Methamphetamine Use: Clinical and Forensic Aspects PDF

Preface

In the first edition, Errol Yudko provided some historical material and some commentary to set the stage for the philosophy underlying the work. That background information is now elaborated in the first chapter of this edition. The basic approach and concern of the authors has remained essentially the same, bolstered by additional material and research that was garnered after initial publication. Methamphetamine is a destructive element in the lives of many people and contributes to ruptures in the social fabric. But the need to engage in "splitting"—seeing life in simple good and bad terms—and simplistic solutions emphasizing heavy-handed enforcement strategies has never succeeded when it comes to substance use and abuse. Readers will find methamphetamine to be no exception to that observation. As with every major issue in a complex society, drug use and abuse has multiple causes, multiple courses, individual and idiosyncratic impacts, and cannot account on its own for other associated ills. Sound bites and political campaigns and culturally limited foreign policies to the contrary, the answers to methamphetamine- related problems will be found in complex and positive strategies that consider the needs of people rather than emphasize further deprivations in their lives.