Name: BC Hark's review of Drug Use for Grown-Ups by Carl L. Hart
Item: Drug Use for Grown-Ups
Rating: 4
Author: BC Hark

Carl L. Hart

From one of the world's foremost experts on the effects of recreational drugs on the mind and body comes a powerful argument that the greatest dangers from drugs flow from their being illegal, and a field guide to their use as part of a responsible and happy life..

Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear

Drug Use for Grown-Ups

Angelo Zinna

Dr. Hart's book was a great introduction to drug legalization and why legalization is a key choice for equality, safety, and personal liberty. This topic is already one which I'm familiar with and have do agree with in most cases. Nevertheless, Dr. Hart peppers in lots of anecdotes and personal references of his own, while I don't doubt most of the information, I think for brevity the author could've shortened the work and also improved the presentation of his point for a more effective argument. Many times his choices felt like rants, which while justified, did not make a strong argument. 

I took a course on Drugs and Justice in college and one of the things that stood out to me is that all drugs have a benefit and a harm. Dr. Hart is quick to point out all the benefits of drugs for working professionals and how everything is safe safe safe safe, and did he mention safe? While I agree that drugs can be demonized to much more than they should be, but I don't necessarily agree with the approach to almost exclusively minimize the harms of drugs. I don't think the approach was balanced, even though I agree with the argument that is being made. 

Nevertheless, I would counter that while adults should be allowed to openly use and choose the drugs they use I don't necessarily think it should be carte blanche. Dr. Hart points out that cars cause harm and that we don't ban them. Similarly, I think that adults should be required to take a small educational course to use certain classes of drugs. The reason being is that as Dr. Hart mentions better education would ultimately reduce risks for adults using the drugs. I think that making each tier of drugs a simple license would be helpful. For example, opiates with paracetamol, and specifically mentioning that drugs should be kept away from children. 

Overall a good start in the right direction for this argument. I would've preferred about half the book and some stronger arguments aside from far too many personal anecdotes to support his argument. While such stories do help move the book along I also think a personal anecdote is not as strongly convincing as a broader range of experiences from others and other sources, he mentions having visited other clinics and drug users, but rarely included those experiences and often discounted any personal experience which did not match his own. 

BC Hark

Dr. Hart's book was a great introduction to drug legalization and why legalization is a key choice for equality, safety, and personal liberty. This topic is already one which I'm familiar with and have do agree with in most cases. Nevertheless, Dr. Hart peppers in lots of anecdotes and personal references of his own, while I don't doubt most of the information, I think for brevity the author could've shortened the work and also improved the presentation of his point for a more effective argument. Many times his choices felt like rants, which while justified, did not make a strong argument. 

I took a course on Drugs and Justice in college and one of the things that stood out to me is that all drugs have a benefit and a harm. Dr. Hart is quick to point out all the benefits of drugs for working professionals and how everything is safe safe safe safe, and did he mention safe? While I agree that drugs can be demonized to much more than they should be, but I don't necessarily agree with the approach to almost exclusively minimize the harms of drugs. I don't think the approach was balanced, even though I agree with the argument that is being made. 

Nevertheless, I would counter that while adults should be allowed to openly use and choose the drugs they use I don't necessarily think it should be carte blanche. Dr. Hart points out that cars cause harm and that we don't ban them. Similarly, I think that adults should be required to take a small educational course to use certain classes of drugs. The reason being is that as Dr. Hart mentions better education would ultimately reduce risks for adults using the drugs. I think that making each tier of drugs a simple license would be helpful. For example, opiates with paracetamol, and specifically mentioning that drugs should be kept away from children. 

Overall a good start in the right direction for this argument. I would've preferred about half the book and some stronger arguments aside from far too many personal anecdotes to support his argument. While such stories do help move the book along I also think a personal anecdote is not as strongly convincing as a broader range of experiences from others and other sources, he mentions having visited other clinics and drug users, but rarely included those experiences and often discounted any personal experience which did not match his own. 

Princess Doe 

3.5 of 5! 

This was an engaging book that dispels a fair amount of myths about drug use. As a harm reduction counsellor, I appreciated the critique on harm reduction itself, that it doesn’t centre enough on the pleasure. I found the book was awkwardly written and didn’t flow at times. Further, I think some of the critiques that are being presented are not new per se. Rather, people who work in harm reduction fields likely agree with him. However, perhaps I am not the specific audience in that way. It’s a great supplement to other drug use literature

Heiki Riesenkampf

Carl gives a view which is rather different from the mainstream narrative of drug use. I am quite sure Carl will be on the right side of history and books like his and Michael Pollan's will just pave the way for changing our attitude towards drug use. I would recommend the book especially for folks who tend to be against normalization of drug use.

Angelo Zinna &
Drug Use for Grown-Ups by Carl L. Hart

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Angelo Zinna &Drug Use for Grown-Ups by Carl L. Hart

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Angelo Zinna &
Drug Use for Grown-Ups by Carl L. Hart