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Examines the career of sociologist Alfred R. Lindesmith, who argued against drug prohibitions from the 1930s onward, warning of the threat to democracy and advocating more humane drug control laws.Confronting the Drug Control Establishment is a biography of Alfred R. Lindesmith and an intellectual history of his times. A sociologist at Indiana University, Lindesmith believed legal prohibition of addictive drugs was futile and wrote widely on the threat to democracy inherent in such a policy.
Lindesmith's career began during the 1930s and developed along with the emerging drug prohibitions in the early and mid-twentieth century. Throughout his life Lindesmith attempted to utilize his research for the creation of more rational and humane drug control laws. His consistent message was that the addict's self-concept is a central element in human addiction. Lindesmith felt that an overriding influence on an addict's self-concept is a fear of withdrawal, which keeps an addict from seeking treatment and becomes a key driving force in the drug problem.
About the author
David Patrick Keys is Professor of Political Science at West Texas A & M University.
John F. Galliher is Professor of Sociology and Director of Peace Studies at the University of Missouri. He is the author of
Criminology: Human Rights, Conflict and Criminal Law and, most recently,
Marginality and Dissent in 20th Century American Sociology: The Case of Elizabeth Briant Lee and Alfred McClung Lee, published by SUNY Press.
