Summary
Contents
Subject index
Substance use and abuse are two of the most frequent psychological problems clinicians encounter. Mainstream approaches focus on the biological and psychological factors supporting drug abuse. But to fully comprehend the issue, clinicians need to consider the social, historical, and cultural factors responsible for drug-related problems. Substance Use and Abuse: Cultural and Historical Perspectives provides an inclusive explanation of the human desire to take drugs. Using a multidisciplinary framework, authors Russil Durrant and Jo Thakker explore the cultural and historical variables that contribute to drug use. Integrating biological, psychosocial, and cultural-historical perspectives, this innovative and accessible volume addresses the fundamental question of why drug use is such a ubiquitous feature of human society.
Drugs and Culture
Drugs and Culture
Introduction
At the headwaters of the Amazon River, in eastern Bolivia, lives a group of people known as the Camba. The Camba, thanks to more than 30 years of anthropological research by Dwight Heath and others (Heath, 1991a, 1991b, 1994), are renowned for their extraordinary patterns of heavy drinking. Alcohol made from sugar cane, containing a startling 89% pure ethanol, is imbibed in large quantities in the context of frequent fiestas and other social events. The drinking of this potent form of alcohol is a ritualized affair. Individuals, one at a time, make a toast to another participant, down their glass of alcohol, and pass the glass on to the person whom they have just toasted, who does the same, and ...
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