Interesting read about the latest high visibility drug "epidemic". Meth use and abuse is nothing new, starting out as a wonder drug in the 1940s that was used to alleviate depression, increase weight loss, and to keep the armed forces on all sides fighting during WW2. It really took off in the 1960s when outlaw biker gangs took control of it, followed by Mexican cartels and of course your rural homebrewers. This covers its history, as well as its impact and its attraction, as well as some of the myths. A fascinating look at an issue that's regularly in the news. ( )

There never seems to be a shortage of books about drugs; and you could say that Frank Owen's, No Speed Limit, is merely one among the many. And, yes, this is true. It is one among many books written by authors who attempt to bring a rational voice to the oft irrational and unquestionably historic tendency of the media, politician's--and following suit--the public's susceptibility to react with panic concerning the issue of drug abuse (in this case, the latest drug crisis revolving around methamphetamine, or "meth")

Do you remember the Crack epidemic? The Ecstasy epidemic? The Heroin epidemic? And, for all those old enough, the Alcohol crisis, which culminated in Prohibition? Owen's book is not only about the history of methamphetamine and the modern phenomenon of meth abuse in America, which is fascinating in and of itself, it's also about the nature of that ever-present hysterical phenomenon: the "drug epidemic," or what some sociologists have referred to as the "moral panic."

This book has a fair mix of anecdotes, an interesting personal account of the drug's effects, statistics, and enough dispassionate reporting to please anyone interested in the topic at hand; in other words, it's wholly readable and reasonable. One of the principal strengths of the book is that Owen is not committing the same fallacies others have made and are still making concerning drug abuse; he is not giving into reasoning based on hyperbole, fear, and allegiance to an agenda at all costs.

On the other hand, the author understands the fact of a kernel of truth inherent in every hype, but he makes a valiant effort to put it in its proper context. In fact, Owen himself has experienced firsthand just how bad methamphetamine can be and knows its potential for abuse and also understands the broader scope of problems that abuse of the drug can cause society. However, these points are tempered with the well-founded realization that not everyone who has used the drug is or will necessarily become a victim of it--there is too much proof otherwise.

Drug abuse is a problem and the author is not denying it. That said, what Owen seems to be arguing, instead, is that since drug abuse is a problem, why make it worse with superfluous, fictional complexities. What is needed, he argues, is a levelheaded approach based on a broad understanding of the issue in its entirety, not one based on the end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it reaction we hear so often in the media (especially the media) and from our elected officials. ( )