Dark Paradise: A History of Opiate Addiction in America [Paperback]

David T. Courtwright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0674005856 | ISBN-13: 978-0674005853 | Edition: Enlarged

In a newly enlarged edition of this eye-opening book, David T. Courtwright offers an original interpretation of a puzzling chapter in American social and medical history: the dramatic change in the pattern of opiate addiction--from respectable upper-class matrons to lower-class urban males, often with a criminal record. Challenging the prevailing view that the shift resulted from harsh new laws, Courtwright shows that the crucial role was played by the medical rather than the legal profession.

Dark Paradise tells the story not only from the standpoint of legal and medical sources, but also from the perspective of addicts themselves. With the addition of a new introduction and two new chapters on heroin addiction and treatment since 1940, Courtwright has updated this compelling work of social history for the present crisis of the Drug War.

(20021201)

Editorial Reviews

Review

[An] impeccably literate and acute analysis...One of the major themes of this book is that 'what we think about addiction very much depends on who is addicted.' This view is convincingly supported in a historical review that is both absorbing to read and extremely relevant to a general understanding of the social forces connected with opiate use.
--Martin Plant (British Medical Journal )

Dark Paradise...is an interesting account of the history of the use of opiates in the United States, which is relevant to any western country. Although this book would be of most interest to those in the drug and alcohol treatment and policy areas, it is important reading for anyone with an interest in the political, legal and treatment aspects of drug dependence. It shows clearly how politics play a crucial role in the sanctioning of drug use and the social effects of different approaches to addressing drug dependence...Dark Paradise is recommended reading for anyone interested in the history of opiate dependence. It is presented in a factual format, but with a human focus. Courtwright illustrates beautifully the impact of social and legislative changes on the individual with an opiate addiction while managing to avoid an emotive or "one-sided" account of events.
--Sandra Sunjic (Drug and Alcohol Review )

About the Author

David T. Courtwright is John A. Delaney Presidential Professor at the University of North Florida.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press; Enlarged edition (May 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674005856
• ISBN-13: 978-0674005853
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #711,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Courtwright is known for his books on drug use and drug policy in American and world history (Dark Paradise, Addicts Who Survived, and Forces of Habit) and for his books on the special problems of frontier environments (Violent Land and Sky as Frontier). His most recent book, No Right Turn, chronicles the tumultuous politics and surprising outcome of the culture war that engulfed America in the four decades after Nixon's 1968 election.

Courtwright lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and teaches history at the University of North Florida, where he is Presidential Professor. He was educated at the University of Kansas and at Rice University.

Photo credits: Shelby Miller (color) and David Wilson (black and white)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book deserves 10 stars.***..Good history account!!, May 21, 2008

By 

Guy F. Airey "The Chemist" (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Paradise: A History of Opiate Addiction in America (Paperback)

The author, David Courtwright, provides an updated, historical account of one of the most puzzling questions on the American frontier: how did the drug (opium) addiction get so bad here-- so quickly. Then, he fine tunes his answer with another in which he describes the absolutely harsh laws, fines, and imprisonment of those who become caught in the law enforcement cycle of addiction. He shows quite clearly how doctors and politics played sessions of sanctioning, then criminalizing some of those who played this wheel of misfortune and are still spinning in it. One person "gets" 15 years for a first offense !!! It is written quite directly and to the point, in a reader- friendly fashion, and most everyone I know would enjoy his writing method. Propaganda, lies, exaggerations are used by our government to seeingly make these wonderful medicines, a social vampire. The author is patient and almost penitent in showing how society is punished much of the same way the addicts are for their wrongdoings In an wonderful plant meant to help for chronic pain and suffering for thousands of years, we have demonized it to the point of making it a menace. In that irony, there is no justification. Very little is mentioned of the FDA or DEA and it documeted very nicely. The notes in the back are FANTASTIC!! guyairey

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Omissions, February 14, 2010

By 

Harvey C. Greisman (Wilmington, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dark Paradise: A History of Opiate Addiction in America (Paperback)

This original and pioneering study, which first appeared nearly thirty years ago, is still important, worthwhile, and necessary for anyone concerned with the issues discussed. Yet what disappointed then continues to do so.

The author is somewhat inconsistent in his use and evaluation of indirect and inferential evidence. He notes that official statistics are notoriously inaccurate and misleading when it comes to drug addiction. And remarks that this is nearly as true now as it was a century ago. As a corrective, he judiciously presents journalistic and epistolary examples to underscore his position. This inspired reliance on non-traditional sources adds a lot of depth and strength to the book.

It is likely that a more thorough examination of non-quanitative source material would have enhanced the discussion of opiate addiction among Civil War veterans. The so-called Army Disease was chiefly the result of widespread medical and non-medical use of opiates among those mobilized North and South, the total being close to three million, or nearly ten percent of the US population in 1860. The author neither ignores nor dismisses this, but I think he errs on the side of caution in judging the effects.

Reliance on opiates during the war was widespread and profligate. In addition to prescription by military surgeons and corpsmen, opiates were also distributed by volunteers working for the NGOs of the day in hospitals and in the field. The merchants who accompanied the armies to sell GIs tobacco, newspapers, and stationery were also sources of "patent medicines" with high opiate content.

The everyday hardships endured by enlisted men and officers were by any standard titanic. It would be unwise to underestimate the shattered physical and mental condition of many of these survivors. In the small towns and villages to which the veterans returned, there was available an impressive range of opiate-based medications. For those without the resources to obtain these through a physician, there was easy access through over-the-counter purchase. The temptation to self-medicate must have been considerable. Small town Protestant America was then subjected to the enormous moral and peer influences of the Temperance Movement: Opprobrium might be directed at the barfly, but not at a consumer of Soothing Syrup, especially at a time when opiate addiction was itself somewhat of a mystery. And even more so if that consumer was a venerated, decorated, and sympathetic veteran. Especially in the North, veterans enjoyed status and prestige. Hence their medications of choice likely had a sort of halo-effect, providing a celebrity endorsement for family, friends, and neighbors seeking a non-alcoholic buzz.

Opiate addiction at this time may have been considerably less class-specific than the author maintains. And likely far more widespread. Informed conjecture is perforce necessary when confronted with fragmentary and unreliable official reporting. I hope that in the next edition there is more spadework undertaken to reveal correspondence, diaries, and popular literature concerning this question.