Creating the American Junkie

"Fascinating . . . A compelling journey through drug-addiction history . . . This book lays a firm foundation for re-evaluating our approach to the study of addiction."—George F. Koob, Nature Medicine

"Draws on familiar themes to create a novel and compelling portrait of the times."—Jim Baumohl, Journal of American History

"This book makes its most original contribution by probing the intersecting interests of professionals and policy makers who believed in managing the drug problem through a self-conscious combination of legal control and scientific knowledge . . . Acker's history of drug policy and science during the first two-thirds of the twentieth century illustrates the recent guise of an old social divide between deserving and undeserving Americans."—Ellen Herman, American Historical Review

"A thorough and compelling survey."—Mike Jay, Medical History

"A fine book, convincingly arguing its central points, and in the process concisely making a significant original contribution to an intensely studied field."—Nicolas Rasmussen, Metascience

"A critical text for scholars and policy makers alike that underscores the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to developing anything approaching an accurate model of substance-dependence and humane policies for dealing with people dependent on opiates."—Robin Pappas, Metapsychology

"While harm reduction supporters will find this book validating, readers do not need to subscribe to this particular drug policy alternative to find Dr. Acker's book to be filled with fascinating stories about the people and the ideas which have shaped today's ptiched battles in the drug policy wars."—Robert L. DuPont, M.D., JAMA

"Provides an excellent foundation for understanding not only the prevailing attitudes of the day but also the influence of those attitudes on current policy and theories of addiction."—Chris Stewart, Criminal Justice Review

"This is an accessible study of interest to a broad and varied audience. Acker has a good eye for the revealing quote and incident. She has undertaken an important task in seeking to configure the social historical (who the addicts were and what constituted addiction), the sociology of knowledge (the involvements of the several groups of researchers considered), and public policy."—Charles E. Rosenberg, Harvard University