In this book, Horace Bartilow develops a theory of embedded corporatism to explain the U.S. government's war on drugs. Stemming from President Richard Nixon's 1971 call for an international approach to this "war," U.S. drug enforcement policy has persisted with few changes to the present day, despite widespread criticism of its effectiveness and of its unequal effects on hundreds of millions of people across the Americas. While researchers consistently emphasize the role of race in U.S. drug enforcement, Bartilow's empirical analysis highlights the class dimension of the drug war and the immense power that American corporations wield within the regime. Drawing on qualitative case study methods, declassified U.S. government documents, and advanced econometric estimators that analyze cross-national data, Bartilow demonstrates how corporate power is projected and embedded—in lobbying, financing of federal elections, funding of policy think tanks, and interlocks with the federal government and the military. Embedded corporatism, he explains, creates the conditions by which interests of state and nonstate members of the regime converge to promote capital accumulation. The subsequent human rights repression, illiberal democratic governments, antiworker practices, and widening income inequality throughout the Americas, Bartilow argues, are the pathological policy outcomes of embedded corporatism in drug enforcement.

"Pathologies of Power" uses harrowing stories of life and death to argue thatthe promotion of social and economic rights of the poor is the most importanthuman rights struggle of our times.

Fighting around the globe, American soldiers were at high risk for contracting malaria, yet quinine - a natural cure - became hard to acquire. This historical study shows the roots and branches of an enormous drug development project during World War II.

"In this book, Horace Bartilow develops a theory of embedded corporatism to explain the U.S. government's war on drugs. Stemming from President Richard Nixon's 1971 call for an international approach to this 'war, ' the U.S. drug enforcement policy has persisted to the present day, despite widespread criticism of its effectiveness and of its unequal effects on hundreds of millions of people across the Americas. While research has consistently emphasized the role of race in U.S. drug enforcement, Bartilow's analysis empirically highlights the class dimension of the drug war and the immense power that American corporations wield within the regime. Drawing on qualitative case study methods, declassified U.S. government documents, and advanced econometric estimators that analyze cross-national data, Bartilow systematically demonstrates how corporate power, as projected through corporate lobbies, corporate financing of federal elections, corporate funding of policy think tanks, and corporate interlocks with the federal government and the military, create the conditions in which the divergent interests of state and nonstate members of the regime converge in ways that promote capital accumulation. The subsequent human rights repression, illiberal democratic governments, repression of workers, and widening income inequality throughout the Americas, Bartilow argues, are the pathological policy outcomes of the embedded corporatist drug enforcement regime"--

This provocative and controversial book rejects the popular pablum of more laws, more money, more enforcement personnel, and more jails as the road to victory in the "war on drugs." Author Steven Wisotsky masterfully documents the failure of the drug war and the erroneous premise central to its destructive and doomed strategy: the idea that drug taking controls human behavior; that drugs "cause" physical dependency. Americans must move beyond the war on drugs by repudiating their obsessive preoccupation with controlling or prohibiting drugs. Instead, we must replace this mindset with a new view that acknowledges individual freedom and the power of directing our choices toward responsible human behavior. According to Wisotsky, the idea of "waging war" on drugs is central to the problem rather than a fundamental part of any solution. He takes the Reagan-Bush-Bennett campaign to task for its failed efforts to cut the supply of drugs, reduce public demand, and enforce laws regarding the sale and distribution of controlled substances. Wisotsky contends that the war on drugs will remain inadequate so long as society continues to be seduced by the battle cries of its own stepped-up combat in which the "enemy" (drugs) must be eradicated at all cost. The rationale for doing battle has become so embedded in the public mind that we no longer recognize the need for a critical review of social policy, strategy, or the methods needed to achieve our desired goals. Have we simply created a new type of Prohibition, which is destined to fail? And if this is the case, then what does it say about our society? Have we lost the ability to reflect critically on our social motives and purposes, as well as our justification for the actions we take, simply because we've declared "war" on the "enemy" and we aren't going to stop the good fight until we've "won"? Beyond the War on Drugs offers hard-hitting arguments to support the growing public opinion that this war, as it is currently conceived, cannot be won and ought not to be fought. Wisotsky argues persuasively for a reassessment of this struggle. We must go beyond the war on drugs to develop a public policy that acknowledges human intelligence, free choice, and individual responsibility.

The Pathology of Drug Abuse, Second Edition is a comprehensive yet accessible guide to the pathology, toxicology, and pharmacology of commonly abused drugs. The book also offers detailed information on the origin, history, and production techniques used to make these drugs. As in the first edition, emphasis remains focused on the investigation of drug-related deaths and on practical approaches to the detection of drug abuse. The medical complications associated with each of the abused drugs are discussed in some detail as well. Individual chapters deal with cocaine, other naturally occurring stimulants, synthetic stimulants, hallucinogens, narcotics, anabolic steroids, and solvent abuse. Approximately 800 new references have been added since the publication of the first edition. Numerous new photomicrographs and drawings have been added, and many of the illustrations from the first edition have been redrawn to enhance clarity.