The Sociology of American Drug Use

Revised and updated in its second edition, The Sociology of American Drug Use is an ideal text for drug courses offered in sociology and criminology departments. Presenting a broader sociological perspective on drug use in American society than any other text, it includes extensive coverage of various methods and statistics for measuring drug use, a topic that is particularly relevant for sociology students. The authors open with an examination of the construction of drug use as a social problem, setting the stage for the rest of the book. The first section of the text addresses basic conceptual, methodological, and theoretical issues in the study of drug use, while the second section analyzes its various social correlates: demographic, institutional, health, economic, cultural and subcultural, and violent and criminal. The final section focuses on societal reaction to drug use, with discussions of prohibition, decriminalization, and legalization policy options and drug treatment, drug education, and drug testing. In contrast with most texts--which present chapter-by-chapter treatments of various types of drugs--this unique book condenses that information into a single chapter, providing students with an organizational framework that is similar to that of other criminology courses.

Completely updated throughout, the second edition of The Sociology of American Drug Use treats demographic and institutional correlates in separate chapters, adding discussions of religion to the institutional chapter. It also provides more coverage of college students and drug use and additional material on over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs, and methamphetamines. The text is enhanced by several helpful pedagogical tools in each chapter, including two types of text boxes: "Drugs: Myths and Reality" (new to this edition) and "Drugs and Everyday Life." "Critical Thinking" questions encourage students to consider the issues in depth, while "Learning from the Internet" exercises (new to this edition) require them to research specific topics outside of the text and the classroom. An Instructor's Manual on CD contains an overview, learning objectives, a detailed outline, and test questions (multiple-choice, true-false, and essay) for each chapter. It also offers a list of important internet resources and PowerPoint lecture slides.