Introduction
The drug problem in the USA dates far back before obtaining national independence. Nevertheless, only a few literature sources examine this issue from historical, political, and private perspectives. Among them is one of the most notable books is Addicts Who Survived: An Oral History of Narcotic Use in America before 1965, published by David Courtwright, Herman Joseph, and Don Des Jarlais in 1989. The book is a significant contribution to the increasing amount of literature that seeks to determine the drug addiction nature more deeply. This paper aims at giving a book review, discussing the central interventions made by the authors, methods, and sources used to address the query, and whether the authors manage to answer the question.
Interventions
The book primarily investigates the history of drugs in the United States via an overview of legislation and face-to-face interviews with addicts mainly living in New York City. The authors focus on what is called the “classic” era of opiate addiction lasting from 1923 to 1965, the time during which most of the drug regulation policies in place today were first implemented (Titchener 393). Addicts Who Survived recounts the evolution of opiate abuse from the personal experiences of patients and physicians to the black market and the street, and finally as a backbone of organized crime. In particular, the book contains the narratives of thirty-three addicts who have direct experiences of opiate addiction, participation in the illegal distribution of narcotics, and confrontation with rigid law enforcement.
Historiography
As indicated above, the author’s collected thirty-three interviews with addicts narrating their experiences of opioid use, which helps to give a holistic picture of the “Classic Era of Narcotic Control.” Besides the introduction, the book is composed of three main sections, namely, “Becoming an Addict,” “In the Life,” and “Treatment,” reflecting the life cycle of the addicts, their fears, feeling, thoughts, concerns, and misfortunes. In particular, the introduction elaborates on the social and legislative background of the development of the drugs issue in the US. The section contains relevant statistics, facts, articles, acts, and bills that reveal the primary causes and conditions of the drug distribution and complications of the problem. The other three parts, via interviews taken between 1978 and 1982, allow the reader to plunge into the distinct subculture produced by drugs and strict punitive measures the federal government imposed instead of purposeful treatment.
Before the book’s publication, in 1947, the sociologist Alfred R. Lindesmith had undertaken one of the first academic examinations of drug addicts, entitled Opiate Addiction, by conducting over sixty interviews with morphine addicts. Fourteen years later, still commiserating to the severe state of addicts, he published Drug Addiction: Crime or Disease? (McWilliams 394). Critics chiefly condemned both studies and defined them as unacceptable and dangerous. Then, in the book The Addict and the Law, Lindesmith provides a comprehensive account with factual details about US legal and police practices and court procedures. The American Disease, written by David Musto, is also a remarkable book that covers the period from the Civil War to the present and reveals critical blunders of law enforcement agencies on drug control.
The Outcome
The authors address the questions related to the spread of opiate addiction appropriately, expanding the boundaries of understanding the problems of legal drug regulation in the 20th century and the need for adequate treatment. The introduction gives rich historical material that helps to realize the preconditions of drug distribution and the formation of erroneous public opinion about drug use. For instance, the authors state that “Just about anyone could secure pure drugs with little bother and at modest cost” (Courtwright et al. 1). This almost unrestricted access to drugs resulted in the vast narcotic dimension, “with perhaps as many as 300,000 addicts at the turn of the century” and “500,000 addicts” at the end (Courtwright et al. 2). Thus, the authors specify that, in the 20th century, the principal driver of drug distribution became the absence of effective regulation and awareness of the adverse narcotic’ effect.
Concerning the core parts of the book, the attention should be directed at the testimonies of classic-era addicts, which give the broad panorama of their miserable life. In this context, Curtis’s life can be taken as an example, who was born in Wilmington in 1904 and started consuming cocaine at nine years old. Curtis tells that in adolescence, his attitude towards drugs was lightweight, and the knowledge was superficial. He indicates, “I didn’t know that it was a drug, or that it would make you feel funny” (Courtwright et al. 188). Further, he tells that everybody who works in a pharmacy or hospital could gain narcotics, even heroin, and many pharmacists, doctors, or nurses sold them to earn good money.
Besides, the authors criticize punitive measures undertaken by the government instead of preventive policies. For instance, Sophia, who was an addicted prostitute, did not dispose of drug use even after a five-year prison sentence. In one of her memories, she recalls, “The first day I came out of jail I put a needle in my arm” (Courtwright et al. 164). Moreover, they emphasize that almost nothing changed from those times in terms of legislative measures.
Conclusion
In summary, the paper has given a review of the book Addicts Who Survived: An Oral History of Narcotic Use in America before 1965, discussing the central interventions and methods used to address the query. In particular, via interviews with drug addicts, the authors give a holistic picture of the “Classic Era of Narcotic Control,” demonstrating the adverse consequences of blundering law regulation policies and addicts’ miserable lives. Moreover, the book reveals the social and legislative background of the development of the narcotics issue in the US.
Works Cited
Courtwright, David T., et al. Addicts who survived: An oral history of Narcotic Use in America before 1965. University of Tennessee Press, 2013.
McWilliams, John. “Book Review: Addicts Who Survived: An Oral History of Narcotic Use in America, 1923-1965.” Review of Addicts Who Survived: An Oral History of Narcotic Use in America, 1923-1965, Courtwright, et al. Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1990, pp. 5493-595, Web.
Titchener, Winnie. “Review of Addicts Who Survived: An Oral History of Narcotic Use in America before 1965.” Oral History Review, vol. 4,1, no. 2, 2014, pp. 393-395. Project Muse, Web.