Ceremonial Chemistry: The Ritual Persecution of Drugs, Addicts, and Pushers

Ceremonial Chemistry: The Ritual Persecution of Drugs, Addicts, and Pushers by Thomas Szasz. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780385066273.

s/t: The Ritual Persecution of Drugs, Addicts & Pushers This is an excellent analysis of the institutionalized, state-sponsored persecution of certain rule-breaking behavior (illicit drug use) & the similarities between cultural & religious demands for specific mood-altering ceremonies & substances. One is impressed by depth of Szasz philosophical & medical understanding of human behavior. Ceremonial Chemistry is an important book & a cornerstone in the debate on prohibiting certain foods & plants & their inevitable decriminalization. Introduction Pharmakos: the scapegoat The discovery of drug addiction The scapegoat as drug & the drug as scapegoat Medicine: the faith of the faithless Communions, holy & unholy Pharmacomythology: medicine as magic Licit & illicit healing: persecutions for witchcraft & drugcraft Opium & Orientals: the model American scapegoats Drugs & devils: the conversion cure of Malcolm X Food abuse & foodaholism: from soul watching to weight watching Pharmacracy: medicine as social control Missionary medicine: holy wars on unholy drugs Cures & controls: panaceas & panapathogens Temptation & temperance: the moral perspective reconsidered The control of conduct: authority vs autonomy Appendix: a synoptic history of the promotion & prohibition of drugs