Drug Science and British Drug Policy

Drug Science and British Drug Policy PDF Author: Ilana Crome
Publisher: Waterside Press
ISBN: 1914603265
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 334

Get Book Here

Book Description
For half a century the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 has dominated ill-conceived approaches to the prohibition of drugs and the criminalisation of many offenders. Wilful blindness to scientific facts has distorted the dispensation of justice, prevented lifesaving investigation, sidelined critics and thwarted advocates of politically inconvenient drugs law reform. This once in an epoch review by experts from a range of disciplines, Drug Science and British Drug Policy shows how lawmakers and the media have ignored the scientific evidence to sustain badly founded rhetoric in favour of blanket bans, punishment and the marginalisation of opponents. Countless individuals (including the vulnerable, deprived, addicted and mentally ill) have therefore suffered unnecessarily. This, the most comprehensive critique of the 1971 Act yet, rests on the combined learning of leading medical, scientific, psychiatric, academic, legal, drug safety and other specialists to provide sound reasons to re-think half a century of bad law. A thorough examination of the 1971 Act which challenges long outmoded ideas. Demonstrating political and media distortions the book calls for fresh thinking and urgent reform. Drug Science and British Drug Policy is first-rate, in-depth and highly informed. Review ‘It is time to see the MDA 1971 for what it is: a bad law that has the opposite effect to that intended. The so-called war on drugs is lost. It could never be won. Let us replace this knee-jerk law with something rational, something evidence-based, something more humane.’— Rt Hon Norman Baker (From the Foreword).

Nutt Uncut

Nutt Uncut PDF Author: David Nutt
Publisher: Waterside Press
ISBN: 1909976857
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 259

Get Book Here

Book Description
A direct challenge to politicians and others by a world expert on drugs. David Nutt regularly hit the headlines as the UK’s forthright Drugs Czar (Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs), not least when fired by the Home Secretary in 2009 for his ‘inconvenient’ views. In Nutt Uncut he explains how he survived ill-judged political and media vilification to establish the respected charity Drug Science, with the aim of telling the truth about drugs. The book describes his life, distinguished career and scientific achievements, including his research into the human brain and the effects that both lawful and criminally illegal substances (including psychedelics) have on the brain and behaviour. It also catalogues with expert precision the risks of harm to drug users and others of a range of well-known drugs. Surveying the state of medical knowledge around various currently prohibited substances — from hard drugs to LSD, cannabis, ecstasy, magic mushrooms and poppers — Professor Nutt ranks their potential harms and benefits (e.g. in treating anxiety, depression or pain) leading him to challenge the distorted logic of a blanket ban on anything psychoactive except alcohol, tobacco and caffeine. Nutt Uncut contains far, far more about the usually hidden world of drugs, their use, abuse and role as a political bargaining counter — making it of interest not just to the many experts and others who already support the author’s campaign for a frank, evidence-based approach to drugs but also anyone who wishes to learn about what he describes in Chapter 11 as ‘policy madness.’

Drugs without the hot air

Drugs without the hot air PDF Author: David Nutt
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857844962
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 449

Get Book Here

Book Description
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'.

Drug Science and British Drug Policy

Drug Science and British Drug Policy PDF Author: Ilana Crome
Publisher: Waterside Press
ISBN: 1914603265
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 334

Get Book Here

Book Description
For half a century the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 has dominated ill-conceived approaches to the prohibition of drugs and the criminalisation of many offenders. Wilful blindness to scientific facts has distorted the dispensation of justice, prevented lifesaving investigation, sidelined critics and thwarted advocates of politically inconvenient drugs law reform. This once in an epoch review by experts from a range of disciplines, Drug Science and British Drug Policy shows how lawmakers and the media have ignored the scientific evidence to sustain badly founded rhetoric in favour of blanket bans, punishment and the marginalisation of opponents. Countless individuals (including the vulnerable, deprived, addicted and mentally ill) have therefore suffered unnecessarily. This, the most comprehensive critique of the 1971 Act yet, rests on the combined learning of leading medical, scientific, psychiatric, academic, legal, drug safety and other specialists to provide sound reasons to re-think half a century of bad law. A thorough examination of the 1971 Act which challenges long outmoded ideas. Demonstrating political and media distortions the book calls for fresh thinking and urgent reform. Drug Science and British Drug Policy is first-rate, in-depth and highly informed. Review ‘It is time to see the MDA 1971 for what it is: a bad law that has the opposite effect to that intended. The so-called war on drugs is lost. It could never be won. Let us replace this knee-jerk law with something rational, something evidence-based, something more humane.’— Rt Hon Norman Baker (From the Foreword).

Drug Policy and the Public Good

Drug Policy and the Public Good PDF Author: Thomas Babor
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192550276
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 349

Get Book Here

Book Description
Illegal psychoactive substances and illicit prescription drugs are currently used on a daily basis all over the world. Affecting public health and social welfare, illicit drug use is linked to disease, disability, and social problems. Faced with an increase in usage, national and global policymakers are turning to addiction science for guidance on how to create evidence-based drug policy. Drug Policy and the Public Good is an objective analytical basis on which to build global drug policies. It presents the accumulated scientific knowledge on drug use in relation to policy development on a national and international level. By also revealing new epidemiological data on the global dimensions of drug misuse, it questions existing regulations and highlights the growing need for evidence-based, realistic, and coordinated drug policy. A critical review of cumulative scientific evidence, Drug Policy and the Public Good discusses four areas of drug policy; primary prevention programs in schools and other settings; supply reduction programs, including legal enforcement and drug interdiction; treatment interventions and harm reduction approaches; and control of the legal market through prescription drug regimes. In addition, it analyses the current state of global drug policy, and advocates improvements in the drafting of public health policy. Drug Policy and the Public Good is a global source of information and inspiration for policymakers involved in public health and social welfare. Presenting new research on illicit and prescription drug use, it is also an essential tool for academics, and a significant contribution to the translation of addiction research into effective drug policy.

Misuse of Drugs

Misuse of Drugs PDF Author: Leonard Jason-Lloyd
Publisher: Waterside Press
ISBN: 1904380328
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 104

Get Book Here

Book Description
Misuse of Drugs is a basic and accessible guide to the complex world of proscribed drugs. Expertly written by experienced lecturer Leonard Jason-Lloyd, it explains key provisions in short and illuminating chapters. Enhanced by tables, notes, appendices, definitions Explanations of how a multitude of drug laws apply Comprehensive lists of drugs, their classifications, related offences, penalties and other orders Developments that are likely to affect drugs law Misuse of Drugs will be extremely useful to a wide range of people including police officers, magistrates and other court practitioners, as well as those working in prisons and the probation service, drug workers, penal reformers, students and researchers. It is also suitable for use in schools and colleges of higher education. CONTAINS A CLOSING CHAPTER ON CURRENT ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THE DRUGS ARENA

Drug Policy Constellations

Drug Policy Constellations PDF Author: Alex Stevens
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1529231434
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Get Book Here

Book Description
How is UK drugs policy made, and why does it so often seem irrational when considering what works in reducing drug-related harms? This book explains how the concept of drug policy constellations – the loosely concerted policy actors with shared moral commitments that influenced policy outcomes – explains why there is no such thing as 'evidence-based' drug policy. Drawing on his participation in high-level policy discussions, and a novel approach to policy analysis, Stevens presents three recent cases involving key issues in UK illicit drug policy – medical cannabis, drug-related deaths and the government’s 10-year drug strategy.

The Legalization of Drugs

The Legalization of Drugs PDF Author: Doug Husak
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139445855
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the United States today, the use or possession of many drugs is a criminal offense. Can these criminal laws be justified? What are the best reasons to punish or not to punish drug users? These are the fundamental issues debated in this book by two prominent philosophers of law. Douglas Husak argues in favor of drug decriminalization, by clarifying the meaning of crucial terms, such as legalize, decriminalize, and drugs; and by identifying the standards by which alternative drug policies should be assessed. He critically examines the reasons typically offered in favor of our current approach and explains why decriminalization is preferable. Peter de Marneffe argues against drug legalization, demonstrating why drug prohibition, especially the prohibition of heroin, is necessary to protect young people from self-destructive drug use. If the empirical assumptions of this argument are sound, he reasons, drug prohibition is perfectly compatible with our rights to liberty.

Drug Treatment in Prison

Drug Treatment in Prison PDF Author: Carol Martin
Publisher: Waterside Press
ISBN: 1872870260
Category : Civil commitment of drug addicts
Languages : en
Pages : 98

Get Book Here

Book Description
An excellent analysis of UK inititiaves to test prisoners for drugs and alcohol. The findings of a two-year study into the effectiveness of the RAPt drug treatment programme which enables male prisoners with self-confessed problems of substance misuse to lead a drug and alcohol-free life in prison and in the community after release. The report also assesses whether completion of the programme is associated with a reduction in the likelihood of reconviction post-release.

Cannabis (seeing through the smoke)

Cannabis (seeing through the smoke) PDF Author: Professor David Nutt
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1529360501
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 175

Get Book Here

Book Description
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO CANNABIS AND YOUR HEALTH Underpinned by his two-year research trial in partnership with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, involving up to 20,000 patients, which will create Europe's largest body of evidence on the plant's medicinal qualities - Professor David Nutt and his team of scientists will break the mould on the way we use Cannabis for our health in the future. In David's first ground-breaking book on the subject, he will cover its impact of all areas of the body and the brain and its effective use for treatment of illness from chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and PTSD, to anxiety and depression. This is the essential knowledge that cuts through the noise and give us evidence-based information that will change people's lives.

The Urge

The Urge PDF Author: Carl Erik Fisher
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525561455
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 394

Get Book Here

Book Description
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker and The Boston Globe An authoritative, illuminating, and deeply humane history of addiction—a phenomenon that remains baffling and deeply misunderstood despite having touched countless lives—by an addiction psychiatrist striving to understand his own family and himself “Carl Erik Fisher’s The Urge is the best-written and most incisive book I’ve read on the history of addiction. In the midst of an overdose crisis that grows worse by the hour and has vexed America for centuries, Fisher has given us the best prescription of all: understanding. He seamlessly blends a gripping historical narrative with memoir that doesn’t self-aggrandize; the result is a full-throated argument against blaming people with substance use disorder. The Urge is a propulsive tour de force that is as healing as it is enjoyable to read.” —Beth Macy, author of Dopesick As a psychiatrist in training fresh from medical school, Carl Erik Fisher found himself face-to-face with an addiction crisis that nearly cost him everything. Desperate to make sense of his condition, he turned to the history of addiction, learning that our society’s current quagmire is only part of a centuries-old struggle to treat addictive behavior. A rich, sweeping account that probes not only medicine and science but also literature, religion, philosophy, and public policy, The Urge introduces us to those who have endeavored to address addiction through the ages and examines the treatments that have produced relief for many people, the author included. Only by reckoning with our history of addiction, Fisher argues, can we light the way forward for those whose lives remain threatened by its hold. The Urge is at once an eye-opening history of ideas, a riveting personal story of addiction and recovery, and a clinician’s urgent call for a more nuanced and compassionate view of one of society’s most intractable challenges.