Rethinking Drug Laws

Rethinking Drug Laws PDF

Author: Toby Seddon

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2023-07-27

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0192846523

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Drugs are pervasive in our everyday lives across cultures around the world. At the same time, they present one of the thorniest problems of twenty-first century policy, connected with concerns about crime, security, and public health. The global prohibition system, established a century ago, is widely seen to be failing and over the last decade alternative approaches have started to proliferate in some regions of the world, notably the Americas. Rethinking Drug Laws presents a radical intellectual reappraisal of how the international drug control system works, where it came from, and the possibilities for alternative futures. Drawing on an innovative interdisciplinary approach, the book develops new theoretical and conceptual tools for understanding how drug control functions, presents original archival research on the origins of drug prohibition, and explains ways that we can develop a better 'politics of drugs' that can reanimate drug law reform. Central to the book is the claim that to move beyond existing ways of seeing the global drug problem, we need to escape Western-centric thinking. In the Asian Century, will it be China that becomes the most significant player in shaping the future of drug policy and drug control?

Blowing Smoke

Blowing Smoke PDF

Author: Michael J. Reznicek

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1442215143

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Blowing Smoke argues that we are losing the drug war because of our devotion to the disease model of substance abuse. That model has become the driving force for our two main strategies in the war: prohibition laws and drug rehab. The book traces the history and science behind each to show how they paradoxically enable drug use.

Rethinking Drug Courts: International Experiences of a US Policy Export

Rethinking Drug Courts: International Experiences of a US Policy Export PDF

Author: John Collins

Publisher: London Publishing Partnership

Published: 2019-02-15

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 1907994866

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What are drug courts? Do they work? Why are they so popular? Should countries be expanding them or rolling them back? These are some of the questions this volume attempts to answer. Simultaneously popular and problematic, loved and loathed, drug courts have proven an enduring topic for discussion in international drug policy debates. Starting in Miami in the 1980s and being exported enthusiastically across the world, we now have a range of international case studies to re-examine their effectiveness. Whereas traditional debates tended towards binaries like “do they work?”, this volume attempts to unpick their export and implementation, contextualising their efficacy. Instead of a simple yes or no answer, the book provides key insights into the operation of drug courts in various parts of the world. The case studies range from a relatively successful small-scale model in Australia, to the large and unwieldy business of drug courts in the US, to their failed scale-up in Brazil and the small and institutionally adrift models that have been tried in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The book concludes that although drug courts can be made to work in very specific niche contexts, the singular focus on them as being close to a “silver bullet” obscures the real issues that societies must address, including (but not limited to) a more comprehensive and full-spectrum focus on diverting drug-involved individuals away from the criminal justice system.

Rethinking US Drug Policy

Rethinking US Drug Policy PDF

Author: Peter Hakim

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 16

ISBN-13: 9781907072031

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Most Americans believe that their country's forty-year 'war on drugs' has failed. Yet, instead of a serious national discussion of how to reform US drug control strategies, there remains a silent tolerance of ineffective, socially harmful laws, institutions, and policies. What is most needed now is a far-reaching debate on alternative approaches that could reduce the risks and damage from the trafficking and abuse of illegal drugs. That was also the conclusion of a highly-regarded report prepared by a distinguished group of Latin American presidents and other leaders. This report proposes six US government initiatives that would set the stage for a thorough rethinking of US drug policy.

America's Longest War

America's Longest War PDF

Author: Steven B. Duke

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2014-06-24

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1497612012

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America's war on drugs. It makes headlines, tops political agendas and provokes powerful emotions. But is it really worth it? That’s the question posed by Steven Duke and Albert Gross in this groundbreaking book. They argue that America’s biggest victories in the war on drugs are the erosion of our constitutional rights, the waste of billions of dollars and an overwhelmed court system. After careful research and thought, they make a strong case for the legalization of drugs. It’s a radical idea, but has its time come?

Rethinking the War on Drugs in Ireland

Rethinking the War on Drugs in Ireland PDF

Author: Tim Murphy

Publisher: Cork University Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 108

ISBN-13: 9781859180709

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This paper presents an argument for the legalization of psychoactive drugs that are currently prohibited by law. Drawing on international drug policy research, the author examines the Irish policy in its historical, medical, social and political context. The legitimacy of current policy is severely undermined by such an examination, and the ineffectiveness of the war suggests that new options must be considered.

The Drug Legalization Debate

The Drug Legalization Debate PDF

Author: James A. Inciardi

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 1999-08-27

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 0761906908

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This completely revised and updated secong edition of the Drug Legalization Debate continues to address, and offer alternatives to, the major issues.

Drugs and Drug Policy

Drugs and Drug Policy PDF

Author: Mark A.R. Kleiman

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-07-13

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0199831386

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While there have always been norms and customs around the use of drugs, explicit public policies--regulations, taxes, and prohibitions--designed to control drug abuse are a more recent phenomenon. Those policies sometimes have terrible side-effects: most prominently the development of criminal enterprises dealing in forbidden (or untaxed) drugs and the use of the profits of drug-dealing to finance insurgency and terrorism. Neither a drug-free world nor a world of free drugs seems to be on offer, leaving citizens and officials to face the age-old problem: What are we going to do about drugs? In Drugs and Drug Policy, three noted authorities survey the subject with exceptional clarity, in this addition to the acclaimed series, What Everyone Needs to Know®. They begin, by defining "drugs," examining how they work in the brain, discussing the nature of addiction, and exploring the damage they do to users. The book moves on to policy, answering questions about legalization, the role of criminal prohibitions, and the relative legal tolerance for alcohol and tobacco. The authors then dissect the illicit trade, from street dealers to the flow of money to the effect of catching kingpins, and show the precise nature of the relationship between drugs and crime. They examine treatment, both its effectiveness and the role of public policy, and discuss the beneficial effects of some abusable substances. Finally they move outward to look at the role of drugs in our foreign policy, their relationship to terrorism, and the ugly politics that surround the issue. Crisp, clear, and comprehensive, this is a handy and up-to-date overview of one of the most pressing topics in today's world. What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

Regulating Cannabis

Regulating Cannabis PDF

Author: Toby Seddon

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-09-03

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 3030529274

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This book explores one of the most pressing public policy questions for the 2020s: how should we regulate cannabis? The global cannabis prohibition regime is fragmenting as more countries experiment with decriminalization and legalization, and this book aims to make sense of this rapidly changing world. The ‘cannabis challenge’ is complex. How do we balance creating a potentially lucrative legal cannabis industry with protecting public health? How do we hardwire social and racial justice into our reform initiatives? How do we build a cannabis trade that is environmentally sustainable? The book seeks to make sense of our present through a state-of-the-art global review of cannabis law reform initiatives – mapping what has been done, where, and with what impacts. It attempts to generate new ideas for the future of cannabis regulation by viewing it through the lens of business regulation and learning lessons from how other consumer products are regulated.

Drugs without the hot air

Drugs without the hot air PDF

Author: David Nutt

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-01-16

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 0857844962

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The dangers of illegal drugs are well known and rarely disputed, but how harmful are alcohol and tobacco by comparison? The issue of what a drug is and how we should live with them affects us all: parents, teachers, users – anyone who has taken a painkiller or drunk a glass of wine. Written by renowned psychiatrist, Professor David Nutt, Drugs without the hot air casts a refreshingly honest light on drugs and answers crucial questions that are rarely ever disputed. What are we missing by banning medical research into magic mushrooms, LSD and cannabis? Can they be sources of valuable treatments? How can psychedelics treat depression? Drugs without the hot air covers a wide range of topics, from addiction and whether addictive personalities exist to the role of cannabis in treating epilepsy, an overview on the opioid crisis, and an assessment of how harmful vaping is. This new expanded and revised second edition includes even more details on international policies, particularly in the US. David's research has won international support, reducing drug-related harm by introducing policies that are founded on scientific evidence. But there is still a lot to be done. Accessibly written, this much-awaited second edition is an important book for everyone that brings us all up to date with the 'war of drugs'.