Author Description

Cocaine, which has been used for thousands of years & remains popular, is a drug about which opinion -- among both users & non-users -- is ambivalent. This comprehensive book examines & re-evaluates the long history of both the coca plant & cocaine. And it poses the question: do our current attitudes & official policies need a fundamental & startling rethink? Author Dr. Tim Madge, a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, argues that we need to understand more about cocaine, to contextualize it in history, to see the errors made in the past over handling it & the mistakes we are making now in terms of policy, supply & use. Includes appendices on physiological effects, chemistry, uses & abuse, & addiction. Bibliography.