It is nearly impossible to discuss alcohol, tobacco, and drugs without applying our own cultural prism. In a concise, nontechnical manner, anthropologist Irene Glasser combines her own research with that of others to show the importance of removing cultural biases to uncover crucial understandings about substance use and misuse. Ethnographic examples elucidate the diverse meanings of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs around the world as well as the psychological and physiological effects of their use. Glasser applies anthropological research methods in her examination of treatment and recovery and uncovers why some programs are more effective than others. The book’s focus on culture and how it affects people’s relationships to mind-altering substances, together with experiential learning activities at the end of each chapter, will generate new realizations and open doors for further exploration.
Titles of related interest also from Waveland Press: Singer, Drugging the Poor: Legal and Illegal Drugs and Social Inequality (ISBN 9781577664949); Singer, The Face of Social Suffering: The Life History of a Street Drug Addict (ISBN 9781577664321); Singer, Something Dangerous: Emergent and Changing Illicit Drug Use and Community Health (ISBN 9781577663768); and Spradley, You Owe Yourself a Drunk: An Ethnography of Urban Nomads (ISBN 9781577660859).
