1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910778195003321

Autore

Courtwright David T. <1952->

Titolo

Dark paradise [[electronic resource] ] : a history of opiate addiction in America / / David T. Courtwright

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, MA, : Harvard University Press, 2001

ISBN

0-674-26278-6

0-674-02991-7

Edizione

[Enl. ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (270p. ) : ill

Disciplina

362.2930973

Soggetti

Opium abuse - United States - History

Opium - Therapeutic use - History

Morphine abuse

Heroin abuse

Drug addicts - History

Opium trade - Law and legislation - United States - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliography: p225-263. _ Includes index.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-316) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Preface, 2001 -- A Note on Terminology and Spelling -- Introduction -- 1 The Extent of Opiate Addiction -- 2 Addiction to Opium and Morphine -- 3 Addiction to Smoking Opium -- 4 Addiction to Heroin -- 5 The Transformation of the Opiate Addict -- 6 Heroin in Postwar America -- 7 The Drug Wars -- Appendix: Addiction Rate and City Size -- Abbreviations -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

In a newly enlarged edition of this eye-opening book, David T. Courtwright offers an original interpretation of a puzzling chapter in American social and medical history: the dramatic change in the pattern of opiate addiction--from respectable upper-class matrons to lower-class urban males, often with a criminal record. Challenging the prevailing view that the shift resulted from harsh new laws, Courtwright shows that the crucial role was played by the medical rather than the legal profession. Dark Paradise tells the story not only from the standpoint of legal and medical sources, but also from the perspective of addicts themselves. With the addition of a new introduction and two



new chapters on heroin addiction and treatment since 1940, Courtwright has updated this compelling work of social history for the present crisis of the Drug War.