Demystifying Drugs: A Psychosocial Perspective

Demystifying Drugs analyses the assumptions behind different viewpoints in the drug debate, and argues that social experiences must be given greater precedence if we are to understand substance-influenced behavior. The author examines different theories of the essential nature of drug misuse and presents data showing differences in the psychosocial backgrounds of problematic consumers, recreational consumers and abstainers.

About the Author

Ted Goldberg is Associate Professor at Stockholm University. He was awarded an undergraduate degree in anthropology and sociology from Uppsala University in 1967. In 1973 he received his Ph.D. in sociology there. From 1970 to 1975 he was Assistant Professor at the Sociology Institution of Uppsala University, and then held the same position for three years at Orebro School of Social Work. After a year at the R&D Department of the Swedish National Board of Universities and Colleges, he joined the Department of Social Work, Stockholm University, in 1979. Combining anthropological methodology with sociological theory, Professor Goldberg has done extensive participant observation research on the narcotics scene in Stockholm. This has provided a basis for two books and several articles on drugs.