Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Book on Drugs, Hands down, December 22, 2000
This is, without a doubt, the best, most comprehensive, objective book on drugs I have ever seen, & I've seen lots. It covers the history of social, political, & scientific developments in its entirety, up to the early seventies. It isn't dated at all, since almost all the trends from the past are still present today. As with all Consumers Union Reports, it draws from an enormous wealth of information (the notes to the book are forty pages alone), & while it's certainly a scholarly book, it is completely readable to the common layman. I absolutely feel this book should be required reading, not just for lawmakers & workers in drug-counselling or -prevention fields, but also for teachers in the education system & even students. At a time in America when 19 billion dollars is spent each year on drug prevention, yet it's estimated that there are 80 million drug users (not to mention half the high school population at least trying drugs), this is necessary reading. If you've ever seen any books on drugs, you know how biased most of them can be, & how rampant misinformation is. This book is simply the best, most informative path you can travel for the truth about drugs. The fact that it's out of print is just disgraceful, but don't let that stop you from reading it - do a booksearch, or check the auctions or zShops since it comes up occasionally. & let me just add, look at the other reviews for this book: everybody agrees it's the best, everybody gave it 5 stars, & it isn't even in print anymore! Obviously, this is an important book, & one you should see.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic. (Our Lawmakers Have Obviously Not Read It.), November 26, 1998
Brecher's work is a masterpiece, documenting and objectively analyzing the impact of different drugs on physical and psychological health, the history of drug use, and the repeated (futile) attempts over the centuries to use legal prohibitions to curb consumption of drugs ranging from coffee to heroin. It might well be subtitled "Drugs, Prohibition, and the Law of Unintended Consequences."This book deserves to be put back into print.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
READ THIS BOOK, November 26, 1998
By A Customer
As a psychologist working in the field of drug addiction I am constantly dealing with misinformation and propaganda about the dangers (both relative and absolute) of various drugs. Parents who are concerned that their teenage children might be using "dangerous drugs" rather than just getting drunk on the weekends and smoking cigarettes, etc. This book is an outstanding source for historical information about the development of our attitudes towards drugs, the role they play in our society, a straightforward, non-technical presentation of the psychological and biological actions of various drugs, and the effects of our current drug policies. Coupled with "From Chocolate to Morphine" (another must read book) a reader will have a great fund a basic information about drugs and our relationship to them. I only wish this book would be updated and reprinted - though, unfortunately, not nearly enough has changed since this book was first published.
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