Crooked limbs

This chapter describes thalidomide embryopathy as a paradigm of exogenous malformation. Previously, 1 in 1000 newborns had a limb anomaly, dreaded by agrarian societies that valued their offspring according to their bodily fitness. During the Middle Ages, malformations were attributed to cohabitation with animals or maternal imagination. Thalidomide, produced by the German company Chemie Grünenthal, was a popular sleeping pill marketed in Germany from 1957, in Britain from 1958, and in many other countries. With a 9-month delay and until 1962, over 10,000 severely malformed infants were born worldwide, the most frequent defects being limb reductions, ear and eye anomalies, and heart malformations. The drug’s toxicity was species specific and acted from 24 to 33 days after fertilization, when many women did not yet know they were pregnant. The epidemic was the greatest disaster in the history of pharmacology, and revealed severe shortcomings in German drug legislation. In the aftermath of this catastrophe, drug laws were tightened and patient safety has improved. The price was that in European countries, it became difficult to develop new drugs for infants.

Activities of the national police as a subject of ensuring prevention of offenses in the field of illegal trafficking of drug substances, their analogues and precursors

The concept of administrative and legal counteraction to offenses in the field of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors and the application by the National Police of Ukraine of various measures in the field of trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors are considered. The analysis of preventive measures and their features is carried out. The issue of the system of subjects of counteraction to illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues and precursors is covered. The study deals with highlighting the problematic issues of crime prevention in the field of drug trafficking and combating violations in the field of anti-drug legislation. The issues of determining the mechanism of bringing to administrative responsibility for offenses in the field of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, methods of counteracting violations in the field of anti-narcotics legislation, features of interaction of the system of subjects of counteraction to illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, circulation control.

New York’s War on Drugs and the Impact on Female Incarceration Rates

Prior literature suggests that drug legislation in the late 1970s and 1980s caused the rapid increase in the female incarceration rate. Empirical investigations focused on the female incarceration rate specifically may provide important information to further our understanding of the factors that contributed to this increase. The purpose of this study is to determine how much of the change in the female incarceration rate in New York can be attributed to the introduction of the 1973 Rockefeller Drug Laws. These laws were introduced prior to most war on drugs legislation and, therefore, serve as a unique case study for this type of investigation.

The Long Shadow of Prohibition

This chapter examines the legacy of Prohibition and prohibitory policies for twentieth-century U.S. alcohol and drug policy. It traces twentieth-century alcohol and drug policy from nineteenth-century antecedents through the Harrison Act, National Prohibition, the Marijuana Tax Act, the Boggs Act, and the regulatory regime established during the War on Drugs in the closing decades of the century. The chapter demonstrates how federal agencies tasked with enforcing drug legislation, notably the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Drug Enforcement Administration, both emerged from and furthered prohibitory policies. It concludes that alternatives to the current War on Drugs, such as decriminalization or legalization, have been hampered by the historic investment in prohibitory policies.