Dr. Carl L. Hart is the Ziff Professor of Psychology in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at Columbia University. He is also a Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Professor Hart has published numerous scientific and popular articles in the area of neuropsychopharmacology and is co-author of the textbook Drugs, Society and Human Behavior (with Charles Ksir). His book High Price was the 2014 winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award.
One of Behavioral Scientist's Best Books of the Year
“[Hart's] positions may seem quite extreme to some but they also,
by and large, make a lot of sense—and are backed up by ample
research . . . A major reason drugs have such a negative public
image, Hart asserts, is racism . . .
eye-opening.” —NPR.org
“Hart’s argument that we need to drastically revise our current
view of illegal drugs is both powerful and timely . . . when it
comes to the legacy of this country’s war on drugs, we should all
share his outrage.” —The New York Times Book Review
“One of the most thought-provoking reads I’ve had the pleasure of
exploring in a long time . . .” —Trevor Noah, The Daily Show
“Hart’s book is compelling and well-argued. It’s one of those
zeitgeisty books that manages to perform iconoclasm while outlining
the unspoken obvious, detailing a lifestyle that many hold but few
admit to publicly . . . Provocative and necessary.” —Jezebel
“Provocative and enlightening . . . Drug Use for Grown-Ups has the
soul of a manifesto.” —Wall Street Journal
“As more and more states across the country legalize marijuana, and
as popular opinion toward the war on drugs sours, Dr. Carl L.
Hart’s new book arrives at the perfect time. . . . thoughtful and
persuasive . . . He argues that if we truly believe in liberty as
established in the Declaration of Independence, then the pursuit of
this particular happiness should also be part of our protected
civil liberties.” —BookPage (starred review)
“I approached this book with knee-jerk skepticism . . . But Hart, a
neuroscientist who specializes in drugs and addiction, met my
ignorance with a series of thought-provoking arguments . . .
Through his own experiences and research, he makes a compelling
case for revising our mindsets about taboo substances, and the
people who use them.” —Discover Magazine
“A full-throated defense of self-aware, voluntary drug use . . . a
valuable tool for mounting arguments in defense of free choice.”
—Kirkus
“A timely, fact-based, coherent, humane counterargument to
America’s spectacularly failed War on Drugs.” —Booklist (starred
review)
“Comprehensive and illuminating . . . Columbia University
psychology professor Hart combines his scientific research on how
recreational drugs impact brain functioning with reflections on his
own use of heroin and other drugs. . . . Careful reasoning and
detailed evidence buttress the book’s most surprising claims . . .
This bracingly contrarian take provides much food for thought.”
—Publisher’s Weekly
“You must read this book. It's an eye-opening, mind-expanding
masterpiece from one of the most important scientists in the world.
You won't be the same after.” —Johann Hari, author of Chasing the
Scream
“Why won’t this nation admit that criminalizing drugs has been far
more deadly than the drugs themselves? This deeply personal,
honest, and courageous book shines a crucial light on a topic
cloaked in racism, repression, and myth.” —Dorothy Roberts, author
of Killing the Black Body, Shattered Bonds, and Fatal Invention
“You may not agree with the author's personal enthusiasm for
recreational drug use (and I happen not to). Nonetheless, Drug Use
For Grown-Ups is a powerful, convincing tour of the hypocrisy that
underlies so many of our drug laws, and the brutally unequal ways
in which the laws are enforced. One shares Hart's fury at how, as
per usual, it is the weak and marginalized members of society who
are most targeted.” —Robert Sapolsky, author of Behave
“Dr. Carl Hart challenges our popular assumptions about drug
addiction both through science and through a forthright account of
hiw own heroin use. Drug Use For Grown-Ups makes a powerful case
against stigmatizing—and criminalizing—adults who get high.” —Shane
Bauer, author of American Prison
“Carl Hart provides a viscerally personal and candid book that
debunks common myths that demonize recreational drug use. Hart—a
neuroscientist and expert on substance abuse—brings us inside his
own experiences with enlightened drug use and his frustration with
the ineffectiveness and harm of the war on drugs. His book is
timely with the dramatic rise in overdoses in the US compared to
societies that have decriminalized drugs and seen a reduction in
usage, overdoses and arrests.” —BJ Casey, PhD, Professor of
Psychology, Yale University
“Dr. Carl Hart is that rara avis: A stellar neuroscientist—in fact,
the preeminent expert on ‘recreational’ drugs—who is honest and
enthusiastic about drug use. In Drug Use For Grown-Ups he dissects
unalloyed data to dismiss our pernicious mythologies so that we can
better understand the truly liberating nature and the real, not the
imaginary, risks of these oft-maligned experiences. But Hart is
also a captivating storyteller, and that’s what makes this book . .
. well, addictive as he follows the data, wisdom and love from
Switzerland to Portugal to New York City, taking you along
for the ride. As he bravely and humanely traces the science
supporting treatment, regulation and decriminalization instead of
succumbing to stigma or pandering to respectability politics, he
displays a devotion to scientific truth in the service of better
human health and relationships. By the time you reluctantly
approach this book’s end, you will have acquired an education in
what drugs offer us, their potential price, and healthy policies.
Armed with this new clarity, it doesn’t matter whether you choose
to shun drug use or to embrace its potential as a wondrous human
experience: Thanks to Hart’s clarity and courage, your eyes will be
opened and for the first time, your choice will be informed.”
—Harriet A. Washington, author of Medical Apartheid: The Dark
History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial
Times to the Present
“This book is written by a leading drug researcher and
neuroscientist who has himself grown up through, and been
significantly affected by, the era of the ‘war on drugs.’ His
personal story from acceptance of the status quo to understanding
its fundamental flaws permeates both the science and the wisdom
that this book projects. One hopes that the political and
scientific establishment reads it and reflects on the urgent need
for new evidence-based drugs policies.” —David Nutt, author of
Drink? The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health
“Like he did in my Netflix cannabis doc, Grass Is Greener, DR. Carl
Hart gives you the real-to-real regarding drug use and dismantles
all the lies and misinformation we’ve been assaulted with for
decades. Drug Use for Grown-Ups is a hip, street smart, scholarly
yet easy-to-read deep dive into the how and why of illegal drugs
that should be required reading from millennials to seniors.” —Fab
5 Freddy
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