Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from contributing editor Brooks Hudson, a PhD student in history at Southern Illinois University. Dr. Carl Hart’s timely Drugs for Grown-ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear attempts to ignite a shift in our collective consciousness—much like the psychoactive substances he chronicles. Credentialed academics and other elites tend to deny using drugs,Continue reading “Review: “Drug Use For Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear””
Tag Archives: drug history
The Points Interview: Holly M. Karibo and George T. Díaz
Editor’s Note: Today we’re excited to feature a Points Interview with Holly M. Karibo and George T. Díaz, editors of the new book Border Policing: A History of Enforcement and Evasion in North America (University of Texas Press, 2020). Karibo is an assistant professor of history at Oklahoma State University. She is the author of Sin City North:Continue reading “The Points Interview: Holly M. Karibo and George T. Díaz”
The highs and lows of the opium trade in southern Africa
Editor’s Note: Over the next few weeks, we’re going to feature a series of articles discussing drug use in Africa. These articles originally appeared on The Conversation, but we’re republishing them here as well. Today’s article comes from Thembisa Waetjen, Associate Professor of History, University of Johannesburg. The reach of European empires and of Indian Ocean tradeContinue reading “The highs and lows of the opium trade in southern Africa”
Asklepieion and the Transformation of Therapeutic Communities in a Time of Duress
Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from Dr. Kerwin Kaye. Kaye is Associate Professor of Sociology, American Studies, and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He is the author of the recent publication, Enforcing Freedom: Drug Courts, Therapeutic Communities, and the Intimacies of the State, from Columbia University Press. Setting the Scene MostContinue reading “Asklepieion and the Transformation of Therapeutic Communities in a Time of Duress”
Narcotics and Western Civilization: A Student-Based Reflection
Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from Dr. Stefano Tijerina, a lecturer in management and the Chris Kobrack Research Fellow in Canandian Business History at the University’s of Maine’s Business School. He adds to our Teaching Points series, on bringing drug history into the classroom. In an effort to bring to the classroom the debates over globalContinue reading “Narcotics and Western Civilization: A Student-Based Reflection”
How the Drug User Became a Junkie
Today’s post comes from new contributing editor Jordan Mylet. Mylet is a doctoral candidate in history at the University of California, San Diego. Her dissertation examines the emergence of addiction recovery communes in post-World War II United States, and centers the political activism of self-identified ex-addicts in the national struggles over the possibilities and boundaries ofContinue reading “How the Drug User Became a Junkie”
Points Bookshelf: “Ten Drugs” by Thomas Hager
Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from contributing editor Brooks Hudson, a PhD student in history at Southern Illinois University. As part of our Points Bookshelf series, he reviews Ten Drugs: How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine (Abrams Press, 2019), and breaks his findings down into a few major takeaways. Drug Use, BipartisanContinue reading “Points Bookshelf: “Ten Drugs” by Thomas Hager”
Challenging the User Paradigm: Comic Book Characters, 1937-1954
Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from contributing editor Bob Beach. Beach is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Albany, SUNY. Who is Weedy Smudgeon? He makes a quick appearance in Ghost Rider #8 (August 1952) trying to kill Rex Fury. We don’t learn much about him except that he robs graves for theContinue reading “Challenging the User Paradigm: Comic Book Characters, 1937-1954”
The State of the Art: The Malcolms’ Examination of Straight, Incorporated, Part 3
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a five-part series from Marcus Chatfield, a regular contributor to Points. Here he continues his examination of Straight, Inc., the controversial adolescent drug treatment program that existed from 1976 to 1993. Beginning in 1976, the original design of Straight’s milieu was a slightly modified version of The Seed Inc., a programContinue reading “The State of the Art: The Malcolms’ Examination of Straight, Incorporated, Part 3”
The 30th Anniversary of Len Bias’s Death
This may be hard to believe, but June 19th will mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Len Bias. The University of Maryland all-star and first-round pick for the Boston Celtics died two days after the NBA draft after overdosing on powder cocaine. His death was partially responsible for the passage of the Anti-DrugContinue reading “The 30th Anniversary of Len Bias’s Death”