Role of drug dealers in substance abuse.

Coomber, R. (2006). Pusher myths: Re-situating the drug dealer. London: Free Association Books. [Paperback; ISBN-1-85343-948-7; $ 29.95]

In 2005, an estimated 19.7 million people over the age of 12 years in America used drugs in the past month (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2006). With drug usage there are two categories of people that are involved: drug users and drug dealers. This is among the few books that deal with drug dealers. It has been written by a Professor of Sociology and provides a sociological perspective. It challenges the existing stereotypes of drug dealers which portray them as evil, violent, ruthless, and unscrupulous members of the society. It contextualizes drug dealers and presents a more balanced human side of drug dealers.

The book is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter is about historical development and explains the rationale for the negative image of the drug dealers. It explores how those who supply drugs have been historically perceived as malicious. The chapter begins with a discussion on historical spread of intoxicating substances. Use of alcohol and opium in religious and customary ways is discussed. Then a case is built as to how opium became relegated from a wonder drug to a problem drug. Next the Opium Wars are discussed and how Chinese became victims of early drug traders. This is followed by a discussion on the anti-opium movement and anti temperance movement and how these shaped the image of drug dealers. Issues of racism, prejudice, and otherness are also presented. The chapter discusses how by 1920's the expression, "dope peddler" was the primary description of drug dealers in the United States and how the term had both negative and positive connotations. The period of 1940's and 1950's is discussed where in the US several legislations were passed while in the UK the drug problem was not even present. In the 1970's and 1980's the campaign against drug traffickers and dealers escalated in the US. The chapter concludes with a description of the contemporary image of the drug dealer which is that of a worst kind of a criminal. It would have been nice to see the author synthesize a chapter summary which would have helped the reader but is not present.

The second chapter is called, "Freebies, credit and 'hooking' the young and vulnerable." The chapter examines the commonly prevalent notion that drug dealers preys on young and vulnerable by giving free drugs to entice potential people into the habit of drugs. From common parlance an interesting analogy between drug dealers and software developers is presented where both of whom refer to their clients as "users" and provide the first time or trial version flee. But the author disputes this notion of "freebies" by lack of research evidence in this regard. He argues that such a marketing strategy is logically and practically flawed and both the role of freebies and credit are overstated.

The third chapter is called, "Dangerous adulteration--what dealers do to the drugs they sell and why." It is a revelation about what is exactly adulterated into drugs. The author notes that there is very little research available around adulteration of drugs. What he found was that, contrary to public opinion that, dangerous compounds were being adulterated into drugs, it was simply not true. The chapter examines the forensic evidence with regard to adulterants of heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, and ecstasy. The chapter also presents findings from a study involving interviews of 31 drug dealers from London and South East of England. Overall it concludes that episodes involving dangerous adulterations are by and large rare.

The fourth chapter is called, "The myth of the blue star LSD tattoo" that looks at drug hoaxes which are among the most pervasive urban legends. The author discusses the urban legend that has been around for twenty five years about Blue Star tattoos laced with killer LSD which has been acknowledged as a hoax by United States Drug Enforcement Administration, London's Metropolitan Police and other authorities. Case studies from London, England in 2001; Carlow, Ireland in 2002; Pretoria, South Africa in 2003-04, have been presented. Inaccuracies in the hoax, origins of the hoax, reasons for success of the rumors, and implications of the hoax are presented.

The fifth chapter discusses and presents a framework of the nature of violence within drug markets in Western countries and also looks at violence in producer countries such as Columbia and Brazil. The violence in producer countries is very high. In the western countries there are images associated with violence but it is not that prevalent. The chapter explores the linkage between drugs and violence, specific drug market imagery, forms of drug market and their relationship to violence and effects of fragmented and differentiated markets on violence.

The sixth chapter is called, "Who and what is the drug dealer?" The author mentions that there are a number of myths about a dealer but little information is really available about the specifics of a drug dealer. The chapter presents the demographics of dealer, ethnicity, gender, and dealer typologies. It offers alternative views of drug dealing and of the drug dealer as victims of marginalization. The chapter weighs the evidence whether drug dealers are a result of pathology or that of circumstances. The chapter finally establishes that the dealer is often far from the demon he is often portrayed as and just like ordinary individuals espouses ordinary thoughts, feelings and morals.

The final chapter is called, "Complexity not simplicity--resituating the drug dealer and the drug market." The chapter just like the previous chapters defends the position that there are number of myths about drug dealers present in our society and they are exaggerated and homogenous. It summarizes the previous chapters.

The book would be an interesting read for those involved in alcohol and drug education. It presents alternative views about perceptions we commonly take for granted. It would also be useful for policy makers to see how the minds of drug dealers work. Overall, it is a useful book that belongs in every library collecting alcohol and drug education books.

REFERENCES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2006). Results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-30, DHHS Publication No. SMA 06-4194). Rockville, MD. Retrieved February 12, 2007 from http://www.oas.samhsa. gov/nsduh/2k5nsduh/2k5results.pdf

Review by Manoj Sharma, University of Cincinnati