High Price by Carl Hart PhD

I just finished the new book, High Price by Carl Hart PhD.  Dr. Hart had made the rounds on several talk shows and he sparked my interest talking about his research in drug use behavior and decision making.  I thought the book would be an explanation of his research and how it applies to current drug counselling and treatment.  What I found was an autobiography that was quite compelling.  Dr. Hart views himself as profoundly lucky to end up where he did, and he compares himself to many of his childhood peers who ended up in a life of drugs, poverty and crime in Miami.  Dr. Hart grew up in a rather abusive broken home, raised by extended family.  His own family and friends struggled with addiction, violence, and poverty. Somehow, he avoided the path of many of his cohort.  Hart demystifies the addicts behavior and explains it more in terms of a response to poverty and hopelessness.  He stands opposed to the common view of drug addiction as an unstoppable brain illness.  He removes the typical heirarchy of addictive substances and views all intoxicants on a fairly level playing field. His research shows that given sufficient positive rewards even hard core drug addicts are capable of rational decisions.  He criticizes the efforts of the government to respond to drug use behavior with law-enforcement answers and he illustrates how incarceration of addicts results in continuation of the poverty that was the original problem.  

I took away some great advice for teens struggling with substance abuse. Much like a parent might insist on use of birth control and condoms for a teen they know is sexually active, Hart gives similar advice for teens that you know are using drugs:
1.  Combining multiple drug types is the most common reason for an overdose especially alcohol with another CNS depressant.
2.  Do not model your drug behavior off that of more experienced users because they have much higher tolerance.
3.  Drugs off the street are not always pure and can be adulterated with all kinds of poisons that are more dangerous than the drug itself.
4.  Drugs are highly illegal and you are allowing your future to be controlled by lots of other people other than your parents if you are charged with a drug crime.
5.  Adequate sleep is the foundation of mental health.  Any behavior that results in sleep loss will undoubtedly result in emotional and physical deterioration.