Dark paradise

"David T. Courtwright offers an interpretation of a puzzling chapter in American social and medical history: the dramatic change in the pattern of opiate addiction from respectable upper-class matrons to lower-class urban males, often with a delinquent or criminal record. Challenging the prevailing view that the shift resulted simply from harsh new laws, Courtwright shows that the crucial role was played by the medical rather than the legal profession. Dark Paradise tells the story not only from the standpoint of legal and medical sources, but also from the perspective of addicts themselves."--BOOK JACKET.

First sentence: Reconstructing the pattern of opiate addiction in the United States is difficult, not only because addicts tended to conceal their condition, but because much of the historical evidence has been exaggerated and distorted.

Year

1982

Language

English

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Editions

2

Pages

352

ISBN

9780674005853

Data source: Wikidata