Drug Policy and the Decline of American Cities
The drug trade is a growth industry in most major American cities, fueling devastated inner-city economies with revenues in excess of $100 billion. In this timely volume, Sam Staley provides a detailed, in-depth analysis of the consequences of current drug policies, focusing on the relationship between public policy and urban economic development and on how the drug economy has become thoroughly entwined in the urban economy.\ The black market in illegal drugs undermines essential...
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The drug trade is a growth industry in most major American cities, fueling devastated inner-city economies with revenues in excess of $100 billion. In this timely volume, Sam Staley provides a detailed in-depth analysis of the consequences of current drug policies, focusing on the relationship between public policy and urban economic development and on how the drug economy has become thoroughly entwined in the urban economy. The black market in illegal drugs undermines essential institutions necessary for promoting long-term economic growth, including respect for civil liberties, private property. and nonviolent conflict resolution. Staley argues that America's cities can be revitalized only through a major restructuring of the urban economy that does not rely on drug trafficking as a primary source of employment and income--the inadvertent outcome of the current prohibitionist policy. Thus comprehensive decriminalization of the major drugs (marijuana, cocaine, and heroin) is an important first step toward addressing the economic and social needs of depressed inner cities. Staley demonstrates how decriminalization would refocus public policy on the human dimension of drug abuse and addiction, acknowledge that the cities face severe development problems that promote underground economic activity, and reconstitute drug policy on principles consistent with limited government as embodied in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Designed to cross disciplinary boundaries, Staley's provocative analysis will be essential reading for urban policymakers, sociologists, economists, criminologists, and drug-treatment specialists. Booknews Conservative (or, if he would prefer, classical liberal) policy analyst Staley provides a detailed analysis of the disastrous consequences of current US drug policy and demonstrates the myriad ways in which decriminalization is to be preferred. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Figures and TablesForeword, Kurt L. SchmokePrefacePt. IInstitutions, Economic Growth, and the Modern City1Setting the Stage: Central City Decline and the Rise of the Drug Economy32Law, Order, and Economic Development in the Modern City333The Changing Values of the Central City55Pt. IIFoundations of the Drug Economy4Drug Use and Abuse in America855Drug Trafficking as a Understandable Market Response: Urban Youth and the Drug Economy1196The Organization of the Drug Economy145Pt. IIIPublic Policy and the Drug Economy7The Drug War and the Growth of the Drug Economy1838The Decriminalization Alternative217Pt. IVConclusion9Decriminalization, the Drug Economy and the Future of American Cities243Index253
\ BooknewsConservative (or, if he would prefer, classical liberal) policy analyst Staley provides a detailed analysis of the disastrous consequences of current US drug policy and demonstrates the myriad ways in which decriminalization is to be preferred. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
