Drugs, Society, and Behavior 03/04

UNIT 1. Living With Drugs 1. Tobacco, Keneth E. Warner, Foreign Policy , May/June 2002 For tobacco control advocates, the tobacco industry is public health enemy number one. Its products will kill 500 million of the 6 billion people living today. 2. American Banks and the War on Drugs, Stephen Bender, Z Magazine , March 2001 A large portion of U.S. banks' conservatively estimated $250 billion in criminal proceeds is derived from the drug trade. That enormous sum makes U.S. banks the world's largest financial beneficiary of the drug trade. 3. Rx Drug Abuse Posing Public Health CrisisNIDA, Michael F. Conlan, Drug Topics , May 7, 2001 Some research suggests that 17 percent of adults over 60 years of age may be affected by prescription drug abuse. Pharmacists argue, however, that they cannot view every patient as a potential abuser. 4. America's War on Drugs, Jann S. Wenner, Rolling Stone , August 2001 Lawmakers, CEOs, police chiefs, academics, and artists discuss one of the most controversial issues of our time, the drug war. Some argue that this is a war against our own citizens. 5. Controlling Drug Use, Kevin W. Whiteacre and Hal Pepinsky, Criminal Justice Policy Review , March 2002 This article suggests that society can reduce drug-related harms by encouraging healthy drug use. Should drug users be included in policy discussions about drugs? UNIT 2. Understanding How Drugs WorkUse, Dependency, and Addiction 6. Hungry for the Next Fix, Stanton Peele, Reason , May 2002 Stanton Peele argues that the relentless medical search to cure addiction is misguided and that the primary responsibility for recovery lies in the mind of the addict. 7. Finding the Future Alcoholic, Steven Stocker, The Futurist , May/June 2002 Scientists may soon be able to identify children who are likely to become alcoholics. But will society be able to prevent their addiction? 8. Learning About Addiction From the Genome, Eric J. Nestler and David Landsman, Nature , February 2001 Drug addiction can be defined as the compulsive seeking and taking of a drug despite adverse consequences. Although understanding addiction requires the consideration of many social and psychological factors, understanding the biological factors associated with addiction is critical. 9. Licking the Habit, Christine Gorman, Time , April 15, 2002 A nicotine-laced lollipop has antismoking activists crying foul. Could it create new addicts? 10. Cognition Is Central to Drug Addiction, Siri Carpenter, Monitor on Psychology , June 2001 Recent research shows that drug abuse alters cognitive activities such as decision making and inhibition, likely setting the stage for addiction and relapse. This article discusses the relationships between thinking and addiction. 11. How It All Starts Inside Your Brain, Sharon Begley, Newsweek , February 12, 2001 New research on how cocaine, heroin, alcohol, and amphetamines target neuronal circuits is revealing the biological basis of addiction, tolerance, withdrawal, and relapse. UNIT 3. The Major Drugs of Use and Abuse 12. The Agony of Ecstasy, Ria Romano, The Counselor , February 2002 This article examinesWilson, Hugh T. is the author of 'Drugs, Society, and Behavior 03/04', published 2003 under ISBN 9780072838299 and ISBN 0072838299.