The Great Drug War

[Antigen]

I bought this book because I heard it had some onfo on Straight. Turns out, the entire second chapter is devoted to Fred Collins' ordeal with Straight and the aftermath that followed his escape and successful suit against them.

In this arresting minority report, the author argues that a kind of hysteria has swept the U.S. about the use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs. Trebach, a professor in the School of Justice at American University, characterizes as wild the claim that an ``entire generation is being destroyed by illegal chemicals,'' pointing out that far greater damage is being done to the nation by two legal drugs, alcohol and nicotine. Aided by the cheerleading of Nancy Reagan, many ``experts,'' he claims, provide false information about drugs to young people and their parents; programs such as Straight Inc. and CareUnits even deprive some youths of their constitutional rights. He details the deleterious effects of the current drug war on the sick, the police and others, concluding with ``a bundle of peaceful compromises'' to bring ``drugpeace.'' A good start, he states, could be made by admitting that the work of law enforcement agencies has had no significant impact on our citizenry's drug-taking habits. This controversial study is likely to be widely discussed.

--Publishers Weekly

Marihuana influences Negroes to to look at white people in the eye, step on white men's shadows and look at a white woman twice.



--Hearst newspapers nationwide, 1934

[ This Message was edited by: Antigen on 2002-12-10 14:27 ]