Professor Alex Kreit’s latest book is titled Controlled Substances: Crime, Regulation, and Policy, and it's the first major casebook published on drug laws since 1983.
“While modern drug laws have dramatically changed our criminal justice system, they are strangely absent from the curriculum at most law schools,” said Professor Kreit. “This book is designed to accommodate a number of different types of courses on drug abuse and the law. I teach the subject as a three-credit lecture course that covers drug policy, drug crimes, and drug regulation, using materials from the first seven chapters of this book. However, this book could also be used in a seminar on drug policy or the ‘war on drugs,’ an advanced criminal law course, or a study abroad course on international and comparative drug control. Portions of the book could also be used to supplement a first-year criminal law course. I have found learning about and teaching this subject to be incredibly enjoyable and rewarding.”
There has not been a casebook dedicated to controlled substances law since the second and final edition of Gerald F. Uelmen and Victor G. Haddox’s Drug Abuse and the Law: Cases, Text, Materials in 1983.
According to the publisher, Carolina Academic Press:
“Drug offenders are a ubiquitous part of our criminal justice system. Approximately 1.5 million Americans were arrested for a drug offense in 2011, more than for any other single category of crime. Drug convictions have fueled an explosion in our prison population with drug offenders constituting nearly one quarter of our prison population. Indeed, with the number of Americans incarcerated for a drug offense today larger than the entire United States prison and jail population in 1980, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the single most important development within the field of criminal law over the past four decades has been the war on drugs.
“Controlled Substances: Crime, Regulation, and Policy provides a comprehensive overview of the many fascinating issues of law and policy related the criminalization and regulation of illegal drugs. The book begins with materials on the debate about prohibition and its alternatives, with a particular focus on the modern ''war on drugs'' model of prohibition. After establishing this foundation, the book turns its attention to the drug laws themselves, taking an in depth look at controlled substances offenses, drug sentencing, and the investigation of drug crimes. The book then considers the body of administrative law that governs the classification of controlled substances and the use and distribution of controlled substance for medical purposes. Finally, the book concludes with an overview of international and comparative issues in drug law.”
Professor Kreit is the former Chair of the City of San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force.
