Drug War Politics: The Price of Denial

The use of illegal drugs should not be treated as a crime, but as a public health problem, argue Eva Bertram, Morris Blachman, Kenneth Sharpe, and Peter Andreas. Though the idea is hardly new, Drug War Politics revitalizes public debate over whether tax dollars are better spent suppressing drugs and pushers or rehabilitating addicts. Through interviews with health-care specialists, law enforcement officials, and drug users, the authors--who constitute a drug policy think-tank--illustrate that America's war on drugs must be revamped before it exacerbates the problem.