The Irish war on drugs : the seductive folly of prohibition / Paul O'Mahony.
By: O'Mahony, Paul
.
Material type: 
BookPublisher: Manchester, UK ; New York : Manchester University Press, 2008Description: 244 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.ISBN: 0719077907 ; 9780719077906; 0719079020 ; 9780719079023 .Subject(s): Drug abuse -- Ireland | Drug abuse -- Ireland -- Prevention | Drug abuse and crime -- IrelandDDC classification: 362.2909417 | Item type | Current library | Call number | Copy number | Status | Barcode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General lending | MTU Bishopstown Library Lending | 362.2909417 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 00179553 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
This book provides the first comprehensive, critical analysis of the drugs problem in Ireland over the last thirty years with a particular focus on the role of drugs in crime and the role of prohibition in generating drug-related harms. Using Ireland's disastrous history of prohibition and the failure of its well-resourced harm reduction programme as a case study, the book goes on to challenge the global dominance of prohibitionist ideology, which is seen as an emotionally driven and fundamentally irrational belief system, which flies in the face of overwhelming evidence that prohibition does more harm than good.
Prohibition's defences against the mass of evidence demonstrating its detrimental effects and ultimate futility are one by one exposed and dismantled.
The book argues that international and national law should be based on a realistic appraisal of human nature and that a scientific view of human psychology and of the human condition explains not only the value and irresistible attraction of mood-altering substances, but also the young's stubborn resistance to the prohibitionist message. The book argues that society would make substantial gains from accepting the libertarian view that there is a right to use drugs so long as others' rights are not infringed. A non-coercive harm reduction approach based on the right to use drugs could have major benefits, eliminating many of the ill-effects of prohibition and creating a positive attitudinal dynamic that lowers the irresponsible and destructive use of drugs.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Philosophy, politics and rhetoric -- Three major perspectives: drug-free world/prohibition, drug use as a human right and harm reductionism -- Drugs and crime -- Inherent drug-related crime: the criminal justice system response -- The evolving Irish policy on drugs and drug-related crime -- A balanced policy? Effective compromise or confused muddle? -- The general failure of prohibition to prevent drug use: underlying reasons and key implications -- The failure of Irish prohibition -- The seductive folly of prohibition -- The promise of alternative approaches: the possibility of a Kuhnian paradigm shift in the way we think about drugs.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- List of tables and figures (p. vii)
- Acknowledgements (p. ix)
- 1 Philosophy, politics and rhetoric (p. 1)
- 2 Three major perspectives: drug-free world/prohibition, drug use as a human right and harm reductionism (p. 17)
- 3 Drugs and crime (p. 47)
- 4 'Inherent' drug-related crime: the criminal justice system response (p. 68)
- 5 The evolving Irish policy on drugs and drug-related crime (p. 81)
- 6 A balanced policy? Effective compromise or confused muddle? (p. 107)
- 7 The general failure of prohibition to prevent drug use: underlying reasons and key implications (p. 121)
- 8 The failure of Irish prohibition (p. 143)
- 9 The seductive folly of prohibition (p. 176)
- 10 The promise of alternative approaches: the possibility of a Kuhnian paradigm shift in the way we think about drugs (p. 217)
- Index (p. 239)