if we are going to start anywhere we first need to ask the right questions. Levine's and Reinman's book poses substantial questions and issues that must be addressed if we plan to be a more inclusive society, and not a culture that marginalizes and demonizes people in trouble.

I'm telling you this book is really enlightening and shocking. You won't find a better laid argument against our nation's drug policies. Must Read!

This is a truly brilliant book that utterly destroys the logic (if one could call it that) behind the so-called war on drugs. It is written in a highly accessible language such as to be appropriate for anyone with a concern for this topic. The genuine sympathy and concern of the various authors shines out from each chapter. In my view, it should be required reading for every social worker, judge, police officer and policy maker. I am normally a stern critic but I cannot praise it too highly.

Frederick Toates
Professor of Biological Psychology, The Open University, United Kingdom.