Undoing Drugs: How Harm Reduction is Changing the Future of Drugs and Addiction

Description

In her New York Times bestseller Unbroken Brain, journalist Maia Szalavitz took an unflinching look at addiction, challenging the idea of the "broken brain" to offer a groundbreaking perspective on addiction as a learning disorder. Now she turns her keen eye and narrative powers to the surprisingly simple--and extremely divisive--practice of harm reduction, which is a revolutionary means to solving the drug addiction crisis. Drug overdoses now kill more Americans annually than guns, cars or breast cancer. But in the name of "sending the right message," we have criminalized drug addiction, denied those who are addicted medical care, housing and other benefits, and have deliberately allowed the spread of fatal diseases. Yet there is an alternative to our present system, one that has been proven to work, but which runs counter to the received wisdom of our criminal and medical industrial complexes. It is called harm reduction. A surprisingly simple idea with enormous power, harm reduction takes the focus off of drug use and instead works to minimize associated damage. It represents the philosophy behind needle exchange programs and providing heroin addicts with the overdose medication naloxone instead of arresting them. It is focused not on punishing pleasure but on minimizing harm; in essence, it is a wholesale refutation of the American way of justice. Undoing Drugs tells the story of harm reduction. It will show how this concept has begun to transform the treatment of addiction and how it holds the potential to revolutionize how we deal with a range of other urgent behavioral and societal issues. Harm reduction challenges people to prioritize radical empathy and kindness over punishment as a way of not only dealing with drug use, but also in questions related to racism, sexism, disability and inequality. And, as Szalavitz shows, it says unequivocally that we must be more concerned about saving lives and health than about criminalizing quality-of-life crimes. Szalavitz argues for a practical application of the Hippocratic oath to "First, do no harm" beyond medicine and to those who urgently need it most.

Maia Szalavitz is the author of six books, including Unbroken Brain, and the coauthor of The Boy Who was Raised as a Dog. She has received the media award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and an award from the American Psychological Association for contributions to the addictions. She currently writes regular columns for The Guardian and Vice and writes frequently for other major publications like the New York Times, the Washington Post, Scientific American, the Atlantic and Women's Health.

"... a new way of looking at drug addiction that offers a fresh approach to managing it. [Szalavitz] writes frankly about her background .... In a heartfelt manner, she exposes her own fears and pain ... A dense blending of self-exposure, surprising statistics, and solid science reporting that presents addiction as a misunderstood coping mechanism, a problem whose true nature is not yet recognized by policymakers or the public."--Kirkus "Anyone who has battled addiction or seen it harm a loved one will gain insights from Unbroken Brain, and if it influences policymakers, too, everyone will benefit..." --Carla Johnson, Associated Press, Big Story "As more professionals realize that addiction isn't really a disease, our challenge is to determine exactly what it is. Szalavitz catalogs the latest scientific knowledge of the biological, environmental and social causes of addiction and explains precisely how they interact over development. The theory is articulate and tight, yet made accessible and compelling through the author's harrowing autobiography. Unbroken Brain provides the most comprehensive and readable explanation of addiction I've yet to see."--Marc Lewis, author of The Biology of Desire "Journalist Szalavitz offers a multifaceted, ground-up renovation of the concept of addiction--both its causes and its cures."--PW "Of the countless writers out there who's focus is addiction, no one can begin to touch the brilliance of Maia Szalavitz. She is by far my favorite addiction writer, perhaps one of my favorite writers ever. Her passion and exceptional writing talent combined with her exhaustive research, create a book that will inspire, educate, enrage, and entertain. I can only promise one thing: if you read this book, you will never be the same again."--Kristen Johnston, actress, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Guts, addiction advocate, founder of SLAM, NYC "Through the lens of her own gripping story of addiction--supported with empirical evidence--Szalavitz persuasively shows that addiction is a disorder of learning, not one characterized by progressive brain dysfunction."--Carl Hart, PhD, author of the Pen/Faulkner award-winning High Price: A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society "An in-depth history of a powerful idea, exploring many angles of drug policy...[Szalavitz] also details the racial inequities and social justice tensions that have defined the drug war."--Mother Jones "The perfect primer for lay audiences...Szalavitz sets the story straight on a topic that is often misinterpreted, making clear that harm reduction is a formidable social and political movement."--The Nation "Deeply researched and character-driven, Undoing Drugs is vivid social history."--The Wall Street Journal "Undoing Drugs is a well-researched, thoughtful history of our toxic, destructive, failed 'war on drugs' that clearly articulates the hopeful promise of harm reduction as a way forward. Maia Szalavitz's ability to distill and clearly communicate the head-spinning complexities of addiction, policy, health care inequities, academia's power struggles, the origins and evolution of ideas, practices and programs is hypnotic. This is a powerful, important book, and a compelling read for anyone, but it should be a required text for everyone in public health, social work, mental health, medicine and criminal justice."--Bruce Perry, MD, PhD, bestselling coauthor of What Happened to You? with Oprah Winfrey and adjunct professor of psychiatry at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine "One of the most inspiring and remarkable stories you will ever read. Small groups of stigmatized people all over the world pioneered a totally new approach to drugs and addiction--and they saved millions of lives. Their incredible story has not been told--until now . If everyone in the US read this book, the drug war and so many drug myths would end tomorrow."--Johann Hari, New York Times bestselling author of Chasing The Scream Praise for Maia Szalavitz "Maia Szalavitz is one of our most incisive thinkers about neuroscience in general and addiction in particular and her writing is astonishingly clear and compelling. In the timely, important, and insightful Unbroken Brain, Szalavitz seamlessly interweaves her moving personal story with her investigation into what addiction is (and isn't) and how we can most effectively prevent and treat it."--David Sheff, New York Times bestselling author of Clean and Beautiful Boy "Maia Szalavitz is one of the bravest, smartest writers about addiction anywhere. Everything she writes should be read carefully--I guarantee you'll have a lot to think about, and you'll know far more than at the start."--Johann Hari, New York Times bestselling author of Chasing the Scream "With characteristic flair Maia Szalavitz presents a vibrant personal account of recovery, a broadly researched history of how a fringe idea transformed into a powerful therapeutic and social movement, and a heartfelt, irrefutable call for a sane and humane approach to the devastation of substance addiction." --Gabor Mate, MD, author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction