Drugs Are Not the Devil's Tools: The History of Drugs: Discrimination, Greed, the War on Drugs and Why Medical Marijuana is Creating a New Paradigm

The newly revised one-volume edition of Drugs are NOT the Devil’s Tools is a fascinating, thoughtful, wonderfully illustrated and well-researched examination into the history of drugs, the origin of United States drug laws and the importance of the medicinal properties of marijuana. Dr. David Bearman shows how, through intertwining motives of discrimination and greed, often under the guise of morality, they have created a drug policy that is completely dysfunctional. As he points out, our drug laws have been very effective in further marginalizing discriminated-against groups and a total failure in every other respect. From the Middle Ages through the present, the tactic of demonizing drugs and those accused of using them has been used against pagans, witches, Aztecs, Incas, Native Americans, Irish, Germans, Blacks, Chinese, Sikhs, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Catholics, Jews and Italians, among others. Using an historical perspective, Dr. Bearman shows how that there has never been a civilization in the history of mankind that has not been without some form of mind-altering and addictive substance. He also demonstrates that the very real medical properties of cannabis were recognizes thousands of years ago, along with the medicinal use of other banned substances including opium and coca as well as the now legal “drugs” alcohol and tobacco. The new edition covers the period between 2657 B.C.E through today. Dr. Bearman makes it clear why our current drug policies need a complete overhaul. His reasonable suggestions about how to fix the U.S. drug policies and replace the criminal justice approach with a harm reduction approach are extraordinarily relevant.