Defining Documents in American History: Drug Policy
CHOICE Editor's Top 75 Community College Resources for November 2020
"Drug Policy is a reference compilation in the Salem Press series "Defining Documents in American History." Chronologically arranged, it provides the original text of over 60 major primary-source documents covering the history and culture of drug use in the US from Colonial times until the emergence of today’s opioid crisis. The second volume looks in detail at the period from the 1960s forward. Overall, this work considers drugs broadly, including alcohol, so-called patent medicines (which contained substances that today would be illegal drugs), tobacco, and even vaccines. Parts of the collection are devoted to federal and state policies and treatment options addressing use and abuse of opium, morphine, heroin, marijuana, and cocaine. Each document is accompanied by an interpretive essay and a reference list for further reading, as well as numerous graphic illustrations. The second volume concludes with a section on recommended internet resources and a comprehensive bibliography. This encyclopedic work is designed for advanced undergraduate students, and is not meant to be read cover-to-cover but rather consulted on the topic of interest by a reader who may be writing a term paper or preparing an oral presentation. Not just for libraries serving undergraduates, the set should also be purchased by public libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Students enrolled in two-year technical programs. General readers."
- CHOICE