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Overview

This project began as a list of proposed book chapters. Some of the topics are too vague, some may be too narrow, and others may be better articulated another way or combined with other topics. This at least got both of us thinking.

Our goal is to review research on the social construction of substance addiction and the consequences of resulting social policies and treatment practices that is widely available in the academic discourse community. A well informed minority of researchers, especially among sociolgists, believe that the medicalization of alcoholism and drug abuse is an error ; however credible books written for a public audience about these new findings are few, and the public remains under an oppressive hegemony of drug-use and alcohol demonization that has a long history in the United States. While the rest of the industrialized world is beginning to act on the new research, and beginning to decriminalizing drug possession, the United States is managing to accomblish this is only in piecemeal fashion in individual states and communities, but the idea is not getting any traction on a national level.

Research Tasks

Task Status Codes (Copy and paste status code to applicable box:)

NOT STARTED

IN PROGRESS

COMPLETED

Preliminary objectives of our research

This project began as a list of proposed book chapters. Some of the topics are too vague, some may be too narrow, and others may be better articulated another way or combined with other topics. This at least got both of us thinking.

1. is it a disease?
2. is it genetic?
3. the history of the teetotalers
4. the failure of abstinence
5. the domestic consequences of the war on drugs
6. the international consequences of the war on drugs
7. the endogenous factors to addiction
8. the exogenous factors to addiction
9. the use of controlled drinking in therapy
10. the use of harm reduction as public policy

Principal Investigators

• Billy Borstell

          Undergraduate Student

          social policy and practice, and sociology

          Tulane University

• David E. Cook

          Freelance Investigative Journalist

          Undergraduate Student

          Englsh and sociology

          Tulane University

          (916) 912-0483

Timeline

• Background Research - August 2010 to August 2011
•  
• Original research for development as Honors Theses - Academic Year 2011-2012
• Submission of theses to academic journals 
• Overhaul and combination of theses into book proposal for general audience.

Tasks/Milestones

• Accumulate