Women on Ice: Methamphetamine Use among Suburban Women (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780813554594)

2013 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

Methamphetamine (ice, speed, crystal, shard) has been called epidemic in the United States. Yet few communities were ready for increased use of methamphetamine by suburban women. Women on Ice is the first book to study exclusively the lives of women who use the drug and its effects on their families.

In-depth interviews with women in the suburban counties of one of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. chronicle the details of their initiation into methamphetamine, the turning points into problematic drug use, and for a few, their escape from lives veering out of control. Their life course and drug careers are analyzed in relation to the intersecting influences of social roles, relationships, social/political structures, and political trends. Examining the effects of punitive drug policy, inadequate social services, and looming public health risks, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C, the book gives voice to women silenced by shame.

Boeri introduces new and developing concepts in the field of addiction studies and proposes policy changes to more broadly implement initiatives that address the problems these women face. She asserts that if we are concerned that the war on drugs is a war on drug users, this book will alert us that it is also a war on suburban families.

Author: Miriam Boeri
ISBN-10: 0813554594
ISBN-13: 9780813554594
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Language: English
Published: 01/15/2013
Pages: 254
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.83lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.58d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 07/01/2013