The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control

The American Disease is a classic study of the development of drug laws in the United States. Supporting the theory that Americans' attitudes toward drugs have followed a cyclic pattern of tolerance and restraint, author David F. Musto examines the relationz between public outcry and the creation of prohibitive drug laws from the end of the Civil War up to the present.

Originally published in 1973, and then in an expanded edition in 1987, this third edition contains a new chapter and preface that both address the renewed debate on policy and drug legislation from the end of the Reagan administration to the current Clinton administration. Here, Musto thoroughly investigates how our nation has dealt with such issues as the controversies over prevention programs and mandatory minimum sentencing, the catastrophe of the crack epidemic, the fear of a heroin revival, and the continued debate over the legalization of marijuana.


Author: David F. Musto
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 04/22/1999
Pages: 432
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.23lbs
Size: 8.83h x 5.24w x 1.07d
ISBN: 9780195125092

Review Citation(s):
New York Times 08/08/1999 pg. 24

About the Author

David F. Musto, M.D., a well-known authority on drug abuse, is Professor of Child Psychiatry and the History of Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine.

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