Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know [Paperback]

Mark A.R. Kleiman (Author), Jonathan P. Caulkins (Author), Angela Hawken (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 2011 | Series: What Everyone Needs to Know

While there have always been norms and customs around the use of drugs, explicit public policies--regulations, taxes, and prohibitions--designed to control drug abuse are a more recent phenomenon. Those policies sometimes have terrible side-effects: most prominently the development of criminal enterprises dealing in forbidden (or untaxed) drugs and the use of the profits of drug-dealing to finance insurgency and terrorism. Neither a drug-free world nor a world of free drugs seems to be on offer, leaving citizens and officials to face the age-old problem: What are we going to do about drugs?

In Drugs and Drug Policy, three noted authorities survey the subject with exceptional clarity, in this addition to the acclaimed series, What Everyone Needs to Know. They begin by, defining "drugs," examining how they work in the brain, discussing the nature of addiction, and exploring the damage they do to users. The book moves on to policy, answering questions about legalization, the role of criminal prohibitions, and the relative legal tolerance for alcohol and tobacco. The authors then dissect the illicit trade, from street dealers to the flow of money to the effect of catching kingpins, and show the precise nature of the relationship between drugs and crime. They examine treatment, both its effectiveness and the role of public policy, and discuss the beneficial effects of some abusable substances. Finally they move outward to look at the role of drugs in our foreign policy, their relationship to terrorism, and the ugly politics that surround the issue.

Crisp, clear, and comprehensive, this is a handy and up-to-date overview of one of the most pressing topics in today's world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Drugs and Drug Policy is the product of scholarly work but comes in the form of a guidebook of answers to questions simple and complex about everything to do with the two topics. It is fit for both the policymaker and the concerned parent (how many books can this be said of?) because it combines a rigorous analytical approach to drugs without skipping over the social reasons the topic deserves to be discussed in the home. Kleiman, Caulkins and Hawken's review of the nuances of the drug issue can't help but elicit an appreciation for the variety of approaches against drug use that could supplement or substitute for our current top-down one." --Forbes.com

"Drugs and Drug Policy is a practical book which aims to debunk myths...thoughtful and clearly written." - The Economist

"A product of genius, in form and content: more than two hundred questions, all relevant and urgent, with succinct and lucid answers. When I started the book, I had strong opinions on many of the topics it covered; again and again--every time the book came into conflict with my original beliefs--the authors changed my mind. If you care about drugs, you need to read this book. If you don't, read it anyway, just to see how it's done." --Thomas Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences

"In this deceptively simple book, Mark A.R. Kleiman, Jonathan P. Caulkins, and Angela Hawken eviscerate many of the arguments behind the policies that have been the leading weapons in the war on drugs. But they also cast a skeptical eye on some shibboleths of the burgeoning drug reform movement...the authors' penetrating and nuanced critique of the growing calls for legalization is one of the highlights of the book." -- The New Republic

"This book is incredibly useful, in both format and content. It has made me more aware than ever of the extent to which people are either uninformed or misinformed about most issues having to do with drug policy, drug trafficking, and criminal activity. If Washington's political leaders, government officials, and policy analysts give the book the wide attention it deserves, we might finally begin the kind of serious, rational debate about drug issues that the US and the rest of the world desperately needs." --Peter Hakim, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow of the Inter-American Dialogue

"[The authors] ask the right questions, and their answers and discussions can benefit anyone connected to the subject-users and enforcers, policy makers and implementers, innocent bystanders and citizens...worth reading." -Tickle the Wire.com

"An easy-to-read, authoritative guide to the key issues...[The authors] aren't trying to make friends, they are trying to tell the truth as evidence or logic leads them." --Eric Sterling, President of The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, Sterling on Justice & Drugs

About the Author

Mark A.R. Kleiman is Professor of Public Policy at UCLA, editor of The Journal of Drug Policy Analysis, and author of When Brute Force Fails and Against Excess.

Jonathan P. Caulkins is Stever Professor of Operations Research and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

Angela Hawken is Associate Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (July 13, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199764506
• ISBN-13: 978-0199764501
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark A. R. Kleiman



Mark A.R. Kleiman is Professor of Public Policy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. His teaching and research cover drug policy, crime control policy, and methods of policy analysis. His books include *Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control* and *Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results*, and *When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment* (one of The Economist's "Books of the Year" for 2009).

Most recently, he has joined Jonathan Caulkins, Angela, Hawken, and Beau Kilmer in writing two books in Oxford's "What Everyone Needs to Know" series, one on *Drug Policy* and, most recently, one on *Marijuana Legalization*. He edits the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis and blogs at The Reality-Based Community (http://www.samefacts.com). His essay in Foreign Affairs, "Surgical Strikes in the Drug Wars: Smarter Strategies for Both Sides of the Border," presents an innovative approach to reducing drug-trafficking violence.


Mr. Kleiman studied political science, philosophy, and economics at Haverford College and received his Master of Public Policy degree and his Ph.D. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, where he also taught before coming to UCLA. His governmental experience includes stints on Capitol Hill (working for Les Aspin), in Boston City Hall, and at the Justice Department. His firm, BOTEC Analysis Corporation, advises local, state, and national governments on drug policy and crime control.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely useful for policymakers June 15, 2011

By Alejandro S. Hope

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Kleiman, Caulkins, and Hawken have pulled a great coup with this volume. They managed to condense, in very readable terms, layer upon layer of scholarly research about the many facets of drug policy. Their encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject matter, combined with a breezy style, allows the reader to quickly make sense of complex and controversial issues. This is not, however, a dry reference book: the authors have strong, sometimes eccentric opinions that will not be to everyone's liking. But that is indeed one of this book's strenghts: it allows its pages to feel as an animated conservation with three very smart people.

Anyone with even a passing interest in drugs or drug policy should buy this book; and for policymakers involved in drug issues, this should be required reading.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Undergraduate Courses June 13, 2011

By Shawn Bushway

Format:Kindle Edition

I used a preview version of this book for a class on illegal drug markets. In the past, I used academic articles by these same authors for issues like supply side drug enforcement efforts,and legalization. This book has the same authority and non-dogmatic presentation as those articles, but is more accessible. As a result of the introductory information, my students seemed to be better prepared to debate complex topics like legalization intelligently. I found the comparisons with alcohol and tobacco to be very helpful for my students, who for some reasons tend to see illegal drugs as very different substances.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for reports June 14, 2011

By hilary albert

Format:Paperback

This book will be great for public libraries. High school students and undergraduates looking for information on drug policy will find this a
good source that lays out the facts in an easy to follow manner.