Cocaine Changes: The Experience of Using and Quitting (Health Society And Policy)

Over 200 in-depth interviews with heavy users document the dangers of cocaine, but the authors contend that the national hysteria over it is largely unfounded

"In an arena of public policy where misinformation and disinformation reigns, ... facts are desperately needed, and Cocaine Changes gives us a bucketful of them. Anyone who values rationality and is concerned about the harmful efforts of our misbegotten drug policy should read this book."
—Ira Glasser, Executive Director, ACLU

"I know of no other book that offers so much information on the subject so clearly and calmly presented. For anyone interested in the natural history of cocaine use in America now, Cocaine Changes provides the best, most comprehensive available resource."
—Lester Grinspoon, M.D., Harvard Medical School

"This book puts the cocaine scare of the 1980s to the test and places cocaine in a more realistic perspective. By examining the lives of hundreds of heavy users, it discovers that even among this group, cocaine use is not always cocaine abuse."
—Kevin B. Zeese, Drug Policy Foundation

"This provocative study challenges many of the prevailing myths about cocaine and crack use, and is essential reading for any researchers, educators, policymakers, law enforcement personnel, or concerned citizens who wish to make informed judgments."
—Patricia G. Erickson, Ph.D., Head, Drug Policy Research Program (Canada)

"This book puts the cocaine scare of the 1980s to the test and places cocaine in a more realistic perspective. By examining the lives of hundreds of heavy users, it discovers that even among this group, cocaine use is not always cocaine abuse."
—Kevin B. Zeese, Vice-President and Counsel, Drug Policy Foundation

Dan Waldorf is a Research Sociologist and Project Director at the Institute for Scientific Analysis.