The title of this book is "Chasing the Scream: The First and last Days of the War on Drugs." The author of this book is Johann Hari whose qualifications include experience acquired from working as a columnist for nine years for the Independent in the United Kingdom. Besides, Johann Hari has, twice, been recognized and named as the Newspaper Journalist of the Year by the Amnesty International United Kingdom. This author has also written various contents for the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Slate, Le Monde, the Guardian, the Nation, and the New Republic, among others. Johann Hari has also been privileged to receive recognition when his qualifications, skills, and efforts were awarded through Comment Award for Cultural Commentator of the Year by Editorial Intelligence. He has also been named as Journalist of the Year by Stonewall. The reasons for choosing this book include the fact that it is more precise and elaborate in highlighting and discussing issues related to drug use and addiction as well as ways in which they are likely to affect public health. Besides, the book provides information that a broader and wider view concerning the war on drugs, including a wide range of views and perspectives.
Context
There are several contributions made by this book to the field of public health in the sense that it informs and enlightens members of the public about policies and legislations expected to control drug abuse. Essentially, the launching of this book appeared to coincide with the hundredth anniversary of the United States' Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, which was regarded as the first legislation in the world concerning drug control (Hari, 2015). The book is also beneficial to the field of public health in the sense that highlights some of the risks and dangers on the health of the members of the public that are associated with abuse of drugs. To that end, the book is a crucial component in informing the public about some of the benefits of stepping up and sustaining the war on drugs. In enlightening the public about the war on drugs, the author presents a scenario that is largely propelled by different moving human stories, fearless international reporting, and revolutionary insight into addiction.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Besides, the author is involved in uncovering a wide range of public health concerns associated with drug abuse that need to be addressed by the relevant authorities. For, instance the book places more emphasis on highlighting the beginning and sustainability of war on drugs as well as the involvement of a racist policeman and scientist who were responsible for the discovery of the key to addiction. The author also tries to explore some of the dangers of drug addiction to the psychological and physical wellbeing of the members of the public. In this regard, the author profiles early public figures involved in the drug war such as jazz musician Billie Holiday, who was a heroin addict for a long time as well as Arnold Rothstein, who was among the early drug traffickers (Hari, 2015). The book also provides crucial insights into the thoughts and beliefs of members of the public concerning the issues of the war on drugs and drug addiction.
Chapter/Section Summary
In the introduction section of this book, the author focuses on trying to write about one of his initial memories associated with failing to wake up one of his relatives from a drugged slump. In this respect, the author writes about his common odd feeling drawn to recovering addicts and news addicts. The author also presents a discussion regarding his history and involvement in the abuse of an anti-narcolepsy medication, which is a class of prescription drugs often given to individuals to ensure that they stay alert. He questions his status as far as drug addiction is concerned and decides to look for answers and information explaining the reasons for starting and continuing with the war on drugs. "Chasing the Scream" starts with mini profiling involving three Americans perceived by the author as archetypes linked to the current war on drugs. Theses Americans include Harry Anslinger, who was the commissioner working for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics between 1930 and 1962 (Hari, 2015). Others are Arnold Rothstein who is a Jewish gangster operating within New York City around the 1920s and Billie Holiday who was the transcendent jazz singer but died in 1959 and had previously been raided by the agents belonging to Anslinger.
Chasing the Scream is motivated and propelled through dramatic personal stories of the individuals that the author encounters along the way. One of these individuals is a transsexual crack dealer based and operating in Brooklyn who was interested in knowing who was responsible for the death of her mother, and a lady in Mexico who tracked her daughter's murderer for years across the desert (Hari, 2015). Besides, a child was smuggled away from the Jewish ghetto at the time Holocaust who assisted in unlocking the scientific secrets associated with addiction. From this section, the author observes that there exists an aspect of force. However, the author demonstrates that law enforcement officers receive an invariable description as murderous drug dealers and Anslinger’s descendants who are comparable to Rothstein. Further, Anslinger, Holiday, and Rothstein are serving as potent examples involved in supporting and sustaining the central theses put forward by the author.
The racism aspect that exhibited during the war on drugs is regarded as a preliminary factor in establishing that the world's previous approach to drug abuse was installed without regard for logic or evidence. The author documents some of the present events and activities where the most powerful components of this book comprise of his vivid sketches of the involvement of combatants in the drug trade. Furthermore, the author attempts to explain whether some people can use drugs without experiencing any challenges and problems. He proceeds to examine some of the causes that are attributable to drug addiction among people as well as the outcomes of choosing radically different policies in the management and control of drug abuse. In his book, Hari documents details how he spent three years looking for answers to some of these questions. During this duration, he managed to travel across nine nations, including Sweden, the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Mexico, Vietnam, Portugal, Uruguay, and Switzerland (Hari, 2015). He also provides details concerning his interviews with the police, drug dealers, drug addicts, and legislatures.
Others who are involved in these interviews specialists in drug addiction as well as drug reform advocates such as Steve Rolles and Danny Kushlick including João Goulão who was responsible for steering the drug policy in Portugal. One of those individuals interviewed by the author was Bruce K. Alexander, who happened to be the lead researcher who facilitated the drug addiction experiments associated with "Rat Park" conducted in the 1970s (Hari, 2015). The hypothesis put forward by Alexander indicated that those drugs are not entirely responsible for causing addiction. This particular hypothesis is largely different from the present popular belief concerning drug abuse and drug addiction. Hari indicates that most of the individual's primary assumptions concerning the subject of drug abuse and drug addiction are incorrect. Drugs are not always what people perceive them to be. Besides, there are a lot of factors influencing the aspect of drug addiction that is already known in the public domain. The drug war should not entertain interference from politicians.
Conclusion
In summing up, I have learned a lot of things from reading this book, including the issues surrounding the war on drugs. Besides, I have learned about the origin of the policies and laws that support the war on drug abuse as well as the thinking behind drug abuse and addiction among people in society. I have gotten information regarding a broader and wider view concerning the war on drugs, including a wide range of views and perspectives. I have also been enlightened about the war on drugs through the presentation of scenarios that are largely propelled by different moving human stories, fearless international reporting, and revolutionary insight into addiction. Some of the main take away points from this book include the role that the book plays in informing and enlightening members of the public about the health as well as the social concerns linked to drug abuse and drug addiction. The other important point is the role played by various stakeholders and professionals in the establishment and sustenance of the war on drugs.
I am glad about this book since it is very informative as well as educative concerning the issues and challenges experienced in the war against drugs. Besides, the book provides a more precise and deeper overview of the role played by the author in championing for the war against drug abuse and drug addiction. Essentially, the books are more precise and elaborate in highlighting and discussing issues related to drug use and addiction as well as ways in which they are likely to affect public health. As has been shown, the book focuses on highlighting the beginning and sustainability of war on drugs as well as the involvement of scientists and other professionals who were responsible for the discovery of the key to addiction.
Reference
Hari, J. (2015). Chasing the Scream: The First and last Days of the War on Drugs . London:
Bloomsbury Circus.
