In High Price, Dr. Carl Hart leads us through his own personal journey of assumptions and discoverie
In High Price, Dr. Carl Hart leads us through his own personal journey of assumptions and discoveries about drugs. The way in which he acknowledges his mistakes and shares his findings made it easy for me to realize my own misconceptions regarding drugs.Growing up, everything said that drugs would kill you or at the very least destroy your brain. Reading was my main joy in life at the time, so I knew I would never risk destroying my mind with substances that would only give me temporary pleasure. I remember telling my mother I didn’t want to take an aspirin when I had a headache because I didn’t want to become addicted, which seems laughable but at the time I was dead serious.Cocaine, heroin, and meth are often blamed for the problems they are associated with. Poverty, crime, and mental disorders have all been attributed to illegal drug use. However, as Dr. Hart illustrates so poignantly, excessive drug usage is generally a symptom, not a cause, of other problems in life.He talks about growing up in Miami in the 70′s, before cocaine had even become extremely popular. He recalls the violence, both domestic and on the street, that he encountered as a child. Before Dr. Hart had even touched marijuana, he had shoplifted from the store in his neighborhood. He didn’t steal because he was craving crack; he stole because his family needed to put food on the table.Humans have always self medicated, even before alchemists started the beginnings of chemistry while chasing immortality. While addiction can be devastating, it’s important to realize that it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Drugs fill a hole in a person’s life normally filled by food, companionship, and a sense of security. When that is taken away, is it any wonder that people rely on drugs to ease their pain?High Price is an excellent book on drugs and the neuroscience of addiction. If you’ve ever wondered how or why people become reliant on chemicals, Dr. Hart will explain it to you. The bits of memoir and personal reflection intertwined with the more scientific passages of the book only help make his point more clear. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to become a little more aware of how drugs affect the brain. -- source link