So why does the heroin myth — that it’s horribly addictive, that it’s like an illness, and that it’s almost impossible to quit — persist? After all, the myth starts with doctors, who should know better. When you think about this, it should be obvious. We’re all in denial. Either heroin is an infernal thing, or our society is so dysfunctional that thousands of people in every town work hard to develop a drug habit because their lives are so spiritually empty that heroin addiction is better than nothing. I know which I’d rather believe. But Dalrymple argues well. If you’re spiritually and culturally bereft, an addiction gives you a shadow-life — something to get up for in the morning, a network of acquaintances, highs and lows; it’s almost a job. And that’s what people are addicted to — the heroin life, not just the heroin.

I can see why some people find these views offensive. It’s because Dalrymple seems to have no respect for the drug user. Actually, his issue seems to be mostly with the dead-end culture that produces the drug user. That’s the really bad thing. That’s what the heroin addict — and the doctors and politicians — are running away from. A spiky book, then. Its argument won’t charm everybody, but somebody needs to say it.

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