Joe Bliven

Drug Use for Grown-Ups
By Dr. Carl L. Hart

★★★★★

June 10th, 2021

This was an informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking read. I felt in a few ways that Dr. Hart failed to really flesh out his scientific points and left us with mostly anecdotes and political opinions. Overall I'd say that Dr. Hart does a good job of making a convincing argument for changes in policy and culture surrounding drug use. I would like him to make a follow up that's more focused on drug facts because that felt like the blind spot for me as a reader. Most of the book is spent listing policy problems and their solutions or listing drug myths, often without the contradicting facts. I really do recommend this book to anyone. I think it's going to be a real eye-opener for anyone who has grown up in the current global climate of "drugs are bad, end of story." One of the major victories in this book is its presentation of drug legalization as an issue that intersects deeply with the issues of race and class. Dr. Hart really gets to the roots of the problems with popular drug policy in our time.