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The American Drug Culture
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The American Drug Culture



January 2018 | 416 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

The American Drug Culture uses sociological and other perspectives to examine drug and alcohol use in U.S. society. The text is arranged topically rather than by drug categories and explores diverse aspects of drug use, including popular culture, sexuality, legal and criminal justice systems, other social institutions, and mental and physical health. It covers alcohol, the most widely used drug in the United States, more extensively than other texts on this subject. The authors include case studies from their own field research that give students empathetic insights into the situations of those suffering from substance and alcohol abuse. 

 


 
Preface
 
About the Authors
 
Chapter 1: Introduction: Sociological and Other Explanations for Drug and Alcohol Use and Abuse
The Growing Nationwide Opioid Epidemic

 
Sociological Explanations

 
Criminological Explanations

 
Feminist Approaches

 
Other Perspectives

 
Researching Drug and Alcohol Use

 
 
Chapter 2: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs
The War on Drugs and the Federal Schedules

 
“Good Drugs” and “Bad Drugs”: The Media, Labeling, and the Changing Image of Marijuana

 
Is There a Drug Epidemic? Trends in Drug Use

 
 
Chapter 3. Drinking Alcohol: The Alcohol Culture
Ideological Alcohol Culture

 
Behavioral Alcohol Culture

 
Material Alcohol Culture

 
Social Functions of Drinking

 
Brief History of Drinking in America

 
Drinking and Occupations

 
 
Chapter 4: Alcohol and Social Institutions
Alcohol and the Family

 
Alcohol and Religion

 
Alcohol and Education

 
Alcohol and Government

 
Alcohol and Public Opinion

 
 
Chapter 5: Benefits and Costs of Alcohol
Benefits of Alcohol

 
Costs of Alcohol

 
 
6. Alcohol in Popular Culture
Depictions of Drinking and Alcohol in Art

 
Movies and Television

 
Commercials

 
Alcohol and Music

 
Magazines

 
Alcohol and Literature

 
Drinking Games

 
Jokes

 
 
Chapter 7: Alcohol and Sexual Behavior
Drinking and Disinhibition

 
People and Places: Drinking Contexts and Sexuality

 
 
Chapter 8: Alcoholism
Perspectives On and Explanations of Alcoholism

 
Becoming Alcoholic

 
Relapse and Abstinence Cycles

 
The Family and Alcoholism

 
Treating Alcoholism

 
 
Chapter 9: The History of Drug Use in America and Attempts to Control it
The Origin of Hashish and the Persian Assassins

 
Chinese Opium Wars

 
Controlling Drug Use

 
The Geneva International Commission

 
Medicalizing Drug Use

 
The Drug Abuse Warning Network

 
The Marijuana Controversy

 
 
Chapter 10: Drugs in Popular Culture
Art

 
Literature and Poetry

 
Music

 
Comedy

 
Magazines

 
Movies and Television

 
Relationship between Licit and Illicit Drug Use and the Media

 
Relationship Between Marijuana, Heroin, and Other Harder Drugs: Is Marijuana a Gateway Drug?

 
 
Chapter 11: Becoming a Drug User: Careers, Personalities, and Interaction - Two Perspectives
A Psychotherapeutic Approach

 
A Reporter’s Observations

 
A Sociological Perspective

 
 
Chapter 12: The Business of Drug Use: Crime and Law Enforcement
The Mexico–U.S. Drug Connection

 
Drugs and Secondary Deviance

 
Women and Drug Dealing

 
Crack Dealing

 
Drugs and the Mafia

 
Drug Cartels and the Market for Drugs

 
Law Enforcement

 
Medical Professionals and Drugs

 
 
Chapter 13: Prevention and Treatment of Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders
Prevention Efforts

 
Programs Directed at Youth

 
Diversion: Drug Court

 
Psychotherapy

 
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

 
Rehabilitation Program Studies

 
Informal Self-Help Programs: Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous

 
Therapeutic Communities

 
Methadone Maintenance

 
An Innovative Approach

 
Unconventional Approaches

 
 
Appendix A: Case Histories: Alcohol Abusers
 
Appendix B: Case Histories: Drug Abusers
 
References
 
Index

“[The American Drug Culture] addresses professionals and substance use, an important topic. It also provides case studies, which is very useful.”

Jane Nichols
Southern Illinois University
Key features

 KEY FEATURES:

  • Two opening chapters introduce readers to the theories and perspectives used by social scientists to study drugs and alcohol, and to the larger trends in legal and illegal use of controlled substances.
  • Six chapters on alcohol provide comprehensive coverage of the most widely used and abused drug in America.
  • Lively discussions of alcohol and drugs in American popular culture brings the topic to life and relatable.
  • Two appendices contain case histories from the authors’ field research of individuals with alcohol and substance use disorders.


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