Undoing Drugs
The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $32.31
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Samantha Desz
-
Written by:
-
Maia Szalavitz
About this listen
From “one of the bravest, smartest writers about addiction anywhere” (Johann Hari, New York Times best-selling author) - the untold story of harm reduction, a surprisingly simple idea with enormous power.
Drug overdoses now kill more Americans annually than guns, cars, or breast cancer. But we have tried to solve this national crisis with policies that only made matters worse. In the name of “sending the right message", we have maximized the spread of infectious disease, torn families apart, incarcerated millions of mostly Black and Brown people - and utterly failed to either prevent addiction or make effective treatment for it widely available.
There is another way, one that is proven to work. However, it runs counter to much of the received wisdom of our criminal and medical industrial complexes. It is called harm reduction. Developed and championed by an outcast group of people who use drugs and by former users and public health geeks, harm reduction offers guidance on how to save lives and improve health. And it provides a way of understanding behavior and culture that has relevance far beyond drugs.
In a spellbinding narrative rooted in an urgent call to action, Undoing Drugs tells the story of how a small group of committed people changed the world, illuminating the power of a great idea. It illustrates how hard it can be to take on widely accepted conventional wisdom - and what is necessary to overcome this resistance. It is also about how personal, direct human connection and kindness can inspire profound transformation. Ultimately, Undoing Drugs offers a path forward - revolutionizing not only the treatment of addiction, but also our treatment of behavioral and societal issues.
©2021 Maia Szalavitz (P)2021 Hachette GoYou may also enjoy...
-
Overdose
- Heartbreak and Hope in Canada's Opioid Crisis
- Written by: Benjamin Perrin
- Narrated by: John Cleland
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
North America is in the middle of a health emergency. Life expectancies are declining. Someone is dying every two hours in Canada from illicit drug overdose. Fentanyl has become a looming presence—an opioid more powerful, pervasive, and deadly than any previous street drug.
-
-
Great book.
- By Anonymous User on 2023-09-28
Written by: Benjamin Perrin
-
The Urge
- Our History of Addiction
- Written by: Carl Erik Fisher
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a psychiatrist in training fresh from medical school, Carl Erik Fisher found himself face-to-face with an addiction crisis that nearly cost him everything. Desperate to make sense of his condition, he turned to the history of addiction, learning that our society’s current quagmire is only part of a centuries-old struggle to treat addictive behavior.
-
-
very good
- By Pascal on 2022-05-13
Written by: Carl Erik Fisher
-
Beyond Addiction
- How Science and Kindness Help People Change
- Written by: Jeffrey Foote PhD, Carrie Wilkens PhD, Nicole Kosanke PhD, and others
- Narrated by: Randye Kaye
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on forty collective years of research and decades of clinical experience, the authors present the best practical advice science has to offer. Delivered with warmth, optimism, and humor, Beyond Addiction defines a new, empowered role for friends and family and a paradigm shift for the field.
-
-
Awesome
- By Mike on 2021-03-12
Written by: Jeffrey Foote PhD, and others
-
Drug Use for Grown-Ups
- Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear
- Written by: Dr. Carl L. Hart
- Narrated by: Dr. Carl L. Hart
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Drug Use for Grown-Ups, he draws on decades of research and his own personal experience to argue definitively that the criminalization and demonization of drug use - not drugs themselves - have been a tremendous scourge on America, not least in reinforcing this country's enduring structural racism. Dr. Hart did not always have this view. He came of age in one of Miami's most troubled neighborhoods at a time when many ills were being laid at the door of crack cocaine. His initial work as a researcher was aimed at proving that drug use caused bad outcomes.
-
-
Incredibly Inspiring
- By Luc Briedé-Cooper on 2024-08-13
Written by: Dr. Carl L. Hart
-
Unbroken Brain
- A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction
- Written by: Maia Szalavitz
- Narrated by: Marisa Vitali
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Challenging both the idea of the addict's "broken brain" and the notion of a simple "addictive personality", Unbroken Brain offers a radical and groundbreaking new perspective, arguing that addiction is a learning disorder, and shows how seeing the condition this way can untangle our current debates over treatment, prevention, and policy.
-
-
Absolute mandatory reading for anyone !!
- By Star Reader on 2019-02-18
Written by: Maia Szalavitz
-
Dopesick
- Written by: Beth Macy
- Narrated by: Beth Macy
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this extraordinary work, Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of a national drama that has unfolded over two decades. From the labs and marketing departments of big pharma to local doctor's offices; wealthy suburbs to distressed small communities in Central Appalachia; from distant cities to once-idyllic farm towns; the spread of opioid addiction follows a tortuous trajectory that illustrates how this crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched.
-
-
Great Book
- By Cassandra Schwarz on 2018-10-14
Written by: Beth Macy
-
Overdose
- Heartbreak and Hope in Canada's Opioid Crisis
- Written by: Benjamin Perrin
- Narrated by: John Cleland
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
North America is in the middle of a health emergency. Life expectancies are declining. Someone is dying every two hours in Canada from illicit drug overdose. Fentanyl has become a looming presence—an opioid more powerful, pervasive, and deadly than any previous street drug.
-
-
Great book.
- By Anonymous User on 2023-09-28
Written by: Benjamin Perrin
-
The Urge
- Our History of Addiction
- Written by: Carl Erik Fisher
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a psychiatrist in training fresh from medical school, Carl Erik Fisher found himself face-to-face with an addiction crisis that nearly cost him everything. Desperate to make sense of his condition, he turned to the history of addiction, learning that our society’s current quagmire is only part of a centuries-old struggle to treat addictive behavior.
-
-
very good
- By Pascal on 2022-05-13
Written by: Carl Erik Fisher
-
Beyond Addiction
- How Science and Kindness Help People Change
- Written by: Jeffrey Foote PhD, Carrie Wilkens PhD, Nicole Kosanke PhD, and others
- Narrated by: Randye Kaye
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on forty collective years of research and decades of clinical experience, the authors present the best practical advice science has to offer. Delivered with warmth, optimism, and humor, Beyond Addiction defines a new, empowered role for friends and family and a paradigm shift for the field.
-
-
Awesome
- By Mike on 2021-03-12
Written by: Jeffrey Foote PhD, and others
-
Drug Use for Grown-Ups
- Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear
- Written by: Dr. Carl L. Hart
- Narrated by: Dr. Carl L. Hart
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Drug Use for Grown-Ups, he draws on decades of research and his own personal experience to argue definitively that the criminalization and demonization of drug use - not drugs themselves - have been a tremendous scourge on America, not least in reinforcing this country's enduring structural racism. Dr. Hart did not always have this view. He came of age in one of Miami's most troubled neighborhoods at a time when many ills were being laid at the door of crack cocaine. His initial work as a researcher was aimed at proving that drug use caused bad outcomes.
-
-
Incredibly Inspiring
- By Luc Briedé-Cooper on 2024-08-13
Written by: Dr. Carl L. Hart
-
Unbroken Brain
- A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction
- Written by: Maia Szalavitz
- Narrated by: Marisa Vitali
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Challenging both the idea of the addict's "broken brain" and the notion of a simple "addictive personality", Unbroken Brain offers a radical and groundbreaking new perspective, arguing that addiction is a learning disorder, and shows how seeing the condition this way can untangle our current debates over treatment, prevention, and policy.
-
-
Absolute mandatory reading for anyone !!
- By Star Reader on 2019-02-18
Written by: Maia Szalavitz
-
Dopesick
- Written by: Beth Macy
- Narrated by: Beth Macy
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this extraordinary work, Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of a national drama that has unfolded over two decades. From the labs and marketing departments of big pharma to local doctor's offices; wealthy suburbs to distressed small communities in Central Appalachia; from distant cities to once-idyllic farm towns; the spread of opioid addiction follows a tortuous trajectory that illustrates how this crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched.
-
-
Great Book
- By Cassandra Schwarz on 2018-10-14
Written by: Beth Macy
What the critics say
“With characteristic flair Maia Szalavitz presents a vibrant personal account of recovery, a broadly researched history of how a fringe idea transformed into a powerful therapeutic and social movement, and a heartfelt, irrefutable call for a sane and humane approach to the devastation of substance addiction.” (Gabor Maté, MD, author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction)
“One of the most inspiring and remarkable stories you will ever read. Small groups of stigmatized people all over the world pioneered a totally new approach to drugs and addiction - and they saved millions of lives. Their incredible story has not been told - until now. If everyone in the US read this book, the drug war and so many drug myths would end tomorrow.” (Johann Hari, New York Times best-selling author of Chasing the Scream)
"Undoing Drugs is a well-researched, thoughtful history of our toxic, destructive, failed ‘war on drugs’ that clearly articulates the hopeful promise of harm reduction as a way forward. Maia Szalavitz’s ability to distill and clearly communicate the head-spinning complexities of addiction, policy, health care inequities, academia’s power struggles, the origins and evolution of ideas, practices and programs is hypnotic. This is a powerful, important book, and a compelling read for anyone, but it should be a required text for everyone in public health, social work, mental health, medicine and criminal justice.” (Bruce Perry, MD, PhD, best-selling coauthor of What Happened to You? with Oprah Winfrey and adjunct professor of psychiatry at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine)