NCJ Number
180577
Editor(s)
Raymond Goldberg
Date Published
1998
Length
347 pages
Annotation
Presented in a debate-style format, this book introduces students to controversies surrounding drug use and misuse in contemporary society.
Abstract
The readings, which include the arguments of leading social scientists, health care professionals, and social commentators, reflect a variety of viewpoints and have been selected for the substance of their arguments and their value in a debate framework. Seven issues are discussed under the topic "drugs and public policy." Issues addressed include whether drugs should be legalized, whether there should be more emphasis on stopping the importation of drugs, drug testing by employers, needle exchange program, whether pregnant drug users should be prosecuted, harm reduction as a national drug policy goal, and whether tobacco products should be more closely regulated. Six issues are discussed under the topic of "drugs and social policy." The issues debated are whether marijuana should be legalized as a medication, whether doctors should promote alcohol use for their patients, whether nicotine is physically addictive, whether there should be tighter restrictions on the advertising of prescription drugs, whether too many children are receiving Ritalin, and whether Prozac is overprescribed. Five issues are debated under the topic of "drug prevention and treatment." The issues considered are whether the Federal Drug Administration should prohibit tobacco advertising, whether total abstinence is the only choice for an alcoholic, whether Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) is an effective program, whether the decisions about using anabolic steroids should be left to athletes, and whether drug treatment services should be expanded.