Why We Take Drugs

Seeking Excess and Communion in the Modern World

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Criminal law, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Popular Culture, Sociology
Cover of the book Why We Take Drugs by Tom Yardley, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Tom Yardley ISBN: 9781136446863
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: March 29, 2012
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Tom Yardley
ISBN: 9781136446863
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: March 29, 2012
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

In older cultures, the use of intoxicant drugs was integrated into the rhythms of social existence and bounded by rituals and taboos that ensured their dangerous forces were contained and channelled. In modern western societies, by contrast, the state and the institutions of society have washed their hands of any responsibility for assimilating the desire for intoxication into social existence, and by doing so have sponsored a free-for-all that has often had disastrous consequences for individuals and communities alike.

Why We Take Drugs provides a timely intervention in the growing debate about the wisdom of the ongoing ‘war on drugs’. Rather than adopting the assumption that drug and alcohol use is a problem that poses a threat to society, this book makes a case for the idea that society is a problem for intoxicant drug use and that it is society that poses a threat, by denying those who seek intoxication a legitimate and socially sanctioned space in which to experience these altered states. Scholarly yet approachable, it provides a new understanding of the meaning and role of intoxicant drug use in contemporary society, setting an in-depth phenomenological analysis of intoxication as an embodied experience within a wide sociological, anthropological and historical context. These ideas are brought to life by intimate and revealing accounts of ordinary drug users’ experiences with a wide range of substances.

This book will appeal to a wide range of students and scholars throughout the social sciences, particularly in the areas of drug and alcohol studies, body studies, cultural studies, anthropology and philosophy.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In older cultures, the use of intoxicant drugs was integrated into the rhythms of social existence and bounded by rituals and taboos that ensured their dangerous forces were contained and channelled. In modern western societies, by contrast, the state and the institutions of society have washed their hands of any responsibility for assimilating the desire for intoxication into social existence, and by doing so have sponsored a free-for-all that has often had disastrous consequences for individuals and communities alike.

Why We Take Drugs provides a timely intervention in the growing debate about the wisdom of the ongoing ‘war on drugs’. Rather than adopting the assumption that drug and alcohol use is a problem that poses a threat to society, this book makes a case for the idea that society is a problem for intoxicant drug use and that it is society that poses a threat, by denying those who seek intoxication a legitimate and socially sanctioned space in which to experience these altered states. Scholarly yet approachable, it provides a new understanding of the meaning and role of intoxicant drug use in contemporary society, setting an in-depth phenomenological analysis of intoxication as an embodied experience within a wide sociological, anthropological and historical context. These ideas are brought to life by intimate and revealing accounts of ordinary drug users’ experiences with a wide range of substances.

This book will appeal to a wide range of students and scholars throughout the social sciences, particularly in the areas of drug and alcohol studies, body studies, cultural studies, anthropology and philosophy.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Narbonne and its Territory in Late Antiquity by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book Childhood Studies by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book A Philosophy of Christian Morals for Today by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book The Future of International Relations by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book A Handbook of Costume Drawing by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book Religion and Higher Education in Europe and North America by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book Genre and Void by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book The Practical Application of Medical and Dental Hypnosis by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book Prosperity and Public Spending (Routledge Revivals) by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book Transformations by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book Feminism and the Power of Love by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book A Constitutional History of India, 1600-1935 by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book Routledge International Handbook of Schools and Schooling in Asia by Tom Yardley
Cover of the book Managing a Transport Business by Tom Yardley
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy