Books in Brief: I Was a Drug Addict

I Was a Drug Addict, by Leroy Street (Arlington, 246 pp., $7.95). Sure. Lots of people were drug addicts. But not in 1910, when heroin was over-the-counter cough medicine. Nor in 1917, when New York state ran a morphine clinic. Legalization, drug maintenance, control by prescription, oral cures—Leroy Street (a pseudonym) experienced them all. He not only survived but prospered, and even attained a measure of fame. The book tells exactly how Mr. Street broke a 13-year habit, and introduces you to Typhoid Mary and Gene Tunney along the way. An exciting glimpse into the past, vividly written, relevant, inspiring, and informative. ALAN REYNOLDS

About the Author

Alan Reynolds

Alan Reynolds, National Review’s economics editor from 1972 to 1976, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of Income and Wealth.

Featured Tags

Manage following

Drugs

Literature

I Was a Drug Addict, by Leroy Street (Arlington, 246 pp., $7.95). Sure. Lots of people were drug addicts. But not in 1910, when heroin was over-the-counter cough medicine. Nor in 1917, when New York state ran a morphine clinic. Legalization, drug maintenance, control by prescription, oral cures—Leroy Street (a pseudonym) experienced them all. He not only survived but prospered, and even attained a measure of fame. The book tells exactly how Mr. Street broke a 13-year habit, and introduces you to Typhoid Mary and Gene Tunney along the way. An exciting glimpse into the past, vividly written, relevant, inspiring, and informative. ALAN REYNOLDS