In "Ecstasy Unlimited", Laura Kipnis provides a collection of essays on popular culture, politics, aesthetics, feminism, and postmodernism, along with complete scripts from three of her videotapes. These essays, written from her perspective as a practising artist, in tandem with her videoscripts, are singular in bringing a wide range of theoretical sophistication to film and video studies. Kipnis challenges political and aesthetic orthodoxies. Her interpretations take risks at a number of levels, and do not easily fit into established disciplines and categories. Extensively illustrated with stills from her videotapes, "Ecstasy Unlimited" examines everyday life and popular culture produced by consumer capitalism in ironic - and, at times, very funny - ways. Laura Kipnis is a video artist and theorist whose work has been shown widely in the United States and Europe. Her latest video production is "Marx: the Video". She has written extensively on the politics and aesthetics of postmodernism, feminism, and popular culture. This book is intended for students and academics of media studies, cultural politics.

The very first thing ever bought or sold on the Internet was marijuana, when Stanford and MIT students used ARPANET to cut a deal in the early '70s. Today, you can order any conceivable pill or powder with the click of a mouse. In Drugs Unlimited, Mike Power tells the tale of drugs in the Internet Age, in which users have outmaneuvered law enforcement, breached international borders, and created a massive worldwide black market. But the online market in narcotics isn't just changing the way drugs are bought and sold; it's changing the nature of drugs themselves. Enterprising dealers are using the Web to engage highly skilled foreign chemists to tweak the chemical structures of banned drugs—just enough to create a similar effect and just enough to render them legal in most parts of the world. Drugs are marketed as "not for human consumption," but everyone knows exactly how they're going to be used—what they can't know is whether their use might prove fatal. From dancefloors to the offices of apathetic government officials, via social networking sites and underground labs, Power explores this agile, international, virtual subculture that will always be one step ahead of the law.

This handbook provides a comprehensive examination of the past and present roles of drugs in society with a focus on theory, research, policy, and practice. Includes 28 original chapters with multi-disciplinary and international perspectives by top social and behavioral scientists Reviews current knowledge in the field, including key research findings, theoretical developments, and methodological debates Identifies ongoing controversies in the field, emergent topics, and areas in need of further inquiry Discusses individual drugs as well as topics like physiological theories of drug use and abuse, public health implications of drugs, patterns of drugs and crime, international drug trade and trafficking, and designer drugs

A high proportion of crimes committed in Britain are drugs-related, with many offenders having a documented history of drug use. However, the direct link between drugs and crime is often less clear than is supposed and this text attempts to achieve a better understanding of these and surrounding issues that have been marred by misunderstanding and a lack of consensus amongst experts. This text offers a major contribution to existing debates and provides an authoritative and much-needed overview of the range of issues associated with drugs-related crime. Coverage includes: a discussion on theoretical approaches to drugs and crime, an overview of the legal position on drugs and drug offenders, a critique of the aims and nature of treatment, an examination of trafficking and laundering, an analysis of the policing of drugs markets, a discussion about the legalisation debates. This new edition has been fully updated to include the latest data and recent developments in policy and particular attention is paid to changes in sentencing and treatment, as well as changes to practice in trafficking. An expanded chapter on women, drugs and crime now offers further coverage of drug-taking and prostitution. This is the only book in Britain which centres on the links between drugs and crime, and deals with the policy implications of that link. It is a comprehensive account of the various aspects of Government policy concerning drugs, and should be particularly useful to academics and students interested in or studying this aspect of criminology.

"The Forbidden Gift is defining that intangible knowing, that unmistakable feeling that tells you there is more, more than you have previously ever had the chance to fully conceptually digest and savor defining that feeling behind whose many masks lie layer upon layer of uncomfortable sensations that, as you progressed through life, you merely adapted to and incorporated into the you that you are today." "Who are you? Each chapter of this book is a walk through your life and the life of humankind in general. 'Who am I?' is naturally followed by 'What is my purpose for living, for being? Who is responsible for all this? What is the reason?' To answer these questions we must look into the heart, the source of your reality, and venture beyond the known into the unknown." "That is what this book is all about-liberation from the unconscious forces that cause you to behave, think, feel and live in fashions that are not productive, but counterproductive to realizing the whole essence of your highest potential. If you open your heart and mind to what is said, you will experience personal insights and a loosening of the very dense jungle of chronic, deeply rooted scripting that controls your entire orientation and self-creation in the life process." "The strength to make impact, the strength and methodology to pull your own strings, and the ability to sense your own power and apply it intelligently and with sensitivity-even passion-is my theme." -ANTTARR

Drugs: Policy and Politics is an accessible introduction to the links between drugs and social policy. Assessing current and recent policies and political responses, it considers the ways in which drugs policy is formulated and implemented in the UK and Europe. The book examines the dynamic context of drug policy through discussions of broader policy fields such as health and the criminal justice system. The contributors offer evidence-based insights into the social complexities of both drug use and drug users, as they examine those specific groups who are associated with particular patterns of drug use. Drug issues are linked with aspects of gender, race and social exclusion, all of which have a resonance in the current discourses of policy making. Drugs: Policy and Politics provides an important set of tools with which to rethink the diversity of drug use and drug users. It is important reading for social policy students and researchers, as well as trainee social workers, probation officers, police and prison officers.

Humans have been using psychoactive (mind-altering) drugs since ancient times, and barely a day goes by without a drug related issue reaching the headlines. This book provides an accessible and lucid introduction to some of the main health and social issues related to illicit drugs and their use.