Underlying the U.S. Drug Policy
“Drugs and Society: U.S. Public Policy,” edited by Jefferson M. Fish (2006) offers insight that would be helpful in future drug reform policies. In this book, Fish goes through an extensive history of drug policy in America, the influence of missionaries on drug policy and law, the nature of creating criminalization of addiction, the traditional justifications offered by pharmaceutical industry and psychology experts and in conclusion, he suggests that all of these are used to cover up deeper societal issues that existed previous to drug-induced conditions and that drug users are the “scapegoats” for all the wrongs in our society today.
One of the core issues that Fish presented is the effect of America history on drug policy and regulation. The beliefs of Christian missionaries, which originated in the opium control policies in the Dutch colonies, helped to drive the control of the use of narcotics (Fish, 2006). Many religious-minded people who believe behavior plays a key role in maintaining social order also instigated prohibition of alcohol. Nonetheless, these people have neglected the economic impact that these inhibitions may do to our society and that the government’s involvement may actually create and perpetuate a larger concern of all of society than the mere misbehavior by the users of the substance (Fish, 2006). Throughout the book, Fish explored the various facets of how U.S. drug policy has not alleviated the problems it sought to control, instead, it has created larger problems that led to a dangerous black market which now calls to the fore a demand for drug control policy reform.
The compilation of authors in the book, ranging from sociologists, economists, psychologists, to lawyers, offers a diverse review of different aspects that the U.S. drug policy has imparted on the American populace from various angles.