Changing Lives, Changing Drug Journeys


Book Description

This book describes how a group of young people make decisions about drug taking. It charts the decision making process of recreational drug takers and non-drug takers as they mature from adolescence into young adulthood. With a focus upon their perceptions of different drugs, it situates their decision making within the context of their everyday lives. Changing lives, changing drug journeys presents qualitative longitudinal data collected from interviewees at age 17, 22 and 28 and tracks the onset of drug journeys, their persistence, change and desistance. The drug journeys and the decision making process which underpins them are analysed by drawing upon contemporary discourses of risk and life course criminology. In doing so, a new theoretical framework is developed to help us understand drug taking decision making in contemporary society. This framework highlights the pleasures and risks that interviewees perceive when making decisions whether or not to take drugs. The ways in which their drug journeys and life journeys intersect and how social relationships and transitions to adulthood facilitate or constrain the decision making process are also explored. Qualitative longitudinal research of this kind is uncommon yet it provides an invaluable insight into the decision making process of individuals during the life course. The book will, therefore, be of interest to researchers and students from a variety of disciplines including qualitative research methods as well as sociology, criminology, cultural and health studies. It will also be an important resource for professionals working in health promotion, drugs education, harm reduction and treatment.




How to Change Your Mind


Book Description

Now on Netflix as a 4-part documentary series! “Pollan keeps you turning the pages . . . cleareyed and assured.” —New York Times A #1 New York Times Bestseller, New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018, and New York Times Notable Book A brilliant and brave investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs--and the spellbinding story of his own life-changing psychedelic experiences When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third. Thus began a singular adventure into various altered states of consciousness, along with a dive deep into both the latest brain science and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Pollan sifts the historical record to separate the truth about these mysterious drugs from the myths that have surrounded them since the 1960s, when a handful of psychedelic evangelists inadvertently catalyzed a powerful backlash against what was then a promising field of research. A unique and elegant blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, How to Change Your Mind is a triumph of participatory journalism. By turns dazzling and edifying, it is the gripping account of a journey to an exciting and unexpected new frontier in our understanding of the mind, the self, and our place in the world. The true subject of Pollan's "mental travelogue" is not just psychedelic drugs but also the eternal puzzle of human consciousness and how, in a world that offers us both suffering and joy, we can do our best to be fully present and find meaning in our lives.




Drug Use for Grown-Ups


Book Description

“Hart’s argument that we need to drastically revise our current view of illegal drugs is both powerful and timely . . . when it comes to the legacy of this country’s war on drugs, we should all share his outrage.” —The New York Times Book Review From one of the world's foremost experts on the subject, a powerful argument that the greatest damage from drugs flows from their being illegal, and a hopeful reckoning with the possibility of their use as part of a responsible and happy life Dr. Carl L. Hart, Ziff Professor at Columbia University and former chair of the Department of Psychology, is one of the world's preeminent experts on the effects of so-called recreational drugs on the human mind and body. Dr. Hart is open about the fact that he uses drugs himself, in a happy balance with the rest of his full and productive life as a researcher and professor, husband, father, and friend. In Drug Use for Grown-Ups, he draws on decades of research and his own personal experience to argue definitively that the criminalization and demonization of drug use--not drugs themselves--have been a tremendous scourge on America, not least in reinforcing this country's enduring structural racism. Dr. Hart did not always have this view. He came of age in one of Miami's most troubled neighborhoods at a time when many ills were being laid at the door of crack cocaine. His initial work as a researcher was aimed at proving that drug use caused bad outcomes. But one problem kept cropping up: the evidence from his research did not support his hypothesis. From inside the massively well-funded research arm of the American war on drugs, he saw how the facts did not support the ideology. The truth was dismissed and distorted in order to keep fear and outrage stoked, the funds rolling in, and Black and brown bodies behind bars. Drug Use for Grown-Ups will be controversial, to be sure: the propaganda war, Dr. Hart argues, has been tremendously effective. Imagine if the only subject of any discussion about driving automobiles was fatal car crashes. Drug Use for Grown-Ups offers a radically different vision: when used responsibly, drugs can enrich and enhance our lives. We have a long way to go, but the vital conversation this book will generate is an extraordinarily important step.




Changing Children's Lives with Hypnosis


Book Description

Hypnosis is an underused tool in pediatric medicine to address both physical and psychological symptoms. This technique helps manage anxiety, breathing issues, habits, pain, and countless other concerns. The book unfolds as a pediatrician recognizes the healing power of hypnos...




Why Don't They JUST QUIT?


Book Description

Updated Edition! Contains new chapters and info on: Heroin, Shame & Stigma, Harm Reduction, Marijuana, Synthetic Drugs, 12-Step Groups & The Church, and much more! Real-life solutions to help you now! Watching a loved one immersed in an intense battle with alcohol and drug abuse may be the most difficult, complex and harrowing experience you'll ever have. This book offers a message of hope to families and friends, giving practical solutions so they can help anyone struggling with addiction to begin the road to recovery. You'll discover: -Why a person doesn't have to hit rock-bottom before getting help. -When helping is actually hurting. -Why quitting is not the same as recovering. -How to deal with a relapse. -The importance of faith and hope in recovery. -Why a parent would leave their child due to their addiction. -How to effectively intervene. Answers to over 30 common, and not so common questions. Inspiring first-hand recovery stories from real people! Praise for Why Don't They Just Quit? This book is a must read. . . I consider Why Don't They Just Quit? to be one of the top five recovery books for families. --Nicholas Taylor, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist, National Expert on the Treatment of Methamphetamine Addiction Everyone needs to read this book. After 25yrs of drinking it has saved my life. --Craig M., New Philadelphia, Ohio God bless you. Al-Anon and AA are a Godsend, but I have found other books to be very general and a little outdated with today’s times. Joe’s book has answered so many questions for me that I can relate to and put into practice. --D.B., Lakewood, Colorado . . . stayed up late last night reading various parts of it; inspiring! This book is for people like me; someone with chemically addicted people in their life-- a must read for the addicted and those who care about them. --Donna Schwartz, MFT, CAC III Valley Hope Treatment Services in Colorado, former Family Program Therapist of Parker Valley Hope Treatment Center This book was a Godsend! I have struggled as a parent of an addict for years, and now I am finally able to see that it is not in my ability to heal him! This book was life changing, LIFE CHANGING! I can now begin to recover myself, even if my child doesn't! Thank you Joe, for writing this book! --Shelley K. (parent) Joe's book helps us to understand the addiction and recovery process. He combines a lifetime of personal and professional experience dealing with this issue in a practical and highly personal overview. The book is excellent. I wish I had read it a year ago. --Sheriff Joe Pelle, Boulder County, Colorado As a Mother, I found this book to be full of empathy, tough-love and practical information. I especially appreciate that Joe included the spiritual part of recovery, which other resources often avoid. --Vicki Beatty, Celebrate Recovery Leader/Covenant Chapel, Leawood, Kansas This book will be valued by many, many people. A very meaningful gift of God's grace to families who need sanity in the middle of their runaway insanity. --Mike Richards Jr., Director of Recovery Ministries/International Bible Society, Houston, Texas Many of you reading this book are facing the battle of your life. Alcohol and drugs consumed my daughter's life. I can't put into words the anguish of attending my daughter's funeral. I wish I would have had this book long ago. Maybe Mia would still be here. I didn't know how to help her. This book is full of answers I could have used. --Pam M. (Mia's Mom), Niwot, Colorado




Illegal Drug Use Through The Lifecourse


Book Description

Hidden older illegal drug users are a seldom researched group; most research on illegal drug users instead focusses on the young or the institutionalised. To counter this trend, this book reports on a study of current 'hidden' users of illegal drugs aged 40 and over. These are individuals who have sustained illegal drug use over the long term, largely away from the gaze of the authorities, whilst living otherwise 'conventional' lives, holding down jobs, raising families and so on. Thus they have much to tell us about how illegal substances can be integrated into life over the long term, how that integration intersects with other aspects of one's existence, and how illegal drug use is ultimately shaped by changes in personal circumstances and wider social contexts. Utilising insights from the 'life course perspective', the development of the participants' use over their lives is analysed and placed in social context. The book also details the nature of their current drug use. Thus, the book illustrates the place of illegal drugs in the lives of the participants, and how this came to be over the decades as they also juggled work, family and the everyday minutiae of life with their use. The result is a unique look at the illegal drug use of an often ignored group of older drug users, which charts the changing role that illegal drugs have played - and continue to play - in their lives.




The SAGE Handbook of Drug & Alcohol Studies


Book Description

With contributions from leading international academics across the social sciences, this accessible handbook takes a critical look at the key theories, disciplinary approaches, contemporary issues and debates in the field. · Part I Central Social Science Theories Drug and Alcohol Studies · Part II Pillars in Social Science Drug and Alcohol Studies · Part III Controversies and New Approaches in Social Science Drug and Alcohol Studies This Handbook is an excellent reference text for the growing number of academics, students, scientists and practitioners in the drug and alcohol studies community.




Drugs, Identity and Stigma


Book Description

This book calls attention to the impact of stigma experienced by people who use illicit drugs. Stigma is powerful: it can do untold harm to a person and place with longstanding effects. Through an exploration of themes of inequality, power, and feeling ‘out of place’ in neoliberal times, this collection focuses on how stigma is negotiated, resisted and absorbed by people who use drugs. How does stigma get under the skin? Drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks and empirical data, this book draws attention to the damaging effects stigma can have on identity, recovery, mental health, desistance from crime, and social inclusion. By connecting drug use, stigma and identity, the authors in this collection share insights into the everyday experiences of people who use drugs and add to debate focused on an agenda for social justice in drug use policy and practice.




UK Hip-Hop, Grime and the City


Book Description

Young people in London have contributed to the production of a distinctively British rap culture. This book moves beyond accounts of Hip-Hop’s marginality and shows, with an examination of the production, dissemination and use of rap in London, how this cultural form plays an important role in the everyday lives of young Londoners and the formation of identities. Through in-depth interviews with a range of leading and emerging rap artists, close analysis of rap music tracks, and over two years of ethnographic research of London’s UK Hip-Hop and Grime scenes, Bramwell examines how black and white urban youths use rap to come together to explore their creative abilities. By combining these methodological approaches in the development of a critical participant observation, the book reveals how the collaborative work of these urban youths produced these politically significant subcultures, through which they resist unfair and illegitimate policing practices and attempt to develop their economic autonomy in a city marred by immense social and economic inequalities.




The Oxford Handbook of Criminology


Book Description

Beginning with the history of criminology this updated and revised edition deals with topics as diverse as policing, substance abuse, juvenile crime, statistics, prisons, victims, and organised crime in Britain.