Dark Paradise

by Courtwright, David T.

• ISBN13: 9780674005853
• ISBN10: 0674005856
• Edition: Large
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-31
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Preface, 2001	xi
A Note on Terminology and Spelling	xv
Introduction	1	(8)
The Extent of Opiate Addiction	9	(26)
Addiction to Opium and Morphine	35	(26)
Addiction to Smoking Opium	61	(24)
Addiction to Heroin	85	(25)
The Transformation of the Opiate Addict	110	(35)
Heroin in Postwar America	145	(16)
The Drug Wars	161	(25)
Appendix: Addiction Rate and City Size	186	(1)
Abbreviations	187	(2)
Notes	189	(82)
Bibliography	271	(46)
Index	317