High Price

April 22, 2013
Combining memoir, popular science, and public policy, Hart’s study lambasts current drug laws as draconian and repressive, arguing that they’re based more on assumptions about race and class than on a real understanding of the physiological and societal effects of drugs. Growing up in a poor, predominantly African-American neighborhood in Miami in the 1970s and ’80s, Hart, now a Columbia University neuroscientist, was rarely encouraged to excel academically, and he was too often witness to institutional racism and violence in his own community. Still, despite its deprivations, this background also gave Hart certain advantages later in life, such as a more empathetic relationship with the subjects of his studies on the effects of crack cocaine and other drugs and a more realistic view of what role such drugs actually play in society. Central to his work is the idea that addiction is actually a combination of physiological and social factors, and the use of drugs does not itself lead to violence and crime. Drug laws, he argues, place minorities into a “vicious cycle of incarceration and isolation,” and the most rational policy choice would be decriminalization of all such substances. His is a provocative clarion call for students of sociology and policy-makers alike. Photos. Agent: Marc Gerald and Sasha Raskin, the Agency Group.

May 15, 2013

Hart (neuropsychopharmacologist, Columbia Univ.; research scientist, New York State Psychiatric Instit. Div. of Substance Abuse) presents a refreshing new analysis of substance abuse revealing how common misconceptions about illegal drugs are too often not based on empirical evidence. He blends his personal story--he is a former drug addict--with his research-based insights into the relationship between drugs and pleasure, highlighting the motivating factors behind abuse and the ultimate power of choice. His alarming research results demonstrate new ideas regarding the association between race and drug use, the impact of poverty on addictive behavior, and an original understanding of why national drug-abuse policies fail but illustrates that drug abuse doesn't determine the path of one's life. Drawing both on his own experiences rising above poverty and addiction and the stories of others, he argues that current drug education, treatment, and policy are inconsistent with science. VERDICT Hart adds a radically new approach to thinking about drug abuse and will certainly stimulate controversy, especially among those in the recovery profession. He blends personal memoir with critical analysis to reveal how these misperceptions have resulted in counterproductive policy making and judgmental thinking. His credibility as a former addict adds to this important work. Essential for students as a curriculum supplement, and a provocative read for treatment professionals.--Dale Farris, Groves, TX

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