
Drug Use for Grown-Ups
Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Dr. Carl L. Hart
-
By:
-
Dr. Carl L. Hart
About this listen
From one of the world's foremost experts on the subject, a powerful argument that the greatest damage from drugs flows from their being illegal, and a hopeful reckoning with the possibility of their use as part of a responsible and happy life.
Dr. Carl L. Hart, Ziff professor at Columbia University and former chair of the Department of Psychology, is one of the world's preeminent experts on the effects of so-called recreational drugs on the human mind and body. Dr. Hart is open about the fact that he uses drugs himself, in a happy balance with the rest of his full and productive life as a colleague, husband, father, and friend.
In Drug Use for Grown-Ups, he draws on decades of research and his own personal experience to argue definitively that the criminalization and demonization of drug use - not drugs themselves - have been a tremendous scourge on America, not least in reinforcing this country's enduring structural racism.
Dr. Hart did not always have this view. He came of age in one of Miami's most troubled neighborhoods at a time when many ills were being laid at the door of crack cocaine. His initial work as a researcher was aimed at proving that drug use caused bad outcomes. But one problem kept cropping up: The evidence from his research did not support his hypothesis. From inside the massively well-funded research arm of the American war on drugs, he saw how the facts did not support the ideology. The truth was dismissed and distorted in order to keep fear and outrage stoked, the funds rolling in, and Black and Brown bodies behind bars.
Drug Use for Grown-Ups will be controversial, to be sure: The propaganda war, Dr. Hart argues, has been tremendously effective. Imagine if the only subject of any discussion about driving automobiles was fatal car crashes. Drug Use for Grown-Ups offers a radically different vision: When used responsibly, drugs can enrich and enhance our lives. We have a long way to go, but the vital conversation this book will generate is an extraordinarily important step.
This audiobook includes a PDF of figures and an appendix from the book.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 Dr. Carl L. Hart (P)2021 Penguin AudioCritic reviews
One of Behavioral Scientist's Best Books of the Year
“[Hart's] positions may seem quite extreme to some but they also, by and large, make a lot of sense - and are backed up by ample research.... A major reason drugs have such a negative public image, Hart asserts, is racism...eye-opening.” (NPR.org)
“Hart’s argument that we need to drastically revise our current view of illegal drugs is both powerful and timely...when it comes to the legacy of this country’s war on drugs, we should all share his outrage.” (The New York Times Book Review)
“One of the most thought-provoking reads I’ve had the pleasure of exploring in a long time....” (Trevor Noah, The Daily Show)
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Psychonauts
- Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind
- By: Mike Jay
- Narrated by: Rachel Perry
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Until the twentieth century, scientists investigating the effects of drugs on the mind did so by experimenting on themselves. Vivid descriptions of drug experiences sparked insights across the mind sciences, pharmacology, medicine, and philosophy. But after 1900 drugs were increasingly viewed as a social problem, and the long tradition of self-experimentation began to disappear. Mike Jay brilliantly recovers a lost intellectual tradition of drug-taking that fed the birth of psychology, the discovery of the unconscious, and the emergence of modernism.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Austin on 07-20-24
By: Mike Jay
-
High Price
- A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society
- By: Carl Hart
- Narrated by: J.D. Jackson
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A pioneering neuroscientist shares his story of growing up in one of Miami's toughest neighborhoods and how it led him to his groundbreaking work in drug addiction. As a youth, Carl Hart didn't realize the value of school; he studied just enough to stay on the basketball team. At the same time, he was immersed in street life. Today he is a cutting-edge neuroscientist - Columbia University's first tenured African American professor in the sciences.
-
-
Outstanding!
- By DaWoolf on 04-01-14
By: Carl Hart
-
Undoing Drugs
- The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction
- By: Maia Szalavitz
- Narrated by: Samantha Desz
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From “one of the bravest, smartest writers about addiction anywhere” (Johann Hari, New York Times best-selling author) - the untold story of harm reduction, a surprisingly simple idea with enormous power.
-
-
Wow! An amazing amount of harm reduction info!
- By Bobbi Jensen, Criminal Justice Consultant, Educator and Reform Activist on 09-19-21
By: Maia Szalavitz
-
The Psychedelic Handbook
- A Practical Guide to Psilocybin, LSD, Ketamine, MDMA, and Ayahuasca
- By: Rick Strassman MD
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Entering the world of psychedelic drugs can be challenging, and many aren't sure where to start. As research continues to expand and legalization looms on the horizon for psychedelics like psilocybin, you may need a guide to navigate what psychedelics are, how they work, and their potential benefits and risks. The Psychedelic Handbook is a manual that is accessible to anyone with an interest in these substances. Packed with information on psilocybin, LSD, DMT/ayahuasca, mescaline/peyote, ketamine, MDMA, and more.
-
-
Great intro to what these substances are.
- By Sean on 05-11-24
-
The Tyranny of Merit
- What's Become of the Common Good?
- By: Michael J. Sandel
- Narrated by: Michael J. Sandel
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world-renowned philosopher and author of the best-selling Justice explores the central question of our time: What has become of the common good? World-renowned philosopher Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the crises that are upending our world, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalization and rising inequality. Sandel shows the hubris a meritocracy generates among the winners and the harsh judgment it imposes on those left behind, and traces the dire consequences across a wide swath of American life.
-
-
Enlightening
- By Robert McIntosh on 09-18-20
-
Dreamland
- The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic
- By: Sam Quinones
- Narrated by: Tom Jordan
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital centre of the community. Now, addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America—addiction like no other the country has ever faced. How that happened is the riveting story of Dreamland.
-
-
Excellent
- By Joe on 08-01-22
By: Sam Quinones
-
Psychonauts
- Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind
- By: Mike Jay
- Narrated by: Rachel Perry
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Until the twentieth century, scientists investigating the effects of drugs on the mind did so by experimenting on themselves. Vivid descriptions of drug experiences sparked insights across the mind sciences, pharmacology, medicine, and philosophy. But after 1900 drugs were increasingly viewed as a social problem, and the long tradition of self-experimentation began to disappear. Mike Jay brilliantly recovers a lost intellectual tradition of drug-taking that fed the birth of psychology, the discovery of the unconscious, and the emergence of modernism.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Austin on 07-20-24
By: Mike Jay
-
High Price
- A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society
- By: Carl Hart
- Narrated by: J.D. Jackson
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A pioneering neuroscientist shares his story of growing up in one of Miami's toughest neighborhoods and how it led him to his groundbreaking work in drug addiction. As a youth, Carl Hart didn't realize the value of school; he studied just enough to stay on the basketball team. At the same time, he was immersed in street life. Today he is a cutting-edge neuroscientist - Columbia University's first tenured African American professor in the sciences.
-
-
Outstanding!
- By DaWoolf on 04-01-14
By: Carl Hart
-
Undoing Drugs
- The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction
- By: Maia Szalavitz
- Narrated by: Samantha Desz
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From “one of the bravest, smartest writers about addiction anywhere” (Johann Hari, New York Times best-selling author) - the untold story of harm reduction, a surprisingly simple idea with enormous power.
-
-
Wow! An amazing amount of harm reduction info!
- By Bobbi Jensen, Criminal Justice Consultant, Educator and Reform Activist on 09-19-21
By: Maia Szalavitz
-
The Psychedelic Handbook
- A Practical Guide to Psilocybin, LSD, Ketamine, MDMA, and Ayahuasca
- By: Rick Strassman MD
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Entering the world of psychedelic drugs can be challenging, and many aren't sure where to start. As research continues to expand and legalization looms on the horizon for psychedelics like psilocybin, you may need a guide to navigate what psychedelics are, how they work, and their potential benefits and risks. The Psychedelic Handbook is a manual that is accessible to anyone with an interest in these substances. Packed with information on psilocybin, LSD, DMT/ayahuasca, mescaline/peyote, ketamine, MDMA, and more.
-
-
Great intro to what these substances are.
- By Sean on 05-11-24
-
The Tyranny of Merit
- What's Become of the Common Good?
- By: Michael J. Sandel
- Narrated by: Michael J. Sandel
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world-renowned philosopher and author of the best-selling Justice explores the central question of our time: What has become of the common good? World-renowned philosopher Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the crises that are upending our world, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalization and rising inequality. Sandel shows the hubris a meritocracy generates among the winners and the harsh judgment it imposes on those left behind, and traces the dire consequences across a wide swath of American life.
-
-
Enlightening
- By Robert McIntosh on 09-18-20
-
Dreamland
- The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic
- By: Sam Quinones
- Narrated by: Tom Jordan
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital centre of the community. Now, addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America—addiction like no other the country has ever faced. How that happened is the riveting story of Dreamland.
-
-
Excellent
- By Joe on 08-01-22
By: Sam Quinones
-
LSD My Problem Child (4th Edition)
- Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism and Science
- By: Albert Hofmann Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Steven J. Cohen
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of LSD told by a concerned yet hopeful father, organic chemist Albert Hofmann, PhD. He traces LSD's path from a promising psychiatric research medicine to a recreational drug sparking hysteria and prohibition. In LSD: My Problem Child, we follow Dr. Hofmann's trek across Mexico to discover sacred plants related to LSD, and listen in as he corresponds with other notable figures about his remarkable discovery.
-
-
Riveting story, watered down by an unenthusiastic reader.
- By JMartin1 on 07-01-24
-
Blitzed
- Drugs in the Third Reich
- By: Norman Ohler, Shaun Whiteside - translator, Claire Bloom - director
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Nazi regime preached an ideology of physical, mental, and moral purity. But as Norman Ohler reveals in this gripping new history, the Third Reich was saturated with drugs. On the eve of World War II, Germany was a pharmaceutical powerhouse, and companies such as Merck and Bayer cooked up cocaine, opiates, and, most of all, methamphetamines, to be consumed by everyone from factory workers to housewives to millions of German soldiers.
-
-
The best "Gotterdammerung" book I have ever read.
- By James Carl Barsz, MD on 05-06-17
By: Norman Ohler, and others
-
Chasing the Scream
- By: Johann Hari
- Narrated by: Johann Hari
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of Johann Hari’s earliest memories is of trying to wake up one of his relatives and not being able to. As he grew older, he realized he had addiction in his family. Confused, not knowing what to do, he set out and traveled over 30,000 miles over three years to discover what really causes addiction - and what really solves it.
-
-
Incredible
- By c.caste on 09-09-23
By: Johann Hari
-
The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide
- Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys
- By: James Fadiman PhD
- Narrated by: Ross Douglas
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Called “America’s wisest and most respected authority on psychedelics and their use,” James Fadiman has been involved with psychedelic research since the 1960s. In this guide to the immediate and long-term effects of psychedelic use for spiritual (high dose), therapeutic (moderate dose), and problem-solving (low dose and microdose) purposes, Fadiman outlines best practices for safe, sacred entheogenic voyages learned through his more than 40 years of experience.
-
-
Psychotherapist: ketamine trained.
- By Sean on 09-16-22
-
How to Change Your Mind
- What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction, and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third.
-
-
A delightful trip
- By Paul E. Williams on 05-19-18
By: Michael Pollan
-
Never Enough
- The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction
- By: Judith Grisel
- Narrated by: Judith Grisel
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a renowned behavioral neuroscientist and recovering addict, a rare pause-resisting work of science that draws on personal insights to reveal how drugs work, the dangerous hold they can take on the brain, and the surprising way to combat today's epidemic of addiction. Judith Grisel was a daily drug user and college dropout when she began to consider that her addiction might have a cure, one that she herself could perhaps discover by studying the brain. Now, after 25 years as a neuroscientist, she shares what she and other scientists have learned about addiction.
-
-
The author ruined her own book with her narration
- By Milan on 05-03-19
By: Judith Grisel
Dr Carl Hart should be our drug Czar
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brilliant
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hart has trouble with pronunciation
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Amazing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Amazing!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
change your mind about drug use
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The absolute truth to drug use
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Important.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great read! Engaging and informative throughout!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Dr. Hart highlights the atrocities of the drug war, the complicity of the media, and a reasonable path forward.
Eye Opening
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.