Drugs and Justice: Seeking a Consistent, Coherent, Comprehensive ViewThis compact and innovative book tackles one of the central issues in drug policy: the lack of a coherent conceptual structure for thinking about drugs. Drugs generally fall into one of seven categories: prescription, over the counter, alternative medicine, common-use drugs like alcohol, tobacco and caffeine; religious-use, sports enhancement; and of course illegal street drugs like cocaine and marijuana. Our thinking and policies varies wildly from one to the other, with inconsistencies that derive more from cultural and social values than from medical or scientific facts. Penalties exist for steroid use, while herbal remedies or cold medication are legal. Native Americans may legally use peyote, but others may not. Penalties may vary for using different forms of the same drug, such as crack vs. powder cocaine. Herbal remedies are unregulated by the FDA; but medical marijuana is illegal in most states. Battin and her contributors lay a foundation for a wiser drug policy by promoting consistency and coherency in the discussion of drug issues and by encouraging a unique dialogue across disciplines. The contributors are an interdisciplinary group of scholars mostly based at the University of Utah, and include a pharmacologist, a psychiatrist, a toxicologist, a trial court judge, a law professor, an attorney, a diatary specialist, a physician, a health expert on substance abuse, and Battin herself who is a philosopher. They consider questions like the historical development of current policy and the rationales for it; scientific views on how drugs actually cause harm; how to define the key notions of harm and addiction; and ways in which drug policy can be made more consistent. They conclude with an examination of the implications of a consistent policy for various disciplines and society generally. The book is written accessibly with little need for expert knowledge, and will appeal to a diverse audience of philosophers, bioethicists, clinicians, policy makers, law enforcement, legal scholars and practitioners, social workers, and general readers, as well as to students in areas like pharmacy, medicine, law, nursing, sociology, social work, psychology, and bioethics. |
Contents
1 Drugs Across the Board | 3 |
2 How Did It Come to Be This Way? | 29 |
3 Drug Regulatory Agencies and the Underlying Rationales for Drug Policy | 55 |
Addiction | 90 |
Harm and Benefit | 131 |
6 Dilemmas of Drug Management and Control | 175 |
7 Toward Justice in Drug Theory Policy and Practice | 226 |
| 259 | |
| 271 | |
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Common terms and phrases
agencies anabolic steroids areas associated athletes autonomist ayahuasca banned behavior caffeine cause chapter choice clinical clinicians cocaine coffee coherent common-use drugs comprehensive concept consensus definition considered consistent consumption controlled substance Controlled Substances Act criteria depression dietary supplements discussion disease drinks drug abuse drug court drug decision drug issues drug policy drug regulation drug theory DSHEA effects enforcement enhancement example exemption federal genetic hallucinogens harm principle harms and benefits herbal remedies heroin illegal drugs inconsistent individual instance involved John’s wort labeling manufacturers marijuana medicine ment methamphetamine Native American Native American Church opioids over-the-counter drugs OxyContin pain management patients peyote pharmacological physician potential prescription drugs prescription pharmaceuticals problems professional prohibited pseudoaddiction punishment recreational drugs regulatory religious-use drugs restrictions Schedule silo social society sports-enhancement drugs substance abuse theory and policy tion toxicity treatment União do Vegetal