Under the Influence: The Disinformation Guide to Drugs

by Preston Peet (editor)

In the latest in the oversize Disinformation Guide series of anthologies, editor Preston Peet assembles an all-star cast to lay to rest the specious misinformation peddled by prohibitionists who depend upon the “War on some drugs & users” for their livelihood & power.
Drug users & abusers describe their feelings & fears for freedom, not only for themselves but for all their fellow citizens in the USA & the rest of the world, detailing the Constitution-shredding War on some drugs & users.
Despite the antidrug hysteria promoted by prohibitionists, drugs have been an inseparable aspect of life for thousands of years—curing disease, calming stress, easing pain, enhancing intelligence, opening the doors of perception & altering consciousness. So why is the “War on some drugs & users” underway? The answers can be found in Under the Influence.
Decades of spending trillions of dollars while waging war on neighbors, friends & families have done nothing to eradicate drug use & abuse, but it has succeeded in overthrowing governments, tearing apart families & communities, & ensured the rise of international criminal cartels. Under the Influence explains how we came to this state of affairs & how to bring about real reform.
Bestselling writers, professional researchers, degenerate drug users & just plain folk offer fact-based alternatives to the propaganda of prohibitionist anti-drug warriors. Contributors include Tom Robbins, Paul Krassner, Rick Doblin, Mike Gray, Lonny Shavelson, Daniel Forbes, Steve Wishnia, Cynthia Cotts, Russ Kick, Stanislav Grof, Daniel Pinchbeck, Paul Armentano, Jacob Sullum, Peter Dale Scott & Robert Anton Wilson. Preston Peet is a writer, editor, photographer, musician, actor, DJ, activist & adventurer. A regular contributor to High Times magazine & website, the editor of the controversial website DrugWar.com & a columnist for the New York Waste, he lives in Manhattan with his other half & 10 rescued cats.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cultural, Drugs

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Preston Peet is a writer, editor, photographer, musician, actor, DJ, activist and adventurer. A regular contributor to High Times magazine and website, the editor of the controversial website DrugWar.com, and a columnist for the New York Waste, he lives in Manhattan with his other half and 10 rescued cats.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

My life and those of many of those I most respect was changed, positively, by psychedelics. Consequently, I pick up books on psychopharmacology, altered states of consciousness, ethnobotany and the like when I find them available at low cost. This one I found on the bargain shelves at Border's and, having almost ninety cents left on the gift card my twelve-year old niece gave me for my birthday, I snapped it up.

Well, it is an anthology and not a very well done one. The articles are very generally organized by topic and are of extremely variable quality. Some are quite good and written by experts. Others are amateurish. One gets the sense that he editor called a bunch of friends for permissions, following the path of least resistance.

[Jonathan D McMillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot happened since this book came out but it works great as a primer for the history on the USA's War on Drugs(some drugs). It's soul crushing to see how many lives and ecology that has been destroyed because of it.

[Zebra Three · Rating 3 out of 5]

Under The Influence is a collection of essays and articles of variable quality, centering around issues associated with the War on Drugs. The tone of most parts is casual and journalistic, making the collection highly accessible and good for a leisurely read. There were however some sections that weren't written brilliantly as well as editing mistakes which really let down the whole collection. I wasn't expecting academic standard, but I was expecting something better executed.

The book is divided up into topics, so you can easily find articles on your particular area of interest. I was most looking forward to reading about the international impact of the illicit drug trade, but I ended up really enjoying the 'For Medical Use' section because I knew less about the subject matter. The book gives small tastes of certain issues, occasionally providing resources to help you with further research.

Despite this book's flaws, I must say that the experience was overwhelmingly positive. It made me consider a variety of issues that I hadn't thought of, and it also served to cement my position on drug prohibition, which I was highly uncertain of. I will be further looking into many of the issues that caught my attention while I was reading. I'd call that success!

[ds white · Rating 3 out of 5]

I red thiz boock and it hel[ed me wit my adixshuns