Legalize This!: The Case for Decriminalizing Drugs (Practical Ethics) [Paperback]

Douglas N. Husak (Author), Colin McGinn (Series Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1859843204 | ISBN-13: 978-1859843208 | Publication Date: August 2002

Explodes many of the myths that surround drug use.

Recreational drug users (other than those who take harmful substances like alcohol and tobacco) are regularly imprisoned. Nearly half a million drug offenders are incarcerated in US jails, more than the total number of prisoners in 1980 and more than the entire EU prison population. In some states more is spent on maintaining the prison system than on education. Current drug policies lead to immense personal suffering, as well as police corruption, organized crime, and contempt for the law, and make drugs more dangerous because they are illegal and thus not subject to proper controls. Politicians from all sides of the political spectrum are beginning to ask: is it worth it?

In arguing that criminalization is unjust, Douglas Husak explodes many of the myths that surround drug use. In some years, more than half of high school seniors take drugs, yet the US is not overrun with drug-crazed addicts. Horror stories of the dangers of drug use abound, but the truth is more prosaic; although recreational drugs are sometimes bad for users, there are between 80 and 90 million US citizens who have used illicit drugs without ill effects.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In his remarkable book, philosopher and legal scholar Doug Husak brings the drug debate to a new level. Avoiding hyperbole, he reasons along lines that should appeal to the majority of just, sensible human beings. That he does this so well is perhaps the more remarkable because, justifiably so, he is outraged at the incarceration of, and threats to, Americans whose entire identified criminal behavior is using a substance other people dislike. (Stanton Peele )

About the Author

Douglas Husak is Professor of Philosophy and Law at Rutgers University. He is the author of Drugs and Rights and Philosophy of Criminal Law.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Verso (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859843204
• ISBN-13: 978-1859843208
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Law > Family & Health Law > Health Law

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drug policy is a convoluted mess..., April 15, 2003

By 

Ray O'Keefe Cruitt (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legalize This!: The Case for Decriminalizing Drugs (Practical Ethics) (Paperback)

Many get the terms legalization and decriminalization confused; although each term has many variations of definition, the denotation of each term has a definite political, moral, and/or social end -- and this is where the most profound difference lies between them. An important thing to remember is that legalizers want drugs to be legally regulated and accessible to citizens just as alcohol is available, whereas decriminalizers support a policy that does not punish drug users as criminals for carrying and/or using personal amounts of drugs for recreational purposes; nonetheless, they still favor the criminalization of drug producers and drug dealers. Even this dichotomy between legalizer and decriminalizer is oversimplified.

The complexities of drug policy and all the human aspects that are involved in policymaking are both fascinating and intimidating. Douglas Husak is an articulate arguer for the position of decriminalization. He attempts to clarify some of the legal complexities in this excellent, well reasoned argument. He addresses many basic tenets of criminal theory and applies them to how drug users are being treated in this country. Unlike those who embrace the rigid attitude: 'If you're not with us, you're against us,' (meaning good v. evil) a convenient dialectic you will most likely find informing the minds of the current 'drug warrior' regime leaders, you will not find this authoritarianism in Husak's treatise. If he cannot be categorized as a legalization proponent, he is like them in one respect, he is highly disturbed by the inane drug policies of this country and is part of an ever growing population of dissenters who see a need for change.

High recommendation; good start to understanding the issue as whole. An even higher recommendation goes to "Drug War Heresies: Learning from Other Vices, Times & Places" by Robert J. MacCoun and Peter Reuter (2001). This is an excellent, exhaustive, and disinterested study of drugs use in our society and is easy for those not well versed in the complexities of public policy issues (which is most of us)

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Awesome and Important Analysis, November 10, 2003

By 

Dr Mitchell Earleywine "Dr. Mitch" (Albany, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Legalize This!: The Case for Decriminalizing Drugs (Practical Ethics) (Paperback)

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT BOOK.
Here's a splendid, novel, thoughtful view of prohibition that not only teaches readers a ton about the drug war but also educates them about how to think. Unlike other books that focus primarily on the costs and benefits of decriminalization, Husak's work turns to the moral question: Is it just to punish recreational drug users? No matter where you stand on the issue, you will find Husak's accessible, enjoyable prose gets you thinking about morals, justice, drugs, and people in ways you've never thought before. He has a writing style that pulls you right in, making you feel as if you're just having a beer with a buddy. He defends his conclusions so logically and so well that it seems impossible for any rational person to disagree!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is so much more in this book than the title's subject, June 22, 2008

By 

Michael Wizniak - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Legalize This!: The Case for Decriminalizing Drugs (Practical Ethics) (Paperback)

What I took from this book changed my life!

I came across this book while writing a research paper at University. The subject was the Shafer Commission, or Nixon's National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. The research included selecting a few reliable sources on: the History, Politics, Sociology, Law, & International Drug Policy during Nixon's presidency along with the long history of "The War on Drug." After combing literally 100's of books on these subjects, Husak's book was one of the few left standing and I am so grateful it was.

Others have provided testimony on how logical this book is in proving Husak's conclusions for this subject, but how it changed my life was in the methods of approach when analyzing a subject (the logic vs. the subject). Unlike most of the books I found on this subject, Husak takes a mix of philosophical, ethical, and legal (constitutional) approaches, instead of just one (which is usually historical). The topic of drug legalization is only an example to the larger picture of how to think. He teaches you about "anecdotal arguments" and of the flawed methods that most people use in such debates. Then he explains, in an understandable language, how each approach comes to a logical conclusion outside of any biases. It has sincerely helped teach me how to approach and analyze any subject.

The only "love/hate" side-effect I had after reading and understanding this book was that it became so evident how little most people use good logic in such publicly debated subjects. It became hard to watch/listen/read most mainstream media on any controversial subject. I saw how unproductive, flawed, and illogical their narrow quips usually are and had to stop relying on them for information because it was a waste of time.