Confronting the Drug Control Establishment: Alfred Lindesmith as a Public Intellectual (Deviance Social Control) - Softcover

Keys, David Patrick; Galliher, John F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791443949 ISBN 13: 9780791443941

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 1999

Synopsis

Examines the career of sociologist Alfred R. Lindesmith, who argued against drug prohibitions from the 1930s onward, warning of the threat to democracy and advocating more humane drug control laws.

Confronting the Drug Control Establishment is a biography of Alfred R. Lindesmith and an intellectual history of his times. A sociologist at Indiana University, Lindesmith believed legal prohibition of addictive drugs was futile and wrote widely on the threat to democracy inherent in such a policy.

Lindesmith’s career began during the 1930s and developed along with the emerging drug prohibitions in the early and mid-twentieth century. Throughout his life Lindesmith attempted to utilize his research for the creation of more rational and humane drug control laws. His consistent message was that the addict’s self-concept is a central element in human addiction. Lindesmith felt that an overriding influence on an addict’s self-concept is a fear of withdrawal, which keeps an addict from seeking treatment and becomes a key driving force in the drug problem.

About this title

About the Author

David Patrick Keys is Professor of Political Science at West Texas A & M University.

John F. Galliher is Professor of Sociology and Director of Peace Studies at the University of Missouri. He is the author of Criminology: Human Rights, Conflict and Criminal Law and, most recently, Marginality and Dissent in 20th Century American Sociology: The Case of Elizabeth Briant Lee and Alfred McClung Lee, published by SUNY Press.

Review

“This book builds a convincing case for the scientific and clinical importance of Lindesmith’s work on addiction and for the political significance of his stand against policies that criminalize the addict.” ― James D. Orcutt, Florida State University

“Essential reading for scholars and practitioners concerned with drug control policy and deviance, Lindesmith having been a sociologist of intellectual courage and vision.” ― Gideon Sjoberg, coauthor of A Methodology for Social Research: With a New Introductory Essay

Edition details

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0791443949
• ISBN 13: 9780791443941
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 235