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Rating: 
Summary: READ THIS BOOK
Review: 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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Summary: Classic. (Our Lawmakers Have Obviously Not Read It.)
Review: 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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Summary: Everyone should read this book
Review: Even though this book is nearly 30 years old, everything it says about the drug problem is still relevant today. This publication outlined a clear-cut set of recommendations that if adhered to, today's drug problems would have become a long forgotten memory. This book is a must for the collection.
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Summary: Why isn't this in every DARE room in America?
Review: I went through alot of 'Drug Education'. I thought I knew something. I didn't. I learned more in one night from this book than I did in 18 years of being a youth in the Drug War. Read this cover to cover and now try to get everyone I know to read it.
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Summary: The most readable analysis of drug policy ever written
Review: It's amazing how many of the "facts" that we think
we know about drugs are wrong. It's even more
amazing that we continue to base drug policy on
myths that were disproven as much as a hundred
years ago. It's amazing that we continue to
pursue prohibitionist drug policies that have
never withstood the scrutiny of objective
evaluation. Read this book. You'll be astonished.
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Summary: I read it when it was first published, haven't forgotten it.
Review: Outstanding book by, as I remember, a panel of distinguished medical researchers. I read it when it first came out, when I was about 17, and it made a deep impression. Can't locate my parents' copy. Consumer Union doesn't seem to know it ever existed. I strongly second the other reviewers. It should be required reading for every member of Congress, to start, and it ought to be republished with additional chapters addressing the past 25 years (not that it's a bit out of date as it stands).
Rating:
Summary: READ THIS BOOK
Review: Ted Turner gave the U.N. $1 billion over ten years. That was a beautiful gesture. Absolutely beautiful! LICIT AND ILLICIT DRUGS has the potential to give the American people a gift on the order of $1 billion each week in perpetuity! Read at least Chapter 69 and read Anthony Lewis's New York Times column, "End the War".
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Summary: Why isn't this in every DARE room in America?
Review: 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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