The formation of drug policy is a complex phenomena influenced by a multi tude of sources. Among others, these influences include historical factors, contemporary public opinion regarding the nature and magnitude of drug use and abuse, the portrayal of illicit drugs and drug use in the media, and lobbying efforts by special interest groups (e. g. , The Drug Policy Foundation), including government agencies (e. g. , the Justice Department and law enforcement). An additional source of influence are the activities of specialists directly engaged in studying drug use and treating drug dependence. This includes individuals involved in drug treatment, anthropological and cultural studies, policy analy ses, basic psychological and pharmacological research, research on the epide miology of drug use and dependence, and research on prevention. This influ ence by specialists might be usefully distinguished from those influences first mentioned for two reasons: First, studies of drug use and dependence attempt to uncover empirical generalizations about drugs, and second, because these findings are empirical, there is a hope that they guide, at least to some extent, the actions of other forces that more directly determine drug policy. Psychology as an empirical discipline has long been interested in the use of psychoactive drugs. At the level of basic science in psychopharmacology, a most important contribution has been the demonstration that drugs of abuse function as reinforcers and thus enter into the same psychological processes as do other appetitive stimuli.

The book provides an in-depth discussion on the human nature concept from different perspectives and from different disciplines, analyzing its use in the doping debate and researching its normative overtones. The relation between natural talent and enhanced abilities is scrutinized within a proper conceptual and theoretical framework: is doping to be seen as a factor of the athlete’s dehumanization or is it a tool to fulfill his/her aspirations to go faster, higher and stronger? Which characteristics make sports such a peculiar subject of ethical discussion and what are the, both intrinsic and extrinsic, moral dangers and opportunities involved in athletic enhancement? This volume combines fundamental philosophical anthropological reflection with applied ethics and socio-cultural and empirical approaches. Furthermore guidelines will be presented to decision- and policy-makers on local, national and international levels. Zooming in on the intrinsic issue of what is valuable about our homo sapiens biological condition, this volume devotes only scant attention to the specific issue of natural talent and why such talent is appreciated so differently than biotechnological origins of ability. In addition, specific aspects of sports such as its competitive nature and its direct display of bodily prowess provide good reason to single out the issue of natural athletic talent for sustained ethical scrutiny.​

Request a free 30-day online trial to this title at www.sagepub.com/freetrial! Spanning two volumes of approximately 450 entries in an A-to-Z format, this encyclopedia explores the controversial drug war through the lens of varied disciplines. A full spectrum of articles explains topics from Colombian cartels and Mexican kingpins to television reportage; from "just say no" advertising to heroin production; and from narco-terrorism to more than $500 billion in U.S. government expenditures. Key Themes- Cases- Conferences and Conventions- Countries (Affecting U.S. Drug Policy)- Drug Trade and Trafficking- Laws and Policies- Organizations and Agencies- People-Presidential Administrations- Treatment and Addiction- Types of Drugs

This book explores the major debates and controversies in the area of drug policy offering critical philosophical and theoretical perspectives and presents an alternative approach to policy and practice grounded in critical criminological theories.

This book is the culmination of five years of debate among distinguished scholars in law, public policy, medicine, and biopsychology, about the most difficult questions in drug policy and the study of addictions. Do drug addicts have an illness, or is the addiction under their control? Should they be treated as patients or as criminals? Challenging the conventional wisdom, the authors show that these standard dichotomies are false.

This study offers a psychological perspective in the coverage of alcohol and drug-related issues. It examines the contribution of research methodology to outcomes, and offers alternative explanations to alcohol and drug-related issues.

This new edition provides an up-to-date examination of the key issues of the drug problem, including cigarettes, heroin, alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana. It offers a current review of definitions of drug use and dependence, the latest developments regarding tobacco use and the historical agreement between government and industry, and research and analysis from a cross-cultural perspective. A detailed account of opium and heroin distribution and control in the region of Afghanistan provide valuable insight. Whether it be illegal drugs such as marijuana, heroin, and cocaine or legal substances including cigarettes and alcohol, drug use is a deeply imbedded characteristic of society. An immense amount of money and human resources is spent in the United States to address drug use. For example, the cost of substance abuse to the U.S. economy each year is estimated to be over $414 billion. In terms of illegal drugs alone, the U.S. drug market has been estimated to be $150 billion a year. The annual federal anti-drug budget for law enforcement is about $12 billion per year; and about $3 billion goes to overseas drug wars alone with about half of that amount going to Colombia to eliminate opium and coca cultivation. It has been reported that substance abuse and addiction will add at least $41 billion to the costs of elementary and secondary education for 2001 due to class disruption and violence, special education and tutoring, teacher turnover, truancy, children left behind, student assistance programs, property damage, injury, and counseling. The cost to the nation for each of its hard-core addicts, per year, is about $30,000. The amount spent on the drug problem does not include the cost of drug use measured in human suffering, increased violence, and lost lives, nor does it include the damage done by cigarettes and alcohol. The second, updated edition of this important work examines issues about the use and abuse of legal and illegal drugs from multiple perspectives including the social context of reality, historical and present patterns of use, causal factors associated with addiction, research findings including those of a cross-cultural nature, case studies of addicts, and the management of services provision.

America had a radically different relationship with drugs a century ago. Drug prohibitions were few, and while alcohol was considered a menace, the public regularly consumed substances that are widely demonized today. Heroin was marketed by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, and marijuana was available as a tincture of cannabis sold by Parke Davis and Company. Exploring how this rather benign relationship with psychoactive drugs was transformed into one of confusion and chaos, The Cult of Pharmacology tells the dramatic story of how, as one legal drug after another fell from grace, new pharmaceutical substances took their place. Whether Valium or OxyContin at the pharmacy, cocaine or meth purchased on the street, or alcohol and tobacco from the corner store, drugs and drug use proliferated in twentieth-century America despite an escalating war on “drugs.” Richard DeGrandpre, a past fellow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and author of the best-selling book Ritalin Nation, delivers a remarkably original interpretation of drugs by examining the seductive but ill-fated belief that they are chemically predestined to be either good or evil. He argues that the determination to treat the medically sanctioned use of drugs such as Miltown or Seconal separately from the illicit use of substances like heroin or ecstasy has blinded America to how drugs are transformed by the manner in which a culture deals with them. Bringing forth a wealth of scientific research showing the powerful influence of social and psychological factors on how the brain is affected by drugs, DeGrandpre demonstrates that psychoactive substances are not angels or demons irrespective of why, how, or by whom they are used. The Cult of Pharmacology is a bold and necessary new account of America’s complex relationship with drugs.

This one-of-a-kind text brings together contemporary theories of addiction and helps readers connect those theories to practice using a common multicultural case study. Theories covered include motivational interviewing, moral theory, developmental theory, cognitive behavioral theories, attachment theory, and sociological theory. Each chapter focuses on a single theory, describing its basic tenets, philosophical underpinnings, key concepts, and strengths and weaknesses. Each chapter also shows how practitioners using the theory would respond to a common case study, giving readers the opportunity to compare how the different theoretical approaches are applied to client situations. A final chapter discusses approaches to relapse prevention.

Addiction is increasing globally, and the conventional remedies don't work. Arguing that the cause of this failure to control addiction is that treatments have focused too single-mindedly on the afflicted individual addict, this book presents a radical rethink about the nature of addiction.