Saying Yes

By Jacob Sullum

Book Overview

The nationally syndicated columnist and Reason magazine editor presents a damning portrait of how politicized government agencies, antidrug activists, and a na ve national media have exaggerated the public's fears of the harmful effects of recreational drugs.

Jacob Sullum goes beyond the debate on legalization or the proper way to win the "war on drugs," to the heart of a social and individual defense of using drugs. Saying Yes argues that the all-or-nothing thinking that has long dominated discussions of illegal drug use should give way to a wiser, subtler approach exemplified by the tradition of moderate drinking. Saying Yes further contends that the conventional understanding of addiction, portraying it as a kind of chemical slavery in which the user's values and wishes do not matter, is also fundamentally misleading.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585423181
• ISBN13: 9781585423187
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Tarcher
• Length: 340 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A Scholarly Review.

I bought this book two weeks ago and really was not sure what exactly it would be. I hoping that Sullum would write a well-referenced work that provided a fairly objective analysis of drugs and the ensuing war against them, and that's basically what I got. Although, the reader is never in doubt as to what the author's opinion is regarding his subject, this is a scholarly synopsis of the literature and studies that embody our knowledge of psychoactive substances. Sullum always presents both sides of the issue and never retreats to the shallow role of advocate. I personally have not tried, nor will I be trying, most of the drugs that are discussed in this book but I can say that I recognize the futility in our societal war on whatever the FDA and DEA suspect private individuals of currently enjoying at the moment. Some of the arguments he presents are quite convincing such as the legitimate medical uses of marijuana, and also the way we avoid examining the occasional darkness of human nature by making drugs the scapegoat for the acts of promiscuous sex, violence, and irresponsibility that we commit. Much of "Saying Yes" is a historical survey of drug origins and interdiction efforts, and this background information is absolutely fascinating. Some of the discussion left me unmoved as I do not buy LSD as having any legitimate uses, but I was glad to read views that contradicted my own on the subject. Overall, a strong "yes" must be given in regards to this book. We should not be surprised as Jacob Sullum has always been an engaging and stylistic writer. I read his articles in Reason whenever I get the chance.

saying yes in defense of drug use

One of the greatest obstacles to reforming current drug laws is the fallacy of confusing drug use with drug abuse.Marijuana and other "illicit" substances should be viewed the same as alcohol with an emphasis on "moderation" rather than complete abstinence.Jacob Sullum does an excellent job on telling readers the difference between what most people know about drugs and what the government wants us to believe.His presentation of religious opinions on this matter is also thought provoking.

Refreshing Perspective on 'Voodoo Pharmacology'

This book is a timely call for sanity in an irrationally framed debate on drug policy. It challenges the most fundamental premise of self-anointed crusaders for prohibition: that drugs are inherently bad. This issue is ill-framed, argues Sullum, because it presumptively ascribes value to illicit substances independent of their user. Rather, drugs are only as destructive as the people who use them.This is important because it challenges the validity of the so-called "studies" of illegal substances funded by the government (nevermind the fact that the government won't fund studies which challenge the destructive war on drugs). Studies like these are skewed because they do not take into account those that consume drugs in sparing moderation. Instead, these studies often sample those drug-riddled addicts in rehab or those sent to jail, i.e. those whose drug use is publicly available. The truth is that the majority of drug users consume infrequently (because they are for the most part upstanding citizens) and anonymously (for fear reprisal if they publicly disclosed their use).This brings Sullum to his next point. He takes to its logical consequence the libertarian argument that our acceptance of alcohol, caffiene, and gluttony but not marijuana, cocaine, etc. is utterly hypocritical. In particular, through a thorough examination of the history of alcohol, Sullum reveals that our collective experience with alcohol does not fundamentally differ with the history of any other illicit substance. Both are unfairly portrayed in binary extremes of addiction and sobriety by the state. Sullum convincingly argues that our history with both drugs and alcohol is more suitably characterized by moderation. Moderation, not addiction, underlies our experience with substance-use (any substance, from food to wine to cigarettes to marijuana).Replete with statistics, anecdotes and analytic arguments, Sullum cogently engages the prohibitionist crowd to its most basic premise and decisively wins. Highly reccomended.

Very Well Done

There is nothing not to like about Jacob Sullum's "Saying Yes." It's gracefully written, scientifically accurate and completely sensible. I guess I'm a little more pessimistic that other reviewers about the affect it will have on the drug policy debate -- as Sullum points out only too well, truth, common sense, and pragmatism have never had much to do with drug policy in the United States. If nothing else, this book will at least re-assure future generations that not everyone in our era was nuts.Readers who have read a great deal on this subject will find much here that's familiar, but it's nice to have it all in one place and footnoted. And while I have quite a library of books on alcohol and other drugs, I did find a considerable amount of new info and thought-provoking angles. A very nice job.

Voodoo pharmacology

Voodoo pharmacology. That is the term that Jacob Sullum uses for our irrational fears and phobic behaviors toward psychoactive drugs. In a plea for common sense and sanity, he confronts the stereotypes that sustain our current drugs policy. He destroys the myths that these substances have magical and/or supernatural powers to enslave those who use them and places the power and responsibility for drug use back in the hands of the individual.In example after example, he compiles a wealth of data on how the vast majority of people learn to use alcohol and other drugs in responsible manners, balancing their use with the rest of their priorities in life. While not ignoring the harms that can come from misuse and abuse of drugs, he places them in perspective with other behaviors in people's lives. Rather than erecting legal edifices that prohibit these substances, increase the harms associated with their use, and forever give up the chance to sensibly regulate them, he goes back to the original roots of the temperance movement to show that we have always had extensive historical precedents for moderation and effective social norms in this area.This is a profoundly uplifting book that elegantly restates the philosophy that human beings have an inherent drive for balance and health and psychoactive substance use is no exception. Since America's War on Drugs has pernicious effects in every area of our society, this is a book that should be read by all.